An integrated network of the telecommunication carriers, IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) facilitates utilisation of IP- Internet Protocol in all known ways over landline or wireless for packet communications. Some examples of these types of communications include video on demand, videoconference sessions, instant messaging (IM), Voice over IP (VoIP), web services, internet access, e-mail, fax, and traditional telephony. Conceived originally in late 1990s, IMS was part of the plan in deploying mobile telecommunications network worldwide which would interface with public switched telephone network (PSTN).
Most of IMS Services Offered Lack in Strong Security Services, Making them Vulnerable to Cyber-Attacks
IMS, in its ideal form, guarantees unprecedented convenience for business and individual users. Future Market Insights (FMI), in its recent report, states that the global IP multimedia subsystem market is projected to register a double-digit CAGR during 2016 to 2026. IMS enables network operators in expanding their services’ portfolio such as integrated voice services and multimedia communication. This further assists the collaboration of multiple modes of communication, multiple points of access, and multiple media into a single network, which in turn has fuelled the adoption of IMS services by numerous network operators. IP multimedia subsystem services offer users with an ability of choosing the right medium of communication on real-time basis, allowing them to control how and when they wish to communicate.
The possibility of easy data hacking and cyber-attacks increases considerably when a system is connected to internet, a risk not associated with the internal security systems. This has made enterprises unsure in utilising internet-based IMS services for preventing the exposure of their applications to internet. Authenticating these services requires ensuring appropriate protection levels coupled with options of strong multifactor security. Most of the IP multimedia subsystem services offered by providers lack in strong security services which has made it easy for cyber criminals to easily access such internet-based services and hack personal or confidential information of users. This is expected to restrain the market growth in the near future.
Cloud-based Infrastructure for IMS Core Networks
Virtualisation in telecommunication sector has been gaining prevalence over the past few years. Moving instances of an operating system from one physical host to another is this technology’s crucial characteristic. This feature provides network administrators with an opportunity to resolve critical issues in short time frame in software as well as hardware. Introduction to migration technique within IMS architecture resolved overload problems and guaranteed the provision of Quality of Service (QoS) to IMS client.
Virtualisation-based cloud platform for IMS core network, with disaster recovery policy and novel load balance, improves performance of the system through dynamic allocation of resources as per current load. This cloud infrastructure is capable of recovering from disasters in seconds by utilising live migration of virtual machines. The cloud infrastructure provides with services of disaster protection, load balancing and dynamic resource allocation.
IMS Services Maintain Quality of Services without any Hike in Prices
Expandability and flexibility offered by IP multimedia subsystem services are likely to enable vendors in bringing new services online, owing to the emergence and evolution of those services without compelling subscribers in frequently changing the carriers. Small operators are less willing in embracing the IMS paradigm as compared to large carriers. It is been believed that complete convergence- universal availability of all telecommunication forms over IP- might be decades away, or, might never be realised ever.
IP multimedia subsystem services enable devices such as laptops and smartphones to access services via various networks viz. Wi-Fi, broadband, cellular, and several others. In addition to surging utilisation of smartphones, individuals across the globe make use of multimedia applications for improving their communications. IMS services enable users in utilising services such as push-to-talk, instant messaging, multimedia conferencing, and others, coupled with maintaining quality of services without any rise in costs.
