The need for IT and telecom convergence in the enterprise is a hot one now. Fortunately there's a good guide available for those wishing to construct a framework for addressing the issue in their companies.

A converged network can bring many business benefits to an enterprise, primary amongst them are including increased productivity and positive effects to an enterprise's financial and business goals, according to the study.

It's far too meaty a paper to satisfactorily summarize in a brief article, so here are just a few of the key benefits it explains.

Simplicity is one of the most obvious benefits of a converged network, given the reduced number of network overlays, which are costly and complex to administer. "A converged network supports a variety of applications, technologies and protocols," the paper finds, adding that the number of required platforms in the converged network is reduced, as well as the associated element and network management costs.

Increased productivity would be another. A converged voice, video and data network gives employees access to a broader range of tools and applications to help them do their jobs more efficiently and effectively - "for example," the study says, "if an enterprise chooses to cut travel budgets, employees can use applications such as video conferencing or Unified Communications (News - Alert) tools to help them sustain and even increase their level of productivity."

And don't overlook something as mundane as the efficient use of real estate. The consolidation of multiple layers of network and equipment into one converged infrastructure saves rack space and floor space within an enterprise's network operations facility. Of course this leads to an inherent savings in both cooling costs and facilities or real-estate management.

And there's the increased mobility. A significant benefit of a converged network is the ability to offer enhanced mobile connectivity for employees regardless of their geographic location. The ability to connect to the corporate network over any wireless access is critical for employees in remote offices, on business travel or working from their home office. There is continuous connectivity, no loss of quality and no negative impact to an employee's productivity.