Demand for Session Border Controller (SBC) appliances is on the rise. As companies continue to invest in more flexible communication strategies, SBC solutions ensure they can secure their VoIP infrastructures and enable interactions between cloud and on-premises technologies.
Trends like the rising interest in Direct Routing for Microsoft Teams and “Bring Your Own Carrier” (BYOC) UCaaS stacks have prompted an increase in the number of SBC retailers in the market today. By 2029, the market for Session Border Controller technology is expected to reach a value of $989.08 million. But with so much competition out there, it can be difficult for business buyers to know where they should start searching for the right solution.
Today, we will be looking at some of the most innovative and popular vendors in the SBC marketplace and what they have to offer:
- AudioCodes
- Ribbon
- TelcoBridges
- Thinktel
- Oracle
- Metaswitch
- Cisco
- Avaya
- Nokia
- Cataleya
- Ericsson
- Enghouse Networks
- Ekinops
- Sansay
- ULTATEL
- ITALTEL
- M5 Technologies
- Patton Electronics Co.
- ATOS
- 46 Labs
- FRAFOS
- iotcomms
- ULAP
AudioCodes
Offering a variety of tools for the communication and collaboration landscape, AudioCodes was one of the first vendors to provide SBC technology specifically for Microsoft Teams direct routing. The Mediant session border controllers produced by AudioCodes are designed to offer seamless connectivity and enhanced security for voice requirements.
The portfolio includes cloud-native, appliance, and virtualized SBCs for service providers and enterprises. Additionally, these scalable tools allow organizations to leverage real-time dynamic scalability with high availability and resiliency mechanisms. Recently, AudioCodes achieved phenomenal year-over-year growth, which it partly attributes to its connection with the Microsoft Teams landscape. You can learn more about the brand here.
Ribbon
Ribbon Communications offers a variety of session border controllers for both enterprises and service providers. The collection of tools range from virtual edge SBCs to core SBCs, and beyond. Part of the Ribbon Telco cloud portfolio, Ribbon’s SBCs are deployed typically alongside the Ribbon centralized routing and policy servers for scalable control.
Ribbon’s SBCs promise robust SIP security and interoperability for any deployment environment or location. They’re tested to work alongside Zoom, RingCentral, Microsoft Teams, and Cisco BYOC solutions. Additionally, they also include high-level security features for more highly regulated brands. Find the latest news on Ribbon here.
TelcoBridges
Known for making carrier-grade session border controllers and telecommunications tools, TelcoBridges offers a host of solutions for interoperability. The company offers both a FreeSBC solution and a ProSBC. The premium solution comes with included support and additional features.
Users can leverage 100% software solutions from TelcoBridges, with instant scalability and high-performance capabilities. These tools are equipped with the latest in security solutions, including SRTP and TLS communication production. What’s more, TelcoBridges’ SBCs are suitable for multi-platform operation, as well as dedicated network devices. Discover what’s happening within the TelcoBridges portfolio here.
Thinktel
A global provider of SIP trunking and SBC solutions, Thinktel delivers data and voice services primarily to SMB and enterprise customers with fully redundant hardware. As a gold Microsoft Communications partner, Thinktel enables cloud voice connections to Microsoft Teams through the Think365 cloud solution. The tailor-made service includes access to customized deployment options with highly secure session border controller technology.
Thinktel’s SBC solutions are compatible with a range of legacy PBX systems, and come with premium support from experts around the world. The company also offers a range of white glove porting and migration services, Teams governance training, and user adoption support. Read up on the latest Thinktel news here.
Oracle
Focusing on the cloud and digital transformation landscape, Oracle offers a range of developer services, cloud-based tools, integration, networking and security solutions. The company’s SBC offering is built to enable connections between fixed-line, mobile, and IP interconnect solutions. Oracle offers STIR/SHAKEN client support, SIP trunking and hosted business services for enterprises, and even assistance with regulatory compliance requirements.
Companies can leverage Oracle’s SBC appliances through purpose-built applications and virtualized servers. The tools can run as a single software application with comprehensive signalling, programmability, and control functions. View the latest updates to the Oracle portfolio here.
Metaswitch (Microsoft)
Now owned by Microsoft, Metaswitch provides support for SBC needs with the “Perimeta” portfolio. The SBC technology is built entirely in software and can operate in any cloud environment, with a unique signalling plane and media separation. Perimeta can scale to meet any company’s demands and features a secure distribution engine for load balancing.
Certified for Microsoft Teams, the Perimeta SBC portfolio is a common choice for companies switching to Microsoft Direct Routing communications strategies. The SBC solutions are available through both Direct Routing and Operator Connect. Additionally, the technology features the latest security features to coincide with Microsoft’s own security strategy. Check out the news on Metaswitch here.
Cisco
Providing access to a host of communications and networking tools, Cisco has a broad portfolio of solutions to offer enterprises and service providers. For enterprise companies, Cisco offers the CUBE (Cisco’s Unified Border Element) solution, certified for Microsoft Teams. There are also SBC options available directly for service providers offering BYOC solutions.
Cisco’s Session Border Controllers offer global connectivity with built-in solutions for reliability and consistent performance. The CUBE ecosystem can scale to 64,000 sessions, with in-box and box-to-box redundancy. There’s also built-in interoperability with third-party IP PBXs and service providers. View the most recent news from Cisco here.
Avaya
Another communications vendor with its own SBC appliances portfolio, Avaya, offers flexible solutions for enterprises. The Avaya Session Border Controller includes a set of standard security features to protect connections in the office environment. Certified for use with a range of UCaaS solutions, Avaya’s technology allows enterprises to scale up to 2,000 sessions per server.
Avaya’s technology is designed to run across a global network, with a range of configuration options, including “High Availability”, Multiple servers, and standalone configuration. For companies in need of additional support, Avaya can also offer specialist services and guidance for connectivity. Discover the latest Avaya news here.
Nokia
Best known for its mobile devices, Nokia also delivers a host of tools for business leaders in the communication landscape. The Nokia SBC technology is based in the cloud, offering extensive flexibility and scalability to enterprises and service providers. The technology includes access to firewalls, routing, and transcoding capabilities, as well as load-balancing solutions.
Nokia’s SBC solution can be deployed either as a standalone solution or as part of the Nokia VoLTE/VoWiFi offering. Alongside secure and scalable technology, Nokia also offers access to network analytics through their SBC portfolio for SLA verification and QoE assurance. Read up on the latest news from Nokia here.
Cataleya
Offering a broad selection of SBC solutions through the “Orchid” portfolio, Cataleya provides businesses and service providers with virtualized, cloud-based, and next-gen tools. The technologies provided by Cataleya feature real-time visibility to business leaders to assist with quality of experience and troubleshooting capabilities.
Companies can adapt the flexible SBC solutions to suit their needs and connect the systems directly to leading UC services from brands like Microsoft. The tools come with all of the standard security features today’s companies expect, as well as fraud analytics. Cataleya even offers a direct “Link2Teams” carrier peering and routing service for Teams users. Catch up with the latest Cataleya news here.
Ericsson
The Ericsson company, known for offering a variety of communication tools and services to businesses and service providers, also offers a carrier-class SBC solution. The virtualized product helps to ensure interoperability and security between IMS and other networks for media and signalling and can be deployed on almost any x86 hardware.
Suitable for use with a variety of cloud environments, Ericsson’s SBC is verified on the Ericsson Software-defined infrastructure platform and can be delivered as part of an industrialized solution. Additionally, the technology features SIP message manipulation scripts to overcome inconsistencies between networks. Read up on the latest Ericsson news here.
Enghouse Networks
Enghouse Networks is a Unified Communications provider delivering a range of tools for communication and collaboration to the modern market. In their network infrastructure portfolio, Enghouse Interactive offers various SBC solutions to suit high-availability requirements. Cloud-based solutions like the Dialogic BorderNet SBC are certified for Microsoft Teams. They also work seamlessly with AWS and Microsoft Azure clouds, as well as bare metal systems.
With Enghouse Networks, companies can leverage tools which scale to suit over 100,000 sessions in an instant. The solutions can also be easily deployed and operated through RESTful APIs and offer native transcoding, geo-redundancy, and EMS support. Discover the latest Enghouse news here.
Ekinops
Enabling both Microsoft Direct Routing and BYOC connections, Ekinops is a communication infrastructure vendor with a wide portfolio of tools. The Ekinops SBC is designed to provide seamless interoperability with leading IP-PBXs and SIP environments, with built-in security. There’s also a dedicated solution available for Microsoft Teams, certified by Microsoft.
Companies can leverage the Ekinops SBC solutions to streamline and secure global connections for both analogue and digital connections. The tools are offered with a “pay as you grow” model to ensure companies can freely grow and evolve over time. Here’s the latest news on Ekinops.
Sansay
Sansay produces powerful connectivity tools and integration systems for business leaders and service providers. The VSXi Session Border Controller is a software-based offering provided by the company, which includes security, DDoS protection, protocol interworking and traffic management. The VSXi technology can select optimal routes for communications automatically.
With built-in firewalls and leading security protocols, Sansay’s SBCs ensure peace of mind and flexibility. They can support local number portability, performance monitoring, and transcoding for fixed and wireless audio and video codecs. Read up on what’s happening with Sansay here.
ULTATEL
Trusted by organizations of all sizes, ULTATEL delivers cloud-based phone systems and contact centres, as well as SIP trunking, VoIP phones, and online fax capabilities. The SBC solutions provided by ULTATEL are linked to the company’s direct routing service for Microsoft Teams. ULTATEL is a certified Microsoft Teams partner for both direct routing and contact centres.
The SBC technology allows companies to manage contact flows easily, with reporting, analytics, and insights into the quality of service. Companies can configure their technology according to specific needs and leverage built-in security solutions for peace of mind. Discover the latest ULTATEL news here.
ITALTEL
An Italian communications equipment and ICT company, ITALTEL offers digital workspace, hybrid cloud, 5G network, and data centre solutions for digital transformation. Launched in 2011, the ITALTEL collection of SBC products includes enterprise, service provider, and interconnection options. The NetMatch-S family can be placed at the edge of the service provider network, with support for interoperability and routing policies.
NetMatch-S comes in two editions, both of which can be deployed in data centres. The tools dynamically allocate resources based on actual needs, and are certified for the Microsoft Teams Direct Routing landscape. Check-in on the latest ITALTEL news here.
M5 Technologies
Otherwise known as Media5, M5 Technologies provides a variety of CPEs and mobile applications to meet the needs of unified communications service providers. The company’s Sentinel SBCs are designed to deliver SIP normalization, survivability, and security. They also offer QoS monitoring as a standard for cost-effective customer service and network maintenance.
Focused primarily on operators and network providers, M5 Technologies assists companies in protecting and preserving the connections between legacy and cloud tools. With the SBC offerings from M5, companies can provide high-quality media sharing, video, and voice services to clients. See what M5 Technologies has been up to lately here.
Patton Electronics Co.
Patton Electronics manufactures Patton VoIP gateways, ethernet extenders, and SBC solutions primarily for a European market. The company has a variety of SBC solutions on offer for business leaders, including a virtualized session border controller with end-to-end session control, SIP normalization, network monitoring and assessment tools.
Using the SmartNode solutions from Patton, companies can access in-built protection for VoIP connections, alongside load balancing and high availability ensured by stateful call failover. Patton even utilizes its own proprietary Trinity software for added security. Discover the latest Patton Electronics news here.
ATOS
Focused on the creation of digital transformation technologies, Atos is a multinational technology service and consulting brand, offering the “Unify” SBC. The Unify Session Border Controller can support up to 8,000 simultaneous SIP sessions and 50,000 remote users. It also combines with the Atos Unify Firewall to meet public sector compliance requirements.
Designed for easy serviceability with zero-touch maintenance, the ATOS SBCs can support a range of SIP trunking architectures and licensing models. It fits into virtualized architecture, and delivers reliability through end-to-end encryption. Tune into the latest ATOS news here.
46 Labs
Connectivity company 46 Labs promises full-stack edge connectivity solutions for service providers and enterprises. The company’s cloud-managed technologies are highly scalable and come with support from a dedicated IT team available around the globe. Session Border Controller technologies from 46 Labs are secured and agile, with a range of deployment options.
The 46 Labs portfolio has been approved for use with Microsoft Teams for direct routing requirements. The company has also recently partnered with other communications vendors, such as NEC and T-Mobile for the creation of end-to-end service provider platforms. Here’s the latest news from 46 Labs.
FRAFOS
FRAFOS competes in the SBC landscape with the “ABC SBC platform”. This solution was designed to address the requirements of service providers and operators migrating their VoIP infrastructure into the cloud. The system works well with virtualized environments and cloud solutions from leading vendors, with built-in security systems for peace of mind.
The SecunetSBC, created in cooperation with Secunet, is the only SBC currently certified by the BSI to deliver the protection and security necessary for governmental institutions. It includes an integrated firewall solution and rigidized hardware for specific compliance requirements. You can find the latest news on FRAFOS here.
Iotcomms
Working with companies around the world on the development of tools leveraging granular communication APIs, Iotcomms delivers tools to address a number of use cases. For companies investing in video and voice technologies, the company offers access to SBC solutions to establish secure connections between WebRTC and/or SIP devices.
Companies investing in UC and contact center solutions can also take advantage of cloud PBX tools, call recording systems, IVR builders, and a comprehensive cloud communications environment, with built-in analytics. Iotcomms can even help brands create smart offices with IoT device connections.
ULAP
Intelligent Solutions Provider ULAP offers secure VoIP networks for companies through their cloud-native SBC to save cost. Through hosting and operating SBC instances in data centers (strategically located to enable high availability and resilience) companies can take advantage of virtualisation and cloud infrastructure and manage their SBC capital expenses with ease.
These virtual SBC instances are created for each customer and orchestrated via ULAP’s Enterprise Orchestration platform using a common cloud infrastructure, to help them get the most from their environment. ULAP’s SBC offerings can be used for a single solution for multiple SaaS platforms, thanks to the ULAP Smart Exchange system, managed and operated by a professional services team.
