Virtual Telephone Systems

The term “virtual PBX” or “virtual telephone system” means that the provider takes care of locating the PBX itself and applying all the technologies necessary to provide communication services to companies. Calls, alerts and other functions are processed on the PBX server, which is located on the provider's site. And for their services, the provider monthly bills, which usually include a certain number of minutes and a number of functions.

Calls can also be paid by the minute. There are two main benefits to using virtual PBXs: 1) the company does not bear upfront costs; 2) the company can more accurately calculate and budget monthly expenses. Advanced features may be charged extra.
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The advantages of a virtual telephone system:

• Installation Installation costs are lower than traditional systems, because in addition to the local network and the phones themselves, you do not need to install other equipment.
  
• Accompanying. The provider maintains and maintains all equipment at its own expense.
  
• Low communication costs. Typically, virtual solutions involve packages of “free” minutes. This approach reduces costs and greatly facilitates budgeting.
  
• Installation speed Physically, you only need to install telephones.
  
• Flexibility. All phone numbers can be transferred, so the company can freely change offices or use remote employees without changing numbers. Since you do not put any equipment, the cost and complexity of the move greatly reduced.
  

And traditionally, we offer you to familiarize yourself with the stories of three companies that have used virtual PBXs.

Gradwell

Gradwell provides Internet connection and telephone services to small and medium-sized businesses in England. They do this through simple and reliable services and business applications, focusing on organizations of up to 25 people. Today, Gradwell is the largest provider in England with its own telephone system, to support which a separate development team has been recruited. The company has 65 people, it is located in Bath and was founded in 1998 by Peter Gradwell. He himself was a small entrepreneur, and could not find a suitable phone service for his distributed web development and hosting team. Then Peter decided to develop it for himself, and then offered his hosting clients a broadband IP telephony service with a single business number. As a result, the company has become a major telephony provider in the country, and today serves 20,000 small business customers.

Problem

In 1998, when Gradwell first took up IP telephony, it was a relatively new service, and most of the solutions were offered by US companies, and these solutions were created based on American business realities. Gradwell realized that British companies need a solution that takes into account local peculiarities, they need local support services and the ability to adapt solutions to the requirements of the British market. Small businesses needed a high-quality and reliable telephone service, with responsive customer support and specialists who can assist by telephone.

Decision

The company chose the ITCenter Voicis Core solution, which, combined with Gradwell's web development experience, open source Asterisk software and the Telesswitch BT connection solution, created a highly reliable and efficient service. The telephone set was a critical component. Employees from small companies wanted the phone to look and feel like a telephone, moreover, at that time, software solutions were not very reliable. In search of high-quality telephones, Gradwell analyzed four manufacturers and selected Snom telephones, which they considered the most reliable and providing high-quality sound. That was 11 years ago. Since then, Gradwell has been supplying its customers with our phones - first the Snom 190, then the D3xx and D7xx series. At one time, the Gradwell portfolio had phones from six manufacturers, but this often confused customers, and today the provider uses products from only two companies. Previously, Gradwell themselves were engaged in the provision of telephones, but with Snom products this task was passed on to the distributor, so today Gradwell can supply telephones directly to the customer’s facility. This reduces delivery times and improves service quality.

Orange dominican republic

The Dominican Republic is the second largest state in the Caribbean. Its area is more than 48,000 km2, the population is about 10 million, of which 1 million lives in the capital, Santo Domingo. In terms of economy, the Dominican Republic ranks ninth in Latin America, and it is the largest economy in the Caribbean and Central American region. Previously, agriculture and mining prevailed in the structure of the economy, but today it is based on service. A vivid example is the development of telecommunication systems and transport infrastructure. The Dominican Republic is also the most popular tourist destination in the Caribbean, which stimulates the tourism industry. Difficult terrain for telecommunication companies. On the territory of the country is the highest peak in the region Duarte, the largest lake in the region Enriquillo, which also lies at the lowest point above sea level. Mobile coverage in the Dominican Republic is good, there are four operators here, and Orange covers 95% of the country's area.

Problem

Orange needed a scalable and reliable solution based on a virtual PBX, which would have all the features and capabilities of licensed solutions on the market, but cheaper to implement. Orange planned to increase its business and was looking for ways to reduce the cost of implementing and deploying a network in the region.

Decision

Working closely with ITCenter, a system integrator with a portfolio of successful projects around the world, Orange chose Voicis Core solution. The company was attracted by the ease of adapting the product to the growth of its customer base and a wide range of opportunities, not inferior to the functions of any licensed solution based on a virtual PBX. Cost was the main criterion. Voicis Core did not require Orange to purchase licenses, and it was also cheaper to install and maintain, and the support could be expanded to an unlimited number of users. Initially, the project involved the installation of 1050 phones. The company chose Snom 710 and 720, which not only possessed all the necessary functions, but were also convenient for deploying any scale.

Voicis Core allowed Orange to create a reliable, scalable solution based on a virtual PBX, easily customizable, with a clear management platform and an easy process for deploying IP phones. Moreover, it was necessary to pay for adding phones only as they were installed, not to mention the lower cost of the procedure.

Oni

ONI is a B2B service provider from Lisbon that provides solutions such as data centers, cloud services, information security services and the integration of information and telecommunication technologies. The company mainly works with corporations, public organizations and international telecommunications operators, providing standardized communication packages. ONI has invested heavily in a unique network infrastructure that enabled the company to launch innovative solutions. In 2013, ONI was absorbed by the Altice Group. Today, ONI’s clients include the country's largest companies, including ANA Airports of Portugal, Portugal Tourism, Travel Abreu in Portugal, as well as international companies such as Verizon Spain, Verizon Portugal and European Maritime Safety Agency.

Problem

ONI was looking for a solution that supports at least 30,000 phones. The company needed a virtual PBX or UCaaS solution to provide services for corporations and public organizations. Requirements were: a fee as the system grows, centralized management, the ability to create multi-client virtual PBXs, an intuitive interface, low implementation costs, stability and scalability, direct support from the manufacturer, the ability to self-tune and connect their technical sites.

Decision

ONI chose the ITCenter Voicis Core solution with Snom IP IP phones. The ITCenter team has many certificates and awards, they are well versed in unified communications and cloud solutions. The system includes D7xx series telephones, M9 DECT telephones and conference telephones. Snom Vision was also used - an application for remote deployment and configuration of IP phones that can automatically configure and manage SIP devices.