Interactive Intelligence Advances on IP Market

Interactive Intelligence IP Solutions more secure than H323 solutions currently reporting problems; free SIP Proxy available to download from website; Interaction SIP Proxy, Advanced Version, (more functions that the free one) now available in the UK.

LONDON (PRWEB) April 23, 2004 -- Interactive Intelligence Inc. (Nasdaq: ININ), a global developer of Microsoft-based business communications solutions, entered 2004 in a leading position in the IP telephony market and plans to remain ahead.

In keeping with this position, the company has announced:
•Interactive Intelligence IP Solutions More Secure
•Free SIP Proxy Available to Download From Website
•Interaction SIP Proxy, Advanced Version, available in the UK

More managers than ever are moving over to IP-based telecoms to get the best from their networks, according to IDC. Forrester Research is on record as predicting that VoIP will run all fixed line voice traffic within two decades. Communications services have become more compelling, converged solutions have become more commonplace, and remote and mobile working forms a larger part of our work patterns. IP has reached maturity and is widely viewed as the key enabling technology.

SIP More Secure
Interactive Intelligences IP telephony software, which is SIP-based, is not affected by security vulnerabilities found in products using the alternative H.323 protocol.

Interactive Intelligence has responded to an advisory citing that several critical vulnerabilities have been discovered in H.323-based voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and video-conferencing products from vendors such as Cisco Systems Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Nortel Networks Ltd. According to the advisory, risks range from denial of service to improper bounds checking, resulting in possible remote system compromise.

"Security continues to be a major barrier to VoIP adoption, particularly among highly regulated industries such as financial services, healthcare, telecom, transportation and utilities," said Gary Blough, VP of Operations, EMEA, Interactive Intelligence. "But not all VoIP solutions are created equal, and, as in the case of vulnerabilities found in the H.323 protocol, these differences can prove vital to maximising the benefits - and minimising the pitfalls - of an IP telephony deployment."

In a hands-on review, independent test lab, Miercom, reported that during three denial-of-service attacks Interactive Intelligence's SIP-based IP PBX product, Enterprise Interaction Center® (EIC), dropped no calls and suffered no noticeable call quality loss.

Free SIP Proxy
Interactive Intelligence Inc. is now offering an upgraded free SIP proxy, called Interaction SIP Proxy, Basic Version for download from its website (www.ININ.com). SIP Proxy Server, call control software, replaces a call manager server, allowing companies to route calls over data networks and build scalable, reliable VoIP (Voice over IP) networks. The promotion aims to show IT managers how IP telephony can be adopted within their organisation, or to test it in a call-rich environment such as a contact centre.

Interaction SIP Proxy, Advanced Version, Now Available Across UK
Interaction SIP Proxy, Advanced Version, an advanced version of Interactive Intelligences session initiation protocol proxy server, is now available across the UK. The product allows organisations to intelligently route SIP-based messages over IP networks.

It includes fault-tolerant routing, load-balancing and advanced security, which make it a good fit for large corporate deployments, whilst it can be used with off-the-shelf servers, can be installed in minutes and requires no telephony hardware, making it ideal for branch and small office deployments.

Interaction SIP Proxy, Advanced Version is designed to work with any vendor's SIP-compliant system or device and is easily configured using a Web browser or standard XML files. It incorporates a unique "pattern-matcher" that enables organisations to route calls more flexibly. For instance, it can be used for sophisticated call routing, speed dialling, call blocking and call forwarding.

"There's very little on the market today for enterprises wanting to add intelligent routing capabilities to their IP deployments," said Gary Blough. "Our advanced SIP proxy server helps fill this gap, offering enterprises a way to route calls more efficiently, cheaper, and without the kind of vendor 'lock-in' required by some VoIP products."

Interaction SIP Proxy, Advanced Version is priced at around $5,000 per server and is available through Interactive Intelligences distribution channel.

Note to editors
Industry analyst firm Gartner, Inc., published a First Take on the all-software version of Interactive Intelligences product line released in the third quarter of 2003, entitled, "Interactive Intelligence Leads in All-software IP Telephony" (Oct. 28, 2003, Isabel Montero and Steve Blood, http://www3.gartner.com/DisplayDocument?id=413962&ref=g_search).

Interactive Intelligence contributes to the development of the SIP standard through membership of SIPcenter.com
For more information about Interactive Intelligence's SIP proxy solutions, visit http://www.inin.com/sipproxy.

Information regarding Internet Security Systems' H.323 advisory can be found at http://xforce.iss.net/xforce/alerts/id/160

For more information on Interactive Intelligence's IP telephony and SIP capabilities, an 'IP Telephony and the Interaction Center Platform white paper (1.5Mb PDF) is available at: http://www.inin.com/documentation/whitepapers/SIP/IP_Telephony-IC_Platform.pdf.

About Interactive Intelligence Inc.
Interactive Intelligence Inc. (Nasdaq: ININ) is a global developer of Microsoft-based business communications solutions. It develops software for IP telephony, contact centre automation, unified communications, and customer self-service. The company was founded in 1994 and has more than 1,000 customers worldwide. Recent awards include Software Magazines 2003 Top 500 Global Software and Services Companies, and ContactCenterWorld.com's 2004 Members' Choice. Interactive Intelligence employs approximately 350 people and is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.A. The company has 12 offices throughout North America, Europe and Asia. The EMEA corporate office is located in Uxbridge, England, and serves more than 80 thousand end-users, including companies such as Skandia, Halifax and Telefonica. Its telephone number is +44 20 8867 3670; on the Web: http://www.ININ.com.

This release contains certain forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially are described in the company's SEC filings.

Interactive Intelligence Inc. is the owner of the marks Interactive Intelligence, its associated LOGO and numerous other marks. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners.

Contacts:
Tony Martin
Marketing Director, EMEA   
Interactive Intelligence Inc.   
T: +44 (0) 20 8867 3675      
tony.martin@inin.com

Claire Thompson
Zed PR
T: +44 (0) 118 944 0394
M: +44 (0) 7771 817015
claire@zedpr.co.uk