Selsius Systems

Selsius Systems was a pioneering telecommunications company based in Dallas, Texas, focused on the development and commercialization of voice-over-IP and IP-PBX technology. Although it existed as an independent company for only a short period, its work became an important early bridge between conventional business telephone systems and network-based communications. The company was organized in July 1997 as a wholly owned subsidiary of Intecom, a Dallas PBX manufacturer. Its origins lay in Incite, an Intecom division established to explore a distributed, software-oriented video PBX. The Incite concept had been developed during the early 1990s by a team led by Richard B. Platt and David C. Tucker. Because the market for a high-end video PBX proved unreceptive, Intecom and its parent-company interests retained the technical team while redirecting its architecture toward IP telephony. Selsius was subsequently formed as a dedicated company, with Tucker serving as chief executive officer and Platt as vice president of engineering. Kevin Brown led sales and marketing. Selsius developed an IP-PBX platform built around networked telephones, server-based call control, gateways, and software applications. Its product family included the Selsius 30SP IP phone, the Selsius-CallManager call-control application, voice-over-IP gateways, voicemail, automated-attendant functionality, and a softphone. The 30SP is widely described in the company's history as the first commercially available IP phone. In November 1997, Selsius sold five units to the Telecommunications Research and Innovation laboratory of Southwestern Bell in San Antonio, an early commercial deployment of the technology. The company's central technical contribution was a distributed call-control model in which telephone signaling and call processing could be handled using Internet protocols and an IP-controlled server rather than a traditional circuit-switched PBX. Technologies developed by its engineers included the Skinny Client Control Protocol, or SCCP, which continued to be used by Cisco IP phones after the acquisition, as well as related gateway-control technology. Selsius initially had approximately 35 employees across engineering, marketing, and sales; by the time Cisco acquired it, the team had grown to about 55 people. Cisco Systems acquired Selsius in November 1998 after Nortel Networks had explored a competing transaction. The acquisition transferred the company's employees, products, and technology into Cisco's IP Telephony division. Platt and Tucker remained with Cisco and directly oversaw further development of the product they had helped create, while most other Selsius employees joined Cisco's development organization. Selsius-CallManager became Cisco CallManager and eventually Cisco Unified Communications Manager, the call-processing component of Cisco's broader Unified Communications System. Selsius no longer operates as an independent brand, but its legacy remains visible in Cisco's unified communications products, IP phones, and signaling technologies. The company's significance rests less on its scale or longevity than on its role in commercializing a complete IP telephony system before enterprise voice communications had broadly shifted to IP networks.

Selsius Systems emerged from an internal technology effort at Intecom, a Dallas manufacturer of private branch exchange systems. The effort was known as Incite and was led by engineer Richard Platt and executive David Tucker. Its initial ambition was to create a distributed video PBX. The architecture was conceived in the early 1990s and formally organized within Intecom around 1994, but the market did not respond strongly to the proposed high-end video product. Rather than disbanding the group, Intecom and its parent-company interests retained the team and encouraged it to redirect the underlying distributed call-control technology toward voice communications over IP networks. Selsius Systems was organized in July 1997 as an Intecom subsidiary. Tucker became chief executive officer, Platt became vice president of engineering, and Kevin Brown took responsibility for sales and marketing. The initial organization included roughly 35 engineering, marketing, and sales employees. Selsius designed a complete IP-PBX system rather than a standalone network telephone. The system combined IP phones, server software for call control, voice-over-IP gateways, and applications such as voicemail, automated attendant services, and a software telephone. Its best-known telephone was the Selsius 30SP. In November 1997, five 30SP units were sold to the TRI research laboratory of Southwestern Bell in San Antonio. This early deployment helped demonstrate that a telephone call could be established and managed entirely through Ethernet-connected devices, an IP network, and server-based software. The company's CallManager software became the center of the platform. It inherited key concepts from the earlier Incite Multimedia Manager but applied them to enterprise voice rather than video PBX systems. Selsius engineers also developed signaling and control technologies, including the Skinny Client Control Protocol used by IP phones and related gateway-control mechanisms. These technologies helped make voice endpoints manageable through a data-network architecture. Selsius attracted acquisition interest as the enterprise communications market began to consider IP telephony more seriously. Nortel Networks reportedly attempted to acquire the company shortly before Cisco Systems completed its own transaction. Cisco acquired Selsius in November 1998. At the time of the acquisition, the company had approximately 55 employees. Platt and Tucker joined Cisco's IP Telephony division and continued to oversee the product, while most of the remaining staff entered Cisco's development organization. After the transaction, Selsius-CallManager was renamed Cisco CallManager and was developed into the call-processing platform later known as Cisco Unified Communications Manager. Cisco also continued using Selsius-derived technologies in its IP phones and communications infrastructure. Some analog gateway products were eventually retired, but SCCP remained associated with Cisco endpoint control. Selsius therefore disappeared as an independent company while its architecture became embedded in a major enterprise communications product family. The company's historical importance is tied to timing and system completeness. It was not simply an early maker of experimental IP phones; it assembled phones, call control, gateways, and applications into an enterprise telephone system. The acquisition allowed Cisco to scale and commercialize that work, turning a small Dallas telecommunications venture into the technical foundation of a long-running unified communications business.

• 1998

  Cisco acquires Selsius

  [1]Selsius Systemsen.wikipedia.org

  Cisco Systems acquired Selsius in November, bringing its team and IP telephony technology into Cisco's IP Telephony division.

• 1997

  Selsius Systems is organized

  [1]Selsius Systemsen.wikipedia.org

  Selsius was formed in July 1997 as a wholly owned subsidiary of Intecom to develop and market IP telephony products.

• 1997

  Selsius 30SP enters early commercial use

  [1]Selsius Systemsen.wikipedia.org

  Five 30SP IP phones were sold to Southwestern Bell's TRI laboratory in San Antonio in November.

• 1994

  Incite is established within Intecom

  [1]Selsius Systemsen.wikipedia.org

  Intecom formally organized the Incite team around a distributed architecture initially aimed at video PBX applications.

An early enterprise IP telephony innovator providing a complete network-based alternative to conventional PBX systems.

• IP telephone · 1997

  Selsius 30SP

  The 30SP was Selsius's principal early IP telephone and is described as the first commercially available IP phone in the company's historical account. It connected through an Ethernet-based IP network and operated as part of the broader Selsius IP-PBX architecture. Five units were sold to Southwestern Bell's TRI laboratory in November 1997, providing an early real-world deployment of the system.

• IP-PBX call-control software · 1997

  Selsius-CallManager

  Selsius-CallManager was the server-based call-processing application at the center of the Selsius IP-PBX. It managed calls from networked IP phones and coordinated related voice services. Following Cisco's acquisition, the product became Cisco CallManager and later Cisco Unified Communications Manager, making it the most enduring part of Selsius's product heritage.

• enterprise communications platform · 1997

  Selsius IP-PBX system

  The Selsius IP-PBX combined IP phones, server call control, voice-over-IP gateways, and voice applications into one enterprise communications system. Its architecture substituted IP networking and software-based control for many functions traditionally delivered by circuit-switched PBXs. The platform provided the foundation for Cisco's subsequent enterprise unified communications portfolio.

• telephony software · 1997

  Selsius voice applications

  Selsius developed supporting applications including voicemail, an automated-attendant console, and a softphone. These applications broadened the system beyond basic IP calling and helped position the company as a provider of an integrated business telephony platform rather than only a handset manufacturer.

• 1998

  Accept Cisco's acquisitionM&A

  Background

  Selsius had developed an early complete IP telephony platform and attracted acquisition interest, including from Nortel Networks.

  Action taken

  Selsius was acquired by Cisco Systems in November 1998, with most employees and the technology moving into Cisco's IP Telephony organization.

  Aftermath

  Selsius-CallManager became Cisco CallManager and ultimately Cisco Unified Communications Manager, while Selsius ceased operating as an independent company.

  Source

• 1997

  Redirect the Incite architecture from video PBX to IP telephonyStrategy

  Background

  The market for Intecom's proposed high-end video PBX was not sufficiently receptive, while the underlying distributed call-control architecture remained technically promising.

  Action taken

  Intecom retained the Incite team and formed Selsius as a dedicated company focused on enterprise voice over IP, IP phones, and software-based call control.

  Aftermath

  The redirected technology became the basis for Selsius-CallManager and later Cisco Unified Communications Manager.

  Source

1. 1Selsius Systemsen.wikipedia.org