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A new partnership between AltiGen and VoSKY (News - Alert) to bring Skype to VoIP
call centers, CRM ASP’s integration of Vonage into its platform, and AT&T’s introduction of a new bundled service to business customers are among the highlights of the VoIP Week in Review for Feb. 25-29.
On Monday, Feb. 25, VoIP phone system maker TalkSwitch announced that UK-based business technology consulting firm Intramation will be distributing its products. Intramation brings a wealth of experience in telephony and VoIP, in addition to a complete portfolio of sales, support and installation services. This will give small businesses in the UK the ideal opportunity to affordably and quickly migrate from traditional telephony solutions to all-IP systems.
Also making news on Monday was Mitel’s (News - Alert) announcement that its Mexico operation grew by 60 percent in 2007, in terms of the number of shipments. The company reportedly experienced the fastest growth rate in the IP PBX market in Mexico last year. In fact Mitel has, over the past five years, expanded its global presence with the opening of several new regional offices, driven by its mission to become a premier provider in emerging markets, as IP Communications begins to dominate the landscape worldwide.
Tuesday brought the news that AltiGen and VoSKY have partnered to bring Skype to VoIP call centers. This partnership brings advanced Skype-based applications and their related cost savings to AltiGen’s VoIP solutions for call centers. The addition of the VoSKY Exchange VoIP application gateway to AltiGen’s complete line of VoIP phone systems gives call centers new remote agent, Web Click2Call, VoIP trunking and global direct inward dial (DID) functionality utilizing Skype. A Skype-certified plug-and-play rackmount appliance, VoSKY Exchange adds enhanced Skype-based VoIP applications as well as Skype trunks to AltiGen’s phone systems by way of analog FXS ports, thus eliminating the need for PCs or headsets to make Skype calls.
Tuesday also brought CRM ASP’s announcement that it has integrated Vonage VoIP services into its CRM platform. Available immediately, this solution brings small businesses full integration with Free CRM and CRM ASP licensed products, providing one-click calling and automating phone dialing and outbound sales campaigns with Vonage. Now, businesses can realize cost savings and reduce complexity by taking advantage of Vonage VoIP services integrated within the FreeCRM.com product. According to the company, FreeCRM.com was the first on-demand CRM product to integrate the Skype calling platform and is now the first to integrate Vonage VoIP services directly within the CRM system. With unlimited data storage and XML data integration, Microsoft Outlook integration, Palm, BlackBerry (News - Alert) and Pocket PC support, and Vonage VoIP integration, FreeCRM.com may be considered an alternative to Salesforce.com and other CRM products with Web-based solutions or on-premises licensing options, according to CRM ASP. With an easy migration path from GoldMine, ACT, Salesforce, and SugarCRM (News - Alert), the product is a low-cost alternative and provides a flexible upgrade path or on-premises, licensed software solutions.
Also making the TMCnet headlines on Tuesday was Sangoma Technologies’ announcement that Mexico-based Neocenter is now distributing Sangoma’s telephony boards and other products. Neocenter is a distributor of open standards-based VoIP products, services, and solutions for call centers and data networks. Sangoma’s premium product line, combined with Neocenter’s fast, friendly service and efficient technical support will offer customers the infrastructure and applications needed to design and implement complex VoIP networks.
Tuesday also brought Pannaway Networks’ introduction of its new 2.5 GPON access modules and higher speed 10GbE transport fabric for its award-winning MAGNM-20 Multi-Service Access Platform (MSAP), which is at the center of its Service Convergence Network (SCNTM) architecture. With these new product offerings, Pannaway customers can leverage high-density copper, active Ethernet and 2.5 GPON using the same, fully managed carrier-grade Ethernet/IP platform. As per a company press release, the new MAGNM-20 2.5 GPON OLT blade provides four, 2.5/1.2 OLT ports, resulting in a capacity to service of more than 2,300 end points per chassis. Pannaway claims service providers can seamlessly upgrade to include 2.5 GPON “without any service disruptions.” Meanwhile the new MAGNM-20 10GbE Fabric enables operators to boost the speed of transport along the fiber ring to 10Gbps. Pannaway claims the resultant increase in throughput means “the network is never starved on bandwidth and can support popular subscriber functions like streaming Internet video and IPTV.” These new additions will enter customer beta trials in Q2.
Yet another item of interest on Tuesday was IP PBX and gateway manufacturer Epygi Technologies’ announcement that its new line of small and medium business telephony appliances, the Quadro 6L, is now widely available. As per company officials, Epygi designed the Quadro 6L for environments that require multiple ringing phones and shared trunk appearance visibility. Mario Cuello, president at Epygi, said “There will always be work environments where all employees are responsible for answering phones. Retail is a prime example. Warehouses, service shops, small dispatch centers or help desks come to mind that require a Key System solution.” He pointed out that Quadro 6L works with a number of Aastra (News - Alert) IP phones to display which trunks are busy or on hold. The new system offers voice mail, auto attendant, on-hold music or messaging, caller ID with distinctive ringing, call pickup, paging and intercom. In addition it includes six separate FXO ports for up to six PSTN lines, and also a WAN port for optional Internet calls. It provides for as many as ten local extensions through LAN connection.
On Wednesday, VoIP solutions provider Intelliverse announced that it has selected Endeavor Telecom to deliver onsite installation services and order fulfillment logistical services as a part of the company’s overall turnkey VoIP solution. The alliance will enable service providers and agents to offer professional, private label installation services for Intelliverse’s COMPLETEcall solution including hosted IP PBX systems and SIP Trunking. By using Intelliverse’s turnkey VoIP solutions, service providers can rapidly deploy a VoIP-based calling service with a minimal investment and time.
Sangoma Technologies made the TMCnet headlines again on Thursday, this time for the recent introduction of its new A142 and A144 data cards. These high-speed, two-port and four-port synchronous serial data cards reduce system load. Replacing the legacy S5141 and S5142 cards, they are said to improve system efficiency, and support multi-megabit speeds on all ports. The design of the cards is based on the same advanced engineering as the AFT product line. As part of Sangoma’s networking product line, the updated cards are ideal for communicating mission critical radar control and surveillance data, essential to modern air and sea communications. Improvements include field upgradeable firmware, a choice of PCI or PCI Express interface, 2U form factor and two or four high speed RS232 or V.35/X.21/EIA530 ports.
On Friday, IP PBX player 3CX and VoIP phone system maker snom technology AG announced that their products are now officially interoperable. The certified interoperability between these products ensures that small and medium businesses have access to a reliable and affordable VoIP solution when using 3CX's software-based IP PBX for Windows together with snom's VoIP-based products.
Also making news on Friday was TalkSwitch’s announcement that its IP PBXs are now compatible with Gamma Telecom's IP DirectConnect service. Talkswitch telephone systems are designed especially for small businesses and it has global network of resellers, distributors and partners. The company’s hybrid phone systems help small businesses communicate effectively. The Gamma Telecom’s IP DirectConnect platform enables the TalkSwitch IP PBX to work with the Gamma Telecom network said TalkSwitch. The company specializes in the design and manufacture of innovative telephone systems suited for small businesses and businesses with several branches. This interoperability enables the resellers of both companies to offer a variety of IP Telephony solutions that they can give to their business customers.
Yet another item of interest on Friday was Codima Technologies’ announcement that it has released its Codima Pre Deployment Test Reports. These reports give access to VoIP readiness test results depicted in a graphical manner, which show predicted QoS levels and recommended phone loading per codec in a MS Word document. Codima provides best practice software tools for VoIP Management and Infrastructure Inventory. The test reports give summarized VoIP pre-assessment results in graphical views. The graphical representations include VoIP statistics on percentage frame loss versus phone loading and jitter versus phone loading, all presented in a Word document.
Last but most definitely not least was Friday’s announcement from AT&T that it is now offering a new bundled service for business customers converging voice, Internet and data communications over a single network connection. Dubbed “AT&T Business in a Box,” the new bundled service is aimed at small to midsize businesses as well as branch offices of corporate companies. According to AT&T, the solution brings the benefits of big-business innovation to small and medium businesses. The new bundle includes an Internet telephone system with Internet access, virtual private network capabilities, Wi-Fi data access capabilities and a local area network. In a press release posted on its website, San Antonio-based AT&T says “Business in a Box” is suited for retail sites, health care clinics, restaurants and financial, legal and real estate offices.
Well, that’s it for this past week’s VoIP Week-in-Review. If you want to catch up on more IP Communications news from this past week, check out the TMCnet Contact Center Week-in-Review, Wireless Week-in-Review, or Mobile Week-in-Review. Or just peruse the thousands of new articles found every day here on TMCnet, the most popular website focused on the telecommunications industry in the world.
-----------
For all the latest enterprise IP communications, unified communications, and contact center news, please click here.
Don’t forget to check out TMCnet’s White Paper Library, which provides a selection of in-depth information on relevant topics affecting the IP Communications industry. The library offers white papers, case studies and other documents which are free to registered users.
Today’s featured White Paper is titled Security Considerations for an IP PBX and Contact Center, brought to you by Interactive Intelligence.
call centers, CRM ASP’s integration of Vonage into its platform, and AT&T’s introduction of a new bundled service to business customers are among the highlights of the VoIP Week in Review for Feb. 25-29.On Monday, Feb. 25, VoIP phone system maker TalkSwitch announced that UK-based business technology consulting firm Intramation will be distributing its products. Intramation brings a wealth of experience in telephony and VoIP, in addition to a complete portfolio of sales, support and installation services. This will give small businesses in the UK the ideal opportunity to affordably and quickly migrate from traditional telephony solutions to all-IP
systems.Also making news on Monday was Mitel’s (News - Alert) announcement that its Mexico operation grew by 60 percent in 2007, in terms of the number of shipments. The company reportedly experienced the fastest growth rate in the IP PBX market in Mexico last year. In fact Mitel has, over the past five years, expanded its global presence with the opening of several new regional offices, driven by its mission to become a premier provider in emerging markets, as IP Communications begins to dominate the landscape worldwide.
Tuesday brought the news that AltiGen and VoSKY have partnered to bring Skype to VoIP call centers. This partnership brings advanced Skype-based applications and their related cost savings to AltiGen’s VoIP solutions for call centers. The addition of the VoSKY Exchange VoIP application gateway to AltiGen’s complete line of VoIP phone systems gives call centers new remote agent, Web Click2Call, VoIP trunking and global direct inward dial (DID) functionality utilizing Skype. A Skype-certified plug-and-play rackmount appliance, VoSKY Exchange adds enhanced Skype-based VoIP applications as well as Skype trunks to AltiGen’s phone systems by way of analog FXS ports, thus eliminating the need for PCs or headsets to make Skype calls.
Tuesday also brought CRM ASP’s announcement that it has integrated Vonage VoIP services into its CRM platform. Available immediately, this solution brings small businesses full integration with Free CRM and CRM ASP licensed products, providing one-click calling and automating phone dialing and outbound sales campaigns with Vonage. Now, businesses can realize cost savings and reduce complexity by taking advantage of Vonage VoIP services integrated within the FreeCRM.com product. According to the company, FreeCRM.com was the first on-demand CRM product to integrate the Skype calling platform and is now the first to integrate Vonage VoIP services directly within the CRM system. With unlimited data storage and XML data integration, Microsoft Outlook integration, Palm, BlackBerry (News - Alert) and Pocket PC support, and Vonage VoIP integration, FreeCRM.com may be considered an alternative to Salesforce.com and other CRM products with Web-based solutions or on-premises licensing options, according to CRM ASP. With an easy migration path from GoldMine, ACT, Salesforce, and SugarCRM (News - Alert), the product is a low-cost alternative and provides a flexible upgrade path or on-premises, licensed software solutions.
Also making the TMCnet headlines on Tuesday was Sangoma Technologies’ announcement that Mexico-based Neocenter is now distributing Sangoma’s telephony boards and other products. Neocenter is a distributor of open standards-based VoIP products, services, and solutions for call centers and data networks. Sangoma’s premium product line, combined with Neocenter’s fast, friendly service and efficient technical support will offer customers the infrastructure and applications needed to design and implement complex VoIP networks.
Tuesday also brought Pannaway Networks’ introduction of its new 2.5 GPON
access modules and higher speed 10GbE transport fabric for its award-winning MAGNM-20 Multi-Service Access Platform (MSAP), which is at the center of its Service Convergence Network (SCNTM) architecture. With these new product offerings, Pannaway customers can leverage high-density copper, active Ethernet and 2.5 GPON using the same, fully managed carrier-grade Ethernet/IP platform. As per a company press release, the new MAGNM-20 2.5 GPON OLT blade provides four, 2.5/1.2 OLT ports, resulting in a capacity to service of more than 2,300 end points per chassis. Pannaway claims service providers can seamlessly upgrade to include 2.5 GPON “without any service disruptions.” Meanwhile the new MAGNM-20 10GbE Fabric enables operators to boost the speed of transport along the fiber ring to 10Gbps. Pannaway claims the resultant increase in throughput means “the network is never starved on bandwidth and can support popular subscriber functions like streaming Internet video and IPTV.” These new additions will enter customer beta trials in Q2.Yet another item of interest on Tuesday was IP PBX and gateway manufacturer Epygi Technologies’ announcement that its new line of small and medium business telephony appliances, the Quadro 6L, is now widely available. As per company officials, Epygi designed the Quadro 6L for environments that require multiple ringing phones and shared trunk appearance visibility. Mario Cuello, president at Epygi, said “There will always be work environments where all employees are responsible for answering phones. Retail is a prime example. Warehouses, service shops, small dispatch centers or help desks come to mind that require a Key System solution.” He pointed out that Quadro 6L works with a number of Aastra (News - Alert) IP phones to display which trunks are busy or on hold. The new system offers voice mail, auto attendant, on-hold music or messaging, caller ID with distinctive ringing, call pickup, paging and intercom. In addition it includes six separate FXO ports for up to six PSTN
lines, and also a WAN port for optional Internet calls. It provides for as many as ten local extensions through LAN connection.On Wednesday, VoIP solutions provider Intelliverse announced that it has selected Endeavor Telecom to deliver onsite installation services and order fulfillment logistical services as a part of the company’s overall turnkey VoIP solution. The alliance will enable service providers and agents to offer professional, private label installation services for Intelliverse’s COMPLETEcall solution including hosted IP PBX systems and SIP Trunking. By using Intelliverse’s turnkey VoIP solutions, service providers can rapidly deploy a VoIP-based calling service with a minimal investment and time.
Sangoma Technologies made the TMCnet headlines again on Thursday, this time for the recent introduction of its new A142 and A144 data cards. These high-speed, two-port and four-port synchronous serial data cards reduce system load. Replacing the legacy S5141 and S5142 cards, they are said to improve system efficiency, and support multi-megabit speeds on all ports. The design of the cards is based on the same advanced engineering as the AFT product line. As part of Sangoma’s networking product line, the updated cards are ideal for communicating mission critical radar control and surveillance data, essential to modern air and sea communications. Improvements include field upgradeable firmware, a choice of PCI or PCI Express interface, 2U form factor and two or four high speed RS232 or V.35/X.21/EIA530 ports.
On Friday, IP PBX player 3CX and VoIP phone system maker snom technology AG announced that their products are now officially interoperable. The certified interoperability between these products ensures that small and medium businesses have access to a reliable and affordable VoIP solution when using 3CX's software-based IP PBX for Windows together with snom's VoIP-based products.
Also making news on Friday was TalkSwitch’s announcement that its IP PBXs are now compatible with Gamma Telecom's IP DirectConnect service. Talkswitch telephone systems are designed especially for small businesses and it has global network of resellers, distributors and partners. The company’s hybrid phone systems help small businesses communicate effectively. The Gamma Telecom’s IP DirectConnect platform enables the TalkSwitch IP PBX to work with the Gamma Telecom network said TalkSwitch. The company specializes in the design and manufacture of innovative telephone systems suited for small businesses and businesses with several branches. This interoperability enables the resellers of both companies to offer a variety of IP Telephony solutions that they can give to their business customers.
Yet another item of interest on Friday was Codima Technologies’ announcement that it has released its Codima Pre Deployment Test Reports. These reports give access to VoIP readiness test results depicted in a graphical manner, which show predicted QoS levels and recommended phone loading per codec in a MS Word document. Codima provides best practice software tools for VoIP Management and Infrastructure Inventory. The test reports give summarized VoIP pre-assessment results in graphical views. The graphical representations include VoIP statistics on percentage frame loss versus phone loading and jitter versus phone loading, all presented in a Word document.
Last but most definitely not least was Friday’s announcement from AT&T that it is now offering a new bundled service for business customers converging voice, Internet and data communications over a single network connection. Dubbed “AT&T Business in a Box,” the new bundled service is aimed at small to midsize businesses as well as branch offices of corporate companies. According to AT&T, the solution brings the benefits of big-business innovation to small and medium businesses. The new bundle includes an Internet telephone system with Internet access, virtual private network capabilities, Wi-Fi
data access capabilities and a local area network. In a press release posted on its website, San Antonio-based AT&T says “Business in a Box” is suited for retail sites, health care clinics, restaurants and financial, legal and real estate offices.Well, that’s it for this past week’s VoIP Week-in-Review. If you want to catch up on more IP Communications news from this past week, check out the TMCnet Contact Center Week-in-Review, Wireless Week-in-Review, or Mobile Week-in-Review. Or just peruse the thousands of new articles found every day here on TMCnet, the most popular website focused on the telecommunications industry in the world.
-----------
For all the latest enterprise IP communications, unified communications, and contact center news, please click here.
Don’t forget to check out TMCnet’s White Paper Library, which provides a selection of in-depth information on relevant topics affecting the IP Communications industry. The library offers white papers, case studies and other documents which are free to registered users.
Today’s featured White Paper is titled Security Considerations for an IP PBX and Contact Center, brought to you by Interactive Intelligence.
