Merrill Lynch reported that it will install IP PBX and phone gear from Avaya and Cisco with the U.S., Brazil, Australia and Japan headquerters installing an Avaya IP-PBX supporting 10,000 employees and their branch offices using Cisco IP phones with a centralized Cisco IP-PBX that will support 14,000 financial advistors.
When a huge financial firm like Merrill Lynch puts its trust in VoIP and sees it as a secure technology when you consider all the possible liabilities due to the multi-billion dollar transactions they do daily, one has to stand up and take notice...
It is also significant because Merrill dropped Cisco as it's VoIP provider for 7,500+ workers in its New Jersey headquarters and in Japan in mid-2003 due to security concerns. I guess Merrill Lynch got over that mental hurdle or Cisco and Avaya did a great job selling them.
