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Voice over IP is perhaps the hottest technology in the telecommunications industry today. VoIP-based services will grow even more as a mainstream technology for business use. Expect a lot of competition for the trillions of minutes and billions of dollars' worth of voice calls that business users make each year.

VoIP-once the domain of cash-strapped start-ups-now counts some of the biggest names in telecom among its providers. In March, AT&T introduced residential VoIP service in New Jersey and Texas, and it expects to expand to 100 US markets by the end of the year. Look for cable companies to start pushing VoIP big-time as well. By sending voice traffic over private IP networks, the big carriers and cable providers have been able to boost call quality, which often lagged when calls were sent over the public Internet. The next big step for VoIP will likely be its integration with cellular and Wi-Fi technologies, resulting in a hybrid device that works as a cellphone when you're out of the office but can recognize a Wi-Fi network and transmit calls via VoIP. The first devices should launch in healthcare by 2006.

ESPs abound
Enterprise Solutions Platforms (ESPs) will reshape the application software business. These include application integration platforms like SAP's NetWeaver, Oracle Information Architecture, PeopleSoft's AppConnect, Siebel's Universal Application Network, and to some degree IBM's WebSphere, BEA's WebLogic and Microsoft's .Net.

Centralized network planning and architecture
The consolidation and commoditization of IT hardware infrastructure will accelerate industry realignment. Reducing complexity in the datacenter and improving operational efficiency will be high on the agenda of enterprise users in 2005. The hardware infrastructure upgrade cycle that picked up steam in 2004 will continue-though at a slower rate. Organizations will centralize network planning and architecture, as well as vendor management. Areas of emphasis during 2005-06 will be security, convergence, and mobility, while application awareness and optimization (especially XML/SOAP) will become key drivers during 2007-09.

A broad view of remote access
Enterprises will expand their definition of remote access to all forms of access, moving beyond dial-up into any available wireless and wire line broadband. End users will drive demand for wireless connectivity, with more options available (eg, 3G, Wi-Fi, WiMAX). Single-user remote access will be dominated by SSL VPNs, while IPSec-based installations will prevail for network-to-network use. By 2006/07, mobile devices will include cross-network roaming capability (eg, 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth), with WiMAX integration by 2009.

A wide angle on WAN
IP-based wide-area networks will continue to gain dominance, surpassing traditional services (eg, frame relay) by 2007. Pricing for IP services will decline by 8%-18% per year through 2007 and 8%-10% annually during 2007-10. A mix of private Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) carrier services and public Internet-based transport will be the typical approach, with Internet services playing an increasing role.

Service-oriented architecture will be hot
SOA is an infrastructure strategy that relies on middleware, the connective tissue that binds together different applications so companies get more mileage out of the software they've spent untold dollars and man-hours to develop and maintain. SOA essentially "wraps" existing applications in a way that lets them share data.

With businesses today spending 40% of their IT budgets on integration-mostly labor-the motivation to go the middleware route is powerful. With the emergence of the Internet, wireless networks, and a class of software known as Web services, SOA promises to automate integration.