Virtual session border controllers (SBCs) are quickly gaining traction in the world of unified communications and for good reason. After all, they provide a number of advantages over traditional hardware-based SBCs, including cost savings, flexibility and ease of deployment.
But why exactly should you consider using one? In this post, we'll explore the many benefits of virtual SBCs and why they are becoming more and more popular.
Keeping Your Costs Down
First and foremost, virtual SBCs offer significant cost savings compared to their hardware-based counterparts. Traditional SBCs require dedicated hardware appliances to be deployed at each location, which can be expensive to purchase, install and maintain. Virtual SBCs, on the other hand, are software-based and can be deployed on standard servers or in cloud environments, eliminating the need for expensive hardware appliances.
This makes virtual SBCs a cost-effective solution for businesses of all sizes, particularly those with multiple locations or a large number of remote workers.
Getting Started Quicker
Another advantage of virtual SBCs is ease of deployment. Traditional SBCs often require significant time and resources to deploy, including the physical installation and configuration of a new piece of hardware in a network. Virtual SBCs, on the other hand, can be easily deployed through a simple software installation process, either in a public cloud (such as Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services or Google Cloud Platform) or on a private server that the IT team are already familiar with.
As a result, businesses can quickly implement virtual SBCs without the need for specialized IT resources or lengthy deployment processes.
Growing with Your Business
In addition to cost savings and faster deployment, virtual SBCs offer greater flexibility and scalability than traditional SBCs. Virtual SBCs can be easily scaled up or down as needed, without having to purchase and install additional hardware.
This means that businesses can quickly adapt to changing communications needs, like adding new locations or expanding remote work capabilities. And because virtual SBCs are easily deployed in cloud environments, businesses can take advantage of the incredible scalability and flexibility which is part and parcel of this type of infrastructure.
Making Everything Easier
Finally, virtual SBCs are easy to manage and maintain, thanks to their software-based architecture. They can be easily updated and patched through software updates, eliminating the need for physical maintenance or hardware replacements. This makes virtual SBCs a low-maintenance solution that can be easily managed by IT staff or even non-technical personnel.
Plenty of Reasons to Go Virtual
In conclusion, virtual SBCs offer a number of advantages over traditional hardware-based SBCs, including cost savings, flexibility, ease of deployment, advanced features and ease of management.
With the growing adoption of cloud-based communications systems and remote work, virtual SBCs are becoming a sought-after way for businesses to improve their communications capabilities while cutting costs and increasing flexibility.
AudioCodes at Your Service
The AudioCodes Mediant family of SBCs are established industry leaders. In fact, in their Enterprise SBCs and VoIP Gateways Market Tracker – 4Q22 and CY22 Analysis report,[1] market research firm Omdia revealed that AudioCodes had achieved the highest worldwide SBC revenue share with 22.4% for 2022.
It should therefore come as no surprise that AudioCodes also has the virtual SBC arena well and truly covered with the following models:
- Mediant Cloud Edition (CE) ➜
A scalable, cloud-native SBC solution for private and public clouds. - Mediant Virtual Edition (VE) ➜
A scalable, virtualized SBC solution for enterprises and service providers.
Both of these virtual SBCs are built on the same code base as AudioCodes’ field-proven hardware-based SBCs, delivering seamless connectivity, enhanced security and voice quality assurance for any voice communications environment and at any scale. So if you need an SBC that can grow with your business and help you keep costs down, then look no further.
