Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments

Writing this book was a team effort because timing, availability, and accuracy were critical. In the fast-moving industry of voice over IP (VoIP) technology, information and products age quickly. A single author could not have produced this book in the time needed, nor does any one person know all the aspects of the system to the depth required to write all the chapters of this book. The seven authors of this book cover diverse aspects of the system in their daily work, including defining requirements, training the sales force and customers, designing and implementing the software, and testing and certifying system operation.

We would like to thank Sarat Khilnani, Tomoo Esaka, and Markus Schneider for reviewing this book and suggesting countless improvements. The larger Cisco product teams were invaluable in their support of the author team and making knowledge and equipment available toward the production of this bookin particular, Ed Leonhardt, Andy Feest, Dean Galanos, Praveen Sankaran, Vallinath Panchagnula, Subodh Shah, Narendra Hosehalli, Chandrodaya Prasad, Yuan Cai, and Haitao Zhang. Our thanks also to the Cisco management team for supporting us in this endeavor, including Michael Wood, Deependra Vaidya, Jiabin Zhao, Sarat Khilnani, and Sam Lyall. Thank you also to Tim Redpath of Metavante, who helped with questions on implementations in different industries.

Finally, a sincere thank you to John Kane, Dayna Isley, and the rest of the Cisco Press team for the editing and production of this book, and for their patience and support in dealing with seven authors.