Birmingham-based reseller Vocale has added to channel momentum around Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) by launching an accreditation based on the emerging voice standard.

Vocale’s new SIP School, which is aimed at communications dealers and installation firms, covers a range of topics, including Core SIP operation and SIP Trunking. Graduates will be awarded a SIP School Certified Associate certificate.

Graham Francis, managing director at Vocale, an authorised Mitel training partner, said: “Every telephone manufacturer is putting SIP into their systems, but at the moment there is nothing recognised as an industry standard for SIP, which is what we are looking to do.

“We hope to get every major manufacturer on board,” he said. Francis said the course had been developed online to enable dealers to refresh their knowledge as the SIP protocol develops. According to a study by ABI Research, almost half of all telecoms users will be employing at least one SIP service by 2012.
Stuart Clarke, EMEA training manager at Mitel, said: “I do not know of any accreditation that is based on the SIP standard and it is fantastic if someone can drive down that road.

“Vocale is very strong on updating material, and as the SIP standard develops people can revisit its web site,” he said.
John Massey, managing director at Mitel reseller Actimax, said: “Not a lot of people understand SIP, but it will probably become a requirement for our industry.”

Francis claimed there were very few firms offering a SIP accreditation, although he cited US-based training and research group SIPKnowledge as a possible competitor.
He added: “We have worked with Mitel on training courses for seven years. Its products are now heavily dependent on SIP. This course has been developed with Mitel in mind, but applies to every manufacturer.”