Startup aims to compete with Avaya, Cisco Banking on the continued enterprise adoption of voice and data convergence technologies, startup Zultys Technologies today introduced its first integrated voice, data, and voice product.The 2U high box, dubbed MX1200, is what the company is calling a “media exchange,” based on its ability to integrate call management, automated call distribution, voicemail, and firewall capabilities amongst others in a single system.The year-old Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company sees Cisco Systems, 3Com, Nortel, Mitel, Shoreline, and Avaya as its major competitors. Despite the stiff competition, Zultys thinks they are at an advantage. “Our system is highly integrated and is based open standards,” says Patrick Ferriter, product manager at Zultys. “We’re SIP-based and run on Linux.”SIP refers to the session initiation protocol, which is being implemented as a signaling protocol for Internet conferencing, telephony, presence, instant messaging, and other forms of IP communications. Using SIP allows Zulty’s MX1200 to integrate well with Microsoft’s Messenger application as well as IP phones from vendors including Cisco systems, SingTel, ipDialog, and SNOM Technology .According to the company, the MX1200 can scale from 25 to 1200 users without purchasing any new hardware. The box also comes equipped with 28 Ethernet circuits and connects up to an ISP or central office via eight T1 or E1 circuits. The product also ships with a client software component that resides on a user’s desktop as well as software for managing and deploying the system.Other features permit the MX1200 to be connected to existing PBX systems, firewall support, and QoS features.The MX1200 will be generally available in four to six weeks and will be resold by 35 value-added resellers. Technology Industry