The term 'virtual PBX' or 'virtual phone system' means that the provider takes care of hosting the PBX itself and applying all the technologies needed to provide communication services to companies. Calls, notifications, and other functions are processed on the PBX server located at the provider's site. For its services, the provider usually issues a monthly bill that includes a certain number of minutes and a range of functions.
Calls can also be billed by the minute. There are two main benefits of using virtual PBXs: 1) the company incurs no upfront costs; 2) the company can more accurately calculate and budget for monthly expenses. Advanced features may incur additional charges.
Advantages of a Virtual Phone System:
- Installation. The installation costs are lower than with traditional systems, as besides the local network and the phones themselves, you do not need to install any other equipment.
- Maintenance. The provider maintains and supports all hardware at their own expense.
- Low communication costs. Typically, virtual solutions come with packages of 'free' minutes. This approach reduces costs and greatly simplifies budgeting.
- Installation speed. Physically, all you need is to install the phones.
- Flexibility. All phone numbers can be ported, allowing the company to freely change offices or use remote employees without changing numbers. Since you do not install any equipment, the cost and complexity of moving are significantly reduced.
And traditionally, we invite you to learn about the stories of three companies that have utilized virtual PBXs.
Gradwell
Gradwell provides small and medium-sized businesses in England with internet connectivity and telecommunication services. They do this through straightforward and reliable services and business applications, focusing on organizations of up to 25 employees. Today, Gradwell is England's largest provider with its own telephone system, supported by a dedicated team of developers. The company has 65 employees, is located in Bath, and was founded in 1998 by Peter Gradwell. He himself was a small entrepreneur who couldn't find a suitable telephone service for his distributed web development and hosting team. This led Peter to develop a solution for himself, which he then offered to his hosting-clients as a broadband IP telephony service with a single business number. As a result, the company transformed into the leading telephony provider in the country, currently serving 20,000 clients from the small business sector.
The Problem
In 1998, when Gradwell first ventured into IP telephony, it was a relatively new service, and most solutions were offered by companies in the U.S., created based on American business realities. Gradwell realized that English companies needed a solution that took local peculiarities into account; they required local support services and the ability to adapt solutions to meet the demands of the British market. Small businesses needed a high-quality and reliable telecommunication service, with responsive support and specialists available to assist by phone.
Solution
The company chose the ITCenter Voicis Core solution, which, combined with Gradwell's experience in web development, the open-source Asterisk software, and the Telesswitch solution for connecting to the BT network, allowed for the creation of a highly reliable and efficient service. The phone was a critically important component. Employees from small companies wanted the phone to look and feel like a real phone, especially since software solutions at the time were not very reliable. In search of quality telephones, Gradwell analyzed four manufacturers and chose Snom phones, which they found to be the most reliable and providing quality sound. That was 11 years ago. Since then, Gradwell has supplied their clients with our phones ā initially Snom 190, then the D3xx and D7xx series. At one time, Gradwell had phones from six manufacturers in their portfolio, but this often confused clients, and today the provider uses products from only two companies. Previously, Gradwell handled the provisioning of phones themselves, but with Snom's products, they delegated this task to the distributor, allowing Gradwell to deliver phones directly to the clientās site. This reduces delivery times and improves service quality.
Orange Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is the second largest country in the Caribbean. Its area is over 48,000 kmĀ², with a population of about 10 million, of which 1 million live in the capital, Santo Domingo. In terms of economic volume, the Dominican Republic ranks ninth in Latin America, and it has the largest economy in the Caribbean and Central American region. Previously, the economy was dominated by agriculture and mining, but today it is primarily service-based. A clear example is the development of telecommunications systems and transportation infrastructure. The Dominican Republic is also the most popular among tourists in the Caribbean, which boosts the tourism industry. For telecommunications companies, the challenging terrain poses difficulties. The country has the highest peak in the region, Duarte Peak, and the largest lake, Lake Enriquillo, which is also at the lowest elevation above sea level. Mobile coverage in the Dominican Republic is good, with four operators in operation, and Orangeās network covers 95% of the country.
The Problem
Orange needed a scalable and reliable solution based on a virtual PBX that would have all the features and capabilities available in licensed solutions on the market, but at a lower implementation cost. Orange planned to expand its business and was looking for ways to reduce deployment and network rollout costs in the region.
Solution
Working closely with ITCenter, a systems integrator with a portfolio of successful projects worldwide, Orange chose the Voicis Core solution. The company was attracted by the ease of product adaptation to the growing customer base and the wide range of features that matched any licensed virtual PBX solution. Cost was the main criterion. Voicis Core did not require Orange to purchase licenses and was also cheaper to install and maintain, with support scalable to an unlimited number of users. Initially, the project planned the installation of 1,050 phones. The company selected and 720, which not only offered all the necessary features but were also easy to deploy on any scale.
Voicis Core enabled Orange to create a reliable, scalable solution based on a virtual PBX, easily configurable, with an intuitive management platform and a straightforward process for deploying IP phones. Payments for adding phones were only required as they were installed, not to mention the lower cost of the procedure.
Oni
ONI is a B2B service provider from Lisbon, offering solutions such as data centers, cloud services, information security services, and the integration of information and telecommunications technologies. Primarily, the company works with corporations, public organizations, and international telecommunications operators, providing standardized communication service packages. ONI has invested heavily in a unique network infrastructure that allowed the company to launch innovative solutions. In 2013, ONI was acquired by Altice Group. Today, ONI's clients include some of the largest companies in the country, such as ANA Airports of Portugal, Portugal Tourism, Travel Abreu in Portugal, as well as international companies like Verizon Spain, Verizon Portugal, and the European Maritime Safety Agency.
The Problem
ONI was looking for a solution that could support at least 30,000 phones. The company needed a solution based on a virtual PBX or UCaaS to provide services for corporations and public organizations. The requirements included: pay as the system expands, centralized management, the ability to create multi-tenant virtual PBX systems, an intuitive interface, low implementation costs, resilience and scalability, direct support from the manufacturer, and the ability to customize and connect their technical environments independently.
Solution
ONI chose the ITCenter Voicis Core solution with Snom IP phones. The ITCenter team has many certifications and awards and is well-versed in unified communications and cloud solutions. The system included D7xx series phones, M9 DECT phones, and conference phones. They also implemented Snom Visionāa remote deployment and configuration application for IP phones that can automatically configure and manage SIP devices.
Source: habr.com
