Bicom Systems

March 28, 2017, 5:13 am

≪ Previous: Computer Telephony Distributing

Bicom Systems provides the Communicating World with the most Complete Turnkey Communication Systems available by Creating, Unifying and Supporting the Most Advanced of Current Technologies.

History

Bicom Systems Ltd. was founded in 2005 to exploit its PBXware product.
PBXware was the first Commercial Turnkey Telephony System to use Open Source software including Asterisk.

Among the first customers to use PBXware was Redhat. The business model of Bicom Systems does hold similarities to Redhat in the manner by which it wraps Open Source software in a professional and charge for model, warranted to work.

In 2008 Bicom Systems delivered a custom built conferencing solution to NASA to facilitate the holding of scientific study groups such as the Inter Planetary Conference.

In 2009 Bicom Systems launched its Multi-Tenant Edition of PBXware.

In 2010 Bicom Systems began a relationship with NEC to provide a hosted Telephony Platform to businesses across Australia.

Bicom Systems published How to Grow an ITSP.

Products

PBXware Or check out the PBXware Wiki
- Business PBX
- Call Center PBX
- Multi-Tenant PBX Or check out the Multi-Tenant PBX Wiki
- VoipSwitch Or check out the VoipSwitch Wiki
TELCOware
- Server Edition
- Network Edition
SERVERware
- Server Edition
- Network Edition
gloCOM
- Enterprise
- Call Center

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Bicom Systems Soft Switch

March 28, 2017, 6:08 am

≫ Next: softswitch

≪ Previous: Bicom Systems

Bicom Systems has just published a comprehensive Multi-Tenant Comparison Table. Download the PDF or visit the HTML Table today!

Our Multi-Tenant PBX edition of PBXware can be used as a VoIP softswitch while giving Telecom Service Providers a powerful platform to serve the IP-PBX market in the cloud. Aside from being a Class 5 softswitch, Multi-Tenant PBX offers unlimited hosted IP-PBX multi tenants, unlimited resellers, user/company self portal, and LCR.

To read more about our VoIP softswitch, read What is a Soft Switch?

Class 5 voipswitch

Other Bicom Systems Wikis:

softswitch

March 28, 2017, 7:37 am

≫ Next: SD-WAN

≪ Previous: Bicom Systems Soft Switch

Softswitch is a central device in a telecommunications network which connects telephone calls from one phone line to another, across a telecommunication network or the public Internet, entirely by means of software running on a general-purpose system. Most landline calls are routed by purpose-built electronic hardware however, soft switches using general purpose servers and VoIP technology are becoming more popular.
Nowadays, many telecommunications networks make use of combinations of softswitches and more traditional purpose-built hardware.

A softswitch is also a VoIP server, providing a soft switch platform with full IP PBX call features. The most difference from IP PBX is its enormous numbers of users.

Typical application networking diagram

Softswitch Manufacturers and Providers

Sonus Softswitch

Sonus is one of the pioneers of Softswitch technology, delivering it's first version PSX6000 in 2001. Since then Sonus established itself as a major global supplier of carrier-grade, highly scalable solutions.
- Proven performance and scale even under the most adverse conditions
- Complete network protection against Denial of Service (DoS) and Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack
- Robust features expected in a high-end softswitch, including media transcoding, encryption/authentication, centralized policy management and broad signaling interworking

Cloud Sonus Softswitch is offered by R&R Managed Telecom Service

Vox Switch
Vox Switch is carrier grade softswitch platform from Voxvalley Technologies that is soon becoming a favorite choice for service providers and carriers across the globe. Vox Switch facilitates service providers to carry out routing, billing, reporting & monitoring of their VoIP services.
Vox Switch platform is flexible to allow hassle free migration from other softswitches without any data loss.
Get a Vox Switch Free Quote

Vox Switch includes numerous advanced features
● Multi-level reseller user management.
● Multi-branding support.
● DID Management.
● Tariff plan, Balance, Payment and Voucher management.
● Advanced Routing.
● Invoicing & Billing.
● Real-time Reporting.
● IVR Routing.
Get a Vox Switch Free Quote

iTel Switch
iTel Switch is a single Softswitch platform for global Retail, Wholesale, Calling card & Call shop business. Being a highly customizable and scalable VoIP Softswitch with integrated billing, it serves as an ideal platform for all the VoIP service providers who want to provide a wide range of VoIP services.

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SD-WAN

March 28, 2017, 3:50 pm

≫ Next: Asterisk Consultants Fiji

≪ Previous: softswitch

What is SD-WAN?

With enterprise level WANs becoming more complex and expensive to manage, SD-WAN is stepping in to provide a simpler and more cost effective option. Software-defined WAN, SD-WAN for short, has seen a huge impact in data centers where automation of systems is essential. SD-WAN allows IT teams to create virtual networks at the enterprise level, allows for micro-segmentation, and integrates service chaining. The functionality of SD-WAN is slowly improving networking towards total automation.

Aside from its use in data centers, SD-WAN is helping lower the cost and complexity of enterprise WAN. Connecting dozens of remote offices together using provider based MPLS is doable with the right connectivity, but expensive. Other broadband options provide a much more bandwidth at a lower cost, but with limited functionality compared to MPLS cloud.

The best solution would be for companies to use broadband connections to handle the majority of their networking tasks while reserving MPLS connections for mission and time critical data. It is possible to configure systems to handle this hybrid network, but implementation is complex and constant updates would be required as network traffic changes. SD-WAN addresses these complexities and simplifies these optimal hybrid networks providing a multitude of benefits.

Cost Effective

SD-WAN allows companies to rely less on expensive MPLS and more on cheaper broadband. SD-WAN actively measures network parameters to identify if the broadband connection will be able to handle voice or video traffic effectively. The technology can also be configured to reroute traffic in order to guarantee quality of service if it is required for certain periods. This allows companies to reduce expenses and increase broadband services through the use of SD-WAN.

Simplified Operations

Hybrid WAN configurations, involving both MPLS and broadband connections, are challenging to configure. Routing protocols will identify their shortest path and not account for changes in network traffic resulting in lost packets, collisions, and other congestion. IP SLA or PfR can override normal routing protocols but are just as difficult to configure properly.

SD-WAN works to automatically route and reroute traffic as network conditions allow. The IT team only needs to set up the SD-WAN application and the program will handle the details. This removes the complexity from the IT team and places it onto the SD-WAN to solve.

Improved Flexibility

The dynamic adaptations that SD-WAN provides changes the way WAN operates providing additional flexibility to traditional services. In addition to the network flexibility, SD-WAN provides companies with improved flexibility as their IT teams and budget are no longer as constrained.

Challenges of SD-WAN

The biggest challenge before switching to SD-WAN lies in determining ROI. Capital and operating expenses need to be carefully calculated to determine whether SD-WAN will reduce overall WAN costs. SD-WAN used in combination with more broadband links allows companies access to more bandwidth and private connections. However, companies that do not require private connections can rely solely on broadband.

ROI calculations will reveal if SD-WAN will reduce costs. One downside of companies cutting their MPLS services is that many MPLS providers lock users into multiyear contracts that can be hard to break. Early termination fees and service level agreements could add costs and lower ROI.

Vendors must be compared when choosing an SD-WAN solution. There is a variety of SD-WAN products on the market, they are all different and are not compatible with one another. Some programs focus on WAN layers while others replace WAN hardware completely. Companies must factor in long term plans as changing SD-WAN programs in the future could be difficult.

It is generally agreed that SD-WAN solutions must be integrated into a company's WAN. Hardware replacement and depreciation are a factor. This hidden cost could sum up to a significant portion of expenses making SD-WAN too costly to be an effective solution.

Various SD-WAN Solutions

Numerous companies have developed their own SD-WAN solutions. Each solution offers pros and cons and must be compared to a company's specific needs. Check out the full SD-WAN Vendors page for more.

Cisco Intelligent WAN (IWAN) was designed to allow users to create WAN over whichever transport method they are currently using, ie. LTE, the internet, or even MPLS. ...

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Asterisk Consultants Fiji

March 28, 2017, 8:24 pm

≫ Next: Wahsega Labs

≪ Previous: SD-WAN

Voice Services Fiji

Location: Suva
Offering: SMB PBX, Call Center Services, Database Integration, IVR, Speech Rec
Asterisk Support, Condifiguration, Pre-configured appliance devices, SIP phones, Skype integration
FOIP, VOIP
Contact:support@theasteriskguy.com.au

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Wahsega Labs

March 29, 2017, 5:16 pm

≫ Next: VoIP Hardware

≪ Previous: Asterisk Consultants Fiji

Wahsega Labs is the designer and manufacturer of the highest quality VoIP products in the market. Our team is made up of industry veterans with experience in design, manufacturing, software development, sales and support. From the very beginning, we have designed our products, support and culture specifically for installers.

We take pride in providing our valued installers with a product that they can stand behind with confidence. Both during an installation and well after its completion, it is the installer who takes on responsibility for a product's performance. This is why we have taken years to develop the highest quality products available and, crucially, provide them directly to our installers. If you need help, have a question or want to provide feedback, you can pick up the phone and talk directly to our team.

The key to our success is maintaining the very highest quality in our products, and we achieve this by designing, developing and manufacturing those products right here in the USA. Our metal comes from Tennessee, stamping work from Wisconsin and internal circuitry from Georgia. Our products are assembled, finished and shipped to you from our facility in north Georgia. We are proud to support American jobs and manufacturing and committed to the highest standards of excellence throughout our product lines.

Recent Blog Articles

Only the strongest products survive Wahsega Labs "Bed of Nails" testing
In the search for ever higher quality in its products, Wahsega Labs developed it's own customized testing to weed out and crush flaws...read more

By Reducing Wiring, Hospitals Can Realize Huge Savings
It seems that finding new ways to save ever-tightening hospital budgets is getting exponentially more difficult every year. Healthcare institutions utilize group purchasing organizations (GPOs) to leverage economies of scale. Cutthroat bidding for pieces of shrinking budgets can only take us so far...read more

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Over the years, businesses across the United States have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in analog public address equipment to allow wide-area communications like paging...read more

Wahsega IP Intercom Built Tough as Nails
Companies like to brag when they produce an unusually tough product. Television commercials are full of well-known automotive brands chest thumping over whose...read more

Wahsega Labs Decides on Home Grown Technology
Wahsega Labs made a pragmatic decision when it came time to pick where to build their products. They chose made in the U.S.A...read more

Product line

InformaCast® Endpoints
Learn more about Wahsega Labs Simple IP control solutions with InformaCast. ...

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VoIP Hardware

March 29, 2017, 5:27 pm

≫ Next: Virtual PBX

≪ Previous: Wahsega Labs

This page lists information about VoIP hardware and VoIP hardware products. For phones and hardware to use with Asterisk, including VoIP phones (both hard and soft phones) and Analog Telephone Adapters, see Asterisk phones.

PSTN Interface cards (analog, GSM, ISDN-PRI and R2/MFC)

This section contains VoIP hardware for connecting analog or digital phone lines from the Public Switched Telephone Network to your Asterisk server. Please keep VoIP hardware providers in alphabetical order.

.e4 VoIP Hardware

2-Day Direct

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Virtual PBX

March 30, 2017, 3:26 am

≫ Next: Cloud PBX

≪ Previous: VoIP Hardware

Virtual PBX is a budget-friendly form of hosted VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) that usually only handles inbound calls. A virtual PBX is typically intended for small business VoIP customers with fewer than 10 employees and low-volume telephone traffic.

Page Contents

What Is Virtual PBX?

A virtual PBX is an economy-class version of hosted PBX. Hosted and virtual PBX systems are business VoIP PBX phone systems that transmit calls over the Internet as data.

A virtual PBX offers inexpensive business VoIP telephone service to small businesses. As with a hosted PBX phone systems, a virtual PBX is owned and maintained off-site by a VoIP service provider. A virtual PBX enables a small business telephone system to access enterprise-level features such as auto attendants and voicemail. With virtual PBX small business telephone systems, small start-ups, mom-and-pop shops, freelancers, and entrepreneurs can all present a professional image to vendors, investors, and customers.

Depending on the service provider, a virtual PBX phone system may require a separate phone service for outbound calls.

Virtual PBX Features

Virtual PBX phone systems offer lower costs and fewer features than hosted PBX phone services. Compared to hosted PBX small business telephone systems, virtual PBX service is limited to the most basic fundamentals of business-oriented call controls. Virtual PBX is geared toward simple inbound call-routing for SoHo offices with few personnel, small budgets, and limited calling needs. As with many hosted PBX calling services, most virtual PBX phone systems do not require a contract or term commitment.

Standard features offered with most virtual PBX plans are:

Voicemail
Auto attendant
Unlimited call handling (no busy signals)
Call forwarding

Limitations

Virtual PBX phone systems generally:

Handle only inbound calls
Offer a limited number of extensions
May not include Fax over IP (FoIP) services
Include a set amount of free minutes
May not offer voicemail-to-email
May not include international long-distance coverage
May not offer Internet fax service
May charge extra for conference calling

The features offered vary by virtual PBX VoIP provider. As VoIP service becomes a more common solution for small business telephone systems, many virtual PBX plan features are incorporating the more advanced features of hosted PBX phone systems. Compare plans and prices to determine the best virtual PBX solution.

Cost

Virtual PBX phone prices depend on a variety of factors, such as the features included. Virtual PBX phone service plans can start as low as $9.95 (Grasshopper) per month.

Virtual PBX Service Providers

Some virtual PBX providers include:

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Cloud PBX

March 30, 2017, 3:36 am

≫ Next: Call Center Software

≪ Previous: Virtual PBX

A cloud PBX system is a based on cloud computing technology, where data is stored and transferred over the Internet, rather than on a computer or piece of hardware that an end-user owns.

Cloud technology that has been around for many years, but has only more recently become popular for consumer use with the introduction of programs like MobileMe and the iCloud, both consumer-based cloud computing technologies.

History of the Cloud

Cloud technology has many applications for businesses and consumers. In the mid-1990’s, companies that had previously used “point-to-point” data circuits to move and store data began to use a cloud technology instead as they found that this was a cheaper way to do the same tasks, and made more efficient use of bandwidth.

The term “cloud” likely refers to the drawings of clouds used by its program developers to represent the abstraction of the Internet. The symbol was used to mark the division between responsibilities of the service provider company and the responsibilities of the customer.

Cloud technology means that you can access the data and services of your cloud from any device connected to the Internet. So, with a cloud PBX provider, you can use all of the standard PBX features without the need of an actual PBX in your home or office.

What is PBX? What is Cloud PBX?

PBX, or public branch exchange, is the name used to refer to the technology that any given telephone provider uses to route calls. Originally, a PBX was a large unit of hardware that had to be stored on site and operated by hand. These machines could be very costly for a company, as they were large, needed special storage facilities, needed regular repairs, and had to be operated manually.

Companies with multiple phones and many employees can’t function properly without some kind of PBX technology in the office. In more recent years, a PBX could be made to operate automatically, without an operator, but even these devices were expensive and complicated (the cheapest are around $400). And if a business needed to move to a new location, or add or remove a phone line, the process could be very costly and time consuming.

Initial cost and upkeep of traditional PBX vs cloud PBX

Traditional PBX: About $5,000 including cost of installation and new equipment fees. $10.00/hour for an operator. If managed without an operator, can still run to around $300 or $400 for upkeep and Internet connection.
handSIP Hosted PBX— Plans from $21.95/month include unlimited calling within US/Canada
RingCentral Virtual PBX: $19.99/month plus $0.049/additional minute
Cebod Telecom: $19.99/month All Inclusive and Unlimited Call
Vocalocity Virtual Extension:$14.99/month plus $0.03/additional minute
RingOffice Cloud Phone System: Plans from $10/month
Switchvox Cloud by Digium: $29/month, unlimited minutes and all UC features included
MultiTEL Cloud Hosted PBX— free for up to 5 users, $0.0095 for calls to US/Canada
VoIPstudio : A Simple and Powerful Cloud Based Business PBX System. Plans start from $ 4.99/Month
MySmarttel+ cloud PBX at € 7.8/month, +unlimited call recording and storage at € 6. ...

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Call Center Software

March 30, 2017, 7:00 am

≫ Next: Gorillow

≪ Previous: Cloud PBX

Call center software is the software system that allows a company or organization to run a call center. This page lets you compare call center software providers.

There are hundreds of different providers of call center software across the globe, and every call center software system has its pros and cons. When selecting the right call center software for your business, contact center, or call center, it's important to decide which features you want your phone system to have.

Types of Call Center Software

ACD helps productivity by assigning inbound agents to incoming calls. The automatic call distributor uses a set of instructions to determine who gets the call in the system. The algorithm can route calls based on agent skill or whoever has an idle phone. ACD can use caller ID or automatic number identification, but usually interactive voice response is enough to help the system determine the reason for the call.

An automatic call distributor can also take advantage of computer telephony integration. Agents can receive relevant data on their computers along with the incoming call.

Computer telephony integration is a broad category of software that connects telephone and computer systems. Computer telephony integration software can have both desktop and server functions. Various applications make up a system that can control phones, display call information, and route and report calls.

Interactive voice response allows callers to route themselves to the appropriate department or use the company’s database for assistance. More sophisticated interactive voice response systems can access accounts and perform certain tasks, such as activating a credit card through a bank’s phone system. IVR involves using dial tone multi-frequency or voice commands. In the VoIP industry, a PBX auto attendant is near interchangeable with IVR. However, auto attendants are not capable of speech recognition.

A predictive dialer calls a list of phone numbers at once. Outbound agents are then connected to the numbers that answer. A predictive dialer uses calculations to minimize the idle time of agents and the potential of losing answered calls when no agents are available.

Contact Center Software

For contact centers, software includes applications for chat, email, and web interaction in addition to telephony functions.

Call Center Software Providers

This is a list of call center software providers and developers. Please keep this list in alphabetical order.

Dialer360 is Call Center Software which provides you inbound, outbound and blended services on high voltage and low cost for your call center. It is the complete telecom solution including Omni Channel, communication with your customers by using Email, SMS, Web chat and Social Media (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google) etc. It can be integrated with the CRM of your choice. It gives you services for 24/7 and make sure your data save. It will make your call center to compete with the modern technology in the market. ...

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Gorillow

March 30, 2017, 10:33 am

≫ Next: Asterisk-based commercial PBX

≪ Previous: Call Center Software

Gorillow.com is a specialty provider of Voice-Over-IP (VoIP) products, business telecom hardware, IP cameras, audio alerters and a large variety of networking components. Since being founded in 2011 as a B2B, our marketing has expanded into online retail. We are a family owned company that has been growing by leaps and bounds in recent years.

Due to our close relationships with our manufacturers, we are able to provide you with amazing products and excellent service at tremendous discounts.

Browse our hand-picked selection of high quality voip phone equipment, networking equipment and security systems components. Register for your Free Pro Account today to save up to 20% on all our products.

Create your Pro Account Here and start saving today.

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Fanvil recently unveiled their new Gigabit IP Enterprise Phone, the X4G. It has quickly become one of the best selling IP phones for 2017 and a top seller in its class. This is thanks to incredible engineering and a robust feature-set, including dual-color screens. Here at Gorillow...read more

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Asterisk-based commercial PBX

March 30, 2017, 12:46 pm

≫ Next: Hosted PBX

≪ Previous: Gorillow

Here is a list of producers of ready-made, black box PBXs that are based on Asterisk (in no particular order):

Bicom Systems

Bicom Systems is the creator of Telco-in-a-Box, the most complete IP PBX Unified Communications solution for ITSPs, Service Providers, CLECs, and more. Telco-in-a-Box meets all of your telecom needs including telephony, billing, mobility, security, and more in one tidy package. With unmatched compatibility, stability, and reliability, Telco-in-a-Box is the tool to build and grow a telecom. The product suite includes:

SERVERware is a Cloud IP Services Delivery Platform
PBXware is an IP-PBX turnkey business communications platform
TELCOware is a provisioning platform that performs billing, accounts, and more
sipPROT is an advanced SIP security module
sipMON is a SIP monitoring module that analyzes and improves VoIP calls
gloCOM is a desktop and mobile Unified Communications app

A Zycoo Asterisk 13 System

A Zycoo Asterisk V.13 base VoIP phone systems is user friendly and license free IP PBX system, includes optional telephony interfaces: PSTN, GSM, WCDMA, E1/T1, ISDN BRI. UC Pro& CooCall Softphone expand user's mobility, security, productivity and collaboration.

Visit our website Zycoo to drop us an email or give us a call for more information.

VoIP Phone Systems
- CooVox-U20 2FXO/FXO+FXS/2FXS/1GSM/2xISDN BRI IP PBX, 30 users & 15 concurrent calls.
- CooVox-U50 PSTN, GSM, WCDMA IP PBX, 100 users & 30 concurrent calls.
- CooVox-U80 PSTN, GSM, WCDMA, E1/T1, ISDN BRI IP PBX, 200 users & 60 concurrent calls.
- CooVox-U100 PSTN, GSM, WCDMA, E1/T1, ISDN BRI IP PBX, 500 users & 100 concurrent calls. ...

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Hosted PBX

March 30, 2017, 1:05 pm

≫ Next: Thirdlane Call Center

≪ Previous: Asterisk-based commercial PBX

What is Hosted PBX?

Unlike a traditional PBX, or Private Branch Exchange, which requires a large investment and ongoing maintenance and training, a hosted PBX is a cloud-based PBX system accessible via an IP network. Rather than being responsible for hardware, software, training, maintenance, and more, a hosted PBX provider takes care of it all. In addition to being completely managed off-site, resulting in no IT or installation costs, a hosted PBX system also provides businesses with the ability to manage their phone systems via a user-friendly control panel. For these reasons and more, hosted PBX systems are becoming increasingly popular solutions for today’s growing small to medium-sized business owners.

Features and Benefits of Hosted PBX

If you own a business with fewer than 300 lines, hosted PBX can provide you with a multitude of features and benefits. For starters, a hosted PBX system is much less expensive than a traditional on-site system. With hosted PBX, there is no need to buy expensive hardware and software, pay for installation, and manage the system. You simply pay a monthly fee and enjoy all of the benefits of the service.

While less costly than standard on-site PBX systems, hosted PBX solutions are teeming with valuable features, such as on-hold music, call waiting, call routing, transfers, and more. Moreover, as the popularity of hosted PBX continues to grow, additional features like auto attendants, extension dialing, and ACD queues are being introduced.

A hosted PBX can also be deployed immediately. In fact, most business owners are able to have their hosted PBX setup and running in under a day. Best of all, newer and more flexible hosted PBX applications are being deployed as well. Adding these applications and features can typically be done with a simple download or click of the mouse.

The ability to add new features as they roll out is just one example of the scalability of hosted PBX. Additional lines, phones, and even an entire new department can effortlessly be added, which would be much more complex with a traditional on-site PBX.

When you opt for a hosted PBX and outsource all the techie stuff, you will find your stress levels lowering as well. With a hosted PBX, a mountain of responsibility will be taken off your shoulders, allowing you to focus your attention on more important matters, like improving your bottom line.

Hosted PBX Tips and Considerations

Hosted PBX systems are incredibly easy to setup and utilize, but there are a few things you need to do when opting for one of these modern business phone solutions, such as:

Make Phone Number Arrangements – A temporary phone number is necessary for the porting process, but if you already have an existing number to port over, you must remain with your current provider until the number is ported to your new PBX provider. If you are getting a new number, it’s important to update others and let them know of the change through an email blast or similar means. While brief, all calls can be conveniently routed to cell phones during the transition period. Just remember, if you cancel your service with your previous carrier prior to porting your number, the number will no longer be yours to keep.
Arrange Your Dial Plan – When switching over to a hosted PBX, organizing the routing of your calls is one of the first things that must be done. In order to do so, you’ll need to define various rules for your calls, including:
- The buttons used to activate voicemail and other features
- The hours of operation for your desk phones
- Setting up your directory
- The handling of faxes
- Sequential and simultaneous ringing
- How off-hour calls are handled
- Configure your emergency 911 settings

Review Your Bill

As you can see, setting up a hosted PBX is remarkably easy. However, after doing so, you should review the bills for the first and second month to ensure you’re receiving and utilizing all of the services you’re paying for. Depending on which company you choose as your hosted PBX provider, the first month’s bill may or may not reflect activation fees, setup fees, and number porting fees. The second month’s bill should be a typical bill without added charges for the setup process. By this point, you'll be well on your way to enjoying one of the most streamlined and hassle-free business phone systems available for small and medium-sized business owners. ...

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Thirdlane Call Center

March 31, 2017, 12:29 am

≫ Next: VOIP PBX and Servers

≪ Previous: Hosted PBX

Thirdlane® Call Center is a highly-reliable, cost-effective Asterisk®-based IP Call Center software platform that delivers an integrated and flexible solution for on-premises or hosted multi-tenant contact centers. Thirdlane Call Center provides comprehensive management, monitoring, and reporting for operating contact centers, as well as traditional PBX functionality.

Among many advanced features, Thirdlane Call Center allows supervisors to monitor agent and queue performance in real-time according to configurable policies, listen to and assist agents during calls, and record calls. Historical reports including key performance indicators and SLA metrics are available in tabular and graphical form for Call Center managers, based on analysis of Call Detail Records (CDR) and queue log data. These monitoring and reporting features allow managers to optimize their operations for maximum efficiency. Each agent, supervisor, or administrator can work either locally or remotely, configured with a customizable set of advanced permissions and features.

Thirdlane provides system administrators with the tools to easily provision and manage Call Center features and core PBX functions, and gives managers and agents highly-configurable web-based portals for superior productivity. Thirdlane’s Call Center boasts an open architecture to provide interoperability and ease of integrating with third-party components such as service provider portals, billing systems, CRMs, and other applications. Call Center functionality is integrated into and can be used with either Thirdlane’s Business PBX or Multi-Tenant PBX, enabling traditional on-premises call centers or hosted virtual call centers in a cloud-based environment.

Key Features:

Dynamic Call Center Management: Allows supervisors to easily manage agents and queues, assign and move agents between queues, and configure fine-grained permissions for live call monitoring and historical reporting.
Live Monitoring: View dynamic graphical displays of call center operation, grouped by queues or agents, including the calls in progress, calls answered, wait times, and agent and queue status. Configurable alerts highlight potential problems in call center performance, allowing supervisors to rapidly address changing call loads.
Historical Reporting: Call Center provides detailed reports highlighting call center metrics and performance, including: data on answered and unanswered calls (with summaries by queues and agents); average, minimum, and maximum wait times over a given period; and performance vs. requirements in Service Level Agreements (SLAs). All reports can be exported to PDF or CSV formats, and easily imported into other applications.
All the Features of Thirdlane’s PBX: Thirdlane Call Center is integrated with both Thirdlane Business PBX and Multi-Tenant PBX, providing call center operators with core PBX functionality as well as advanced features such as templates to easily add devices, a real-time database driven engine, fine-grained permissions, full root access to the server, and deep customization capabilities.
High- Availability: Redundancy, automatic failover, and clustering capabilities are built into the core of all Thirdlane PBX solutions, including Call Center. The high availability features can be configured during installation or added later to address your requirements, and allow your system to grow as your business expands.

Thirdlane Forums

Thirdlane Blog Posts

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VOIP PBX and Servers

April 1, 2017, 11:01 pm

≫ Next: VOIP Service Providers Business

≪ Previous: Thirdlane Call Center

Please list information about VoIP PBX and Servers on this page. Please keep VoIP PBX and server provider information in alphabetical order, and below any other relevant information.

Page Contents

Numeric

1comms.co.uk: Asterisk-based converged telephone system for UK Businesses
2daydirect: Brand NEW Small Business VoIP phones. Free 2 day shipping anywhere in the United States
2N NETSTAR PBX, virtual PBX: VoIP PBX system
2N Omega IP PBX: VoIP PBX system
2N VoiceBlue Enterprise: Simple VoIP SIP PBX
3CX: Windows IP PBX / VOIP Phone system
4PSA VoipNow: Hosted PBX software for service providers and enterprises, accelerating SaaS deployment. It runs on Linux environments (RHEL, SuSE Linux, CentOS, Fedora) on x86 and Power PC architecture based servers.
8ix Zenith: 8ix Zenith spells an Asterisk derived IP Telephony application with the most advanced calling and communication features.

A

APPRIN آپرین Middle East VoIP Distributor IP Phone, IP PBX, Gateway, ATA from Digium, Grandstream, Barix.
ALLO PSTN-IPPBX for SOHO with 30 IP extension, upto 6 Analog Extension & upto 4 PSTN trunk
ActivePBX™ | Turn-Key Business Phone System $149/mo.

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VOIP Service Providers Business

April 2, 2017, 11:21 am

≫ Next: VoIP Origination

≪ Previous: VOIP PBX and Servers

Business VoIP Providers - Compare and Choose a Business VoIP Provider

Quality business VoIP providers today offer a wide variety of feature packages, services and prices. Selecting the ideal provider and service options will depend on your type and size of business, features needed and projected volume of usage. Even when working with top-tier providers, your basic monthly service charges per line may begin at rates as low as $20. Before choosing your VoIP provider, it is essential to first determine your company's precise telecommunications needs to enable timely and cost-efficient initiation of your service. By consulting your chosen Voice over IP service team and seeking their expert advice in advance, you can be prepared to take the following steps to facilitate the smooth, productive startup of your services:

Evaluate Your Internet Connection. - Determine the strength and capacity of your Internet connection and bandwidth. You need to ensure that your system has adequate speed to best accommodate your new VoIP installation for top quality service.
Assess Your Company Budget and Needs. - With knowledge of your company's current budget and VoIP needs, you can more easily select the service provider and feature options that meet your requirements.
Determine Your Equipment Needs. - Evaluate your current and near future VoIP equipment needs. Phones can be purchased from around $50 to $500 or more. Once you decide which feature options are immediate requirements and which ones can be added later as needed, you are ready to choose your service provider.
Compare VoIP Providers. - By comparing VoIP company service options, advanced features and equipment along with user and industry reviews, you can best make a wise decision, selecting the ideal VoIP provider for your enterprise.

Important Information to Request from Any Potential VoIP Provider

Before signing a service contract with any business VoIP provider, be sure to request basic service information and practices in writing. You need to be certain of such details as startup costs and monthly fees, any limitations and costs on portable phone numbers and exactly which features are included in the service package you select. You also need to know if international calling is included, charges for adding extra features and the extent of customer care and technical services provided. Also important are such issues as whether your provider offers a money back guarantee and if there are any cancellation fees. It is also helpful to determine prior to signing up for VoIP services if there are any hidden fees assessed by your chosen provider.

Take Full Control and Advantage of Your VoIP System

Once your new business VoIP system and service are in place, you and your staff members will have full-control capabilities for use of your business communications system. Your service provider will ensure connection with your online portal for customizing your telecomm options. These modern digital portals are user-friendly, enabling feature changes and additions to be made for immediate availability. You and your staff can make decisions and changes in real-time that work for you right in the moment.

You can manage your call settings remotely, directing calls to voicemail or having them transferred to another number or extension. You can also make exceptions to any chosen setting in your phone system. For example, if you are expecting an important business call and want to take that call, but hold all other calls for a few hours, you can set your phone to direct only the designated call to ring on your extension. This system allows and encourages you to take complete control of your telecommunications systems and settings so that the service works for your best interests and immediate needs at all times.

Major Business Benefits and Advantages of Installing VoIP

With an excellent quality VoIP system installed and running well in your company offices to provide remote access for you and your employees, you can work much more efficiently, achieving more in less time. You will enjoy the many benefits of knowing that you can leave the responsibility of your advanced office telecommunications system operations to your VoIP provider while you handle other important business matters. Other major benefits and advantages of your new business VoIP system enable you to accomplish the following:

Schedule Your Own Business Hours. ...

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VoIP Origination

April 2, 2017, 11:21 am

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Please add information to this page about VoIP Origination.

What is VoIP Call Origination?

One of the terms most often used when talking about VoIP communications is call origination, which basically has to do with how a telephone call starts and how it travels to the receiver once it does. The following will provide an in-depth look at what call origination is, how it works and what type of hardware is required.

What is Call Origination?

VoIP stands for "Voice Over Internet Protocol". This means that phone calls utilize a technology that allows the calls to be sent directly over internet networks, which is a much cheaper way to make calls. Call origination refers to the point where the call starts, which takes place over the PSTN telephone network and transferred to their destination through the internet. It's important to note that a phone call through VoIP starts between the initiation point and the destination point, which are referred to as the originator and terminator respectively. There are typically different types of call origination depending on the services provided by the ITSP involved. The only way for call origination to work is if the VoIP originator has a call termination arrangement with a VoIP terminator.

Required Hardware

The best aspect of VoIP services is that there are hardly any noteworthy hardware requirements. All that is necessary is a gateway, which essentially transfers phone calls from the internet and onto PSTN lines. Since a gateway must interact with both the internet and standard PSTN lines, there are two interfaces necessary for a gateway, including a telephony interface that takes digital and analog lines and an Ethernet interface as a connection between the gateway and the internet. It's important to understand that a digital line can support a large amount of calls at one time, which can range anywhere from 20 to 30 depending on the type of line that is chosen. In comparison to a digital line, an analog line can only support one phone call at a time.

How Call Origination Works

Call origination is a fairly simple process that is a bit more complicated to explain. In essence, the gatekeeper mentioned previously will receive the calls and requests from the dialer. When a user makes a connection to the dialer, the gatekeeper will ask a Radius server to check if the user has input the correct password and username. The Radius server will then answer the gatekeeper with a yes or a no. If a yes answer is received from the Radius server, the user the has the ability to make a phone call from the origination point. Once the number has been placed, the gatekeeper once again receives a request for the phone call to be made. It is at this point where the gatekeeper will interact with the Radius server again to see if the user in question has enough money to make the phone call. The Radius server will then connect to the billing server to ascertain how much money has been provided by the user for this specific call, in order to nail down how long the call can last before being cut off.

The billing server will then take a look at the location at which the call is originating from in order to measure the current rate of pay, which all depends on whether the call is being made in off peak or peak hours. Once this has been determined, the relevant information will then be sent back to the Radius server. Once the Radius server has received this information, it will be sent back to the gatekeeper. The user is then provided with the IP address for the gateway at the destination to which the call is being placed. This gateway will send the call to the final destination. If no other issue arises during this time, the call can take place and the two users can talk for however long the duration of the call is. If the call takes place once the maximum time allotment has been reached for the call, it will be disconnected and more money will need to be provided in order to make another call and continue the conversation. When the call has come to a conclusion, whether by the callers themselves or because they were disconnected, the initial user will have the total price of the call deducted from their payment source by the billing server.

Types of VoIP services

There are two basic types of VoIP services, including PC to phone and phone to phone. The provider for the PC to phone service will place a dialer on the internet that the user of the service can download and install. This dialer allows for an account to be created with any type of payment source that is allowed by the service provider. Once this is done, the user can make and receive calls. ...

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SD-WAN Vendors

April 3, 2017, 8:38 am

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Getting the highest bandwidth possible is a network user's dream. SD-WAN works by delivering better connectivity, minimal complexity, and lower costs to the wide area network. Other than sellers producing SD-WAN products, there are resellers specializing in SD-WAN solutions who help customers select the platform that works best for business requirements, traffic mix, and application deployment model. SD-WAN is specifically used to link network enterprises that are located over great distances. Within these circumstances, SD-WAN is considered to be the most efficient solution to route traffic to distant areas.

The SD-WAN Solution

Diverse types of tangible WAN links can be implemented to transport traffic with little effort required by the network engineer. SD-WAN travels parallel above the tangible infrastructure which extracts the actual links. Read more about SD-WAN.

How the SD-WAN Process Works

Each physical link's performance is monitored by SD-WAN forwarders. Next, individual flows are transmitted to distant SD-WAN forwarders passing over the link that will efficiently manage that flow's specific SLA needs.

How Are SLA Requirements Defined?

SLA requirements are defined by a network operator in a central controller which is passed on as a principle of action to every SD-WAN forwarder. The benefit? A company can reduce expenses on non-public WAN links by tallying more affordable broadband links to the WAN conglomeration.

List of SD-WAN Vendors

Below is a list of SD-WAN Vendors. Feel free to add to it, but keep it in alphabetical order. ...

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MPLS

April 3, 2017, 8:46 am

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MPLS (Multiprotocol Label Switching)

What is MPLS?

MPLS is a QoS (Quality of Service) protocol for managing bandwidth allocation for Internet media connections (e.g. a VOIP voice connection).

The most important thing to understand about MPLS is that it is not a service. It is a technique that can be used to deliver services like metro Ethernet to IP VPNs. It can also be used as a provision of optical services. Therefore, the services that carriers’ customers choose are not referred to as MPLS.

MPLS is a way of labeling packets that make it easier for routers to read. Originally, each packet that was sent through an IP network was sent through solo, which caused routers to have to read each one induvial. With MPLS, whenever a packet enters a network it labeled and assigned an FEC, which stands for forwarding equivalence class. This allows routers to be able to place the packets into a table, which allows them to sort them faster than having to read each one individually.

Overall, a MPLS network can handle packets more consistently, especially when it comes to packets that are carrying real-time traffic. Examples of real-time traffic packets are packets created by voice or video, which has become more popular over the years. In a MPLS network these types of packets are automatically mapped to the low-latency routes across entire networks, which conventional routing use to have issues with. The whole point of this system is to put additional information on each pack that flows through it.

Is MPLS a Layer 2 or a Layer 3?

Over the years, a lot of people have been confused about MPLS systems. They are not sure if they are a Layer 2 or a Layer 3 service. The problem with this is the fact that MPLS is not easily placed into any type of OSI seven-layer hierarchy. This is one of the key benefits that MPLS offers those who uses it because it is a way of separating underlying data-link service from different forwarding mechanisms. The beauty of an MPLS system is that it can work with existing ATM or DLCI headers or with old type IP routers.

The bottom line behind choosing an MPLS service is that it allows network operators to offer their customers multiple services. There are two popular implementations of the MPLS service: Layer 2 VPNS and Layer 3 BGP/MPLS-VPNs.

The most popular VPNs that has been implemented by most major service provides are RFC 2547 VPNs. They are used by ISPs like Verizon, BT, and AT&T, which are some of the largest ISP providers in the business. When using the 2547, traffic is isolated into MPLS-VPNs whenever it enters a network.

Interior routers are not brilliant. They do not have any prior knowledge about IP information, besides the basic forwarding decisions that are found on the MPLS label. Most edge routers use BGP to exchange the knowledge they receive from VPNs. This is what allows services provides to isolate the traffic that is coming from multiple customers. The traffic could also come directly from the internet using a shared backbone.

When it comes to Layer 2 MPLS services, there are a few different flavors to choose from. However, all Layer 2 packets are encased in an MPLS header before being forwarded through to the MPLS core. After traveling and reaching their destination, the packets have their labels remove and it ends up at where it first entered the MPLS network. Due to how they work, Layer 2 MPLS services are usually used to extend services like frame relay across an IP WAN or Ethernet services.

Different Types of MPLS Service Options

The most popular MPLS version is called PWE3, which is known as Wire Edge to Edge Emulation. This version is used in ATM services and encapsulate connection-oriented frame relay services. The purpose of the PWE3 is to define point-to-point tunnels all the way across the MPLS backbone. Therefore, it works well with circuit-oriented networking protocols. Although it’s not preferred, PWE3 can be used to support connectionless LAN protocols.

If connectionless protocols are needed, the best MPLS version that should be used in VPLS, which is known as virtual private LAN service. VPLS can address more specific challenges that happen when extending Ethernet service across a WAN or metropolitan area. The T-MPLS, or the ITU’s transport – MPLS, was designed to help simplify the deployment of Ethernet services.

However, MPLS is not the only thing that can help with Ethernet services. There are a few vendors, like Extreme, Siemens, and Nortel, that promote a different approach to PBT, known as Provider Backbone Transport, when it comes to providing services to a larger metropolitan area. ...

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