VoIP News: July 2007

Switchvox incorporates CRM with IP PBX

US-based VoIP systems manufacturer Switchvox has upgraded its IP PBX to include customer relationship management (CRM) tools.

These are intended to allow users of the call management system to automatically see the details of its customers when they make contact as records pop up inside the control panel.

Switchvox's small business phone system, SMV v3.0, also now features Google maps to make it immediately clear where incoming calls are originating.

This may help sales and customer services teams tailor their pitch or advice to the client, as well as create an impression that their custom is appreciated.

"This is a key element that had been lacking in the industry which allows smaller businesses to take full advantage of communications technologies available to them in one simple package, "said Joshua Stephens, the chief executive of Switchvox.

Switchvox uses the Asterisk open source software developed by Digium to run its IP PBX systems and it has installed CRM tools from Salesforce.com and SugarCRM in the new version of the call server.

Posted on: 2007-07-31, in: IP PBX

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VoIP handset for 'roamers' launched

VoIP users will soon have the option to make calls from anywhere using a wireless network connection after the launch of a new SIP-based phone from EnGenius.

The EnGenius SI-680H phone has been designed to be of most use to workers outside of the office, who can use its roaming capabilities to find and access available web networks.

"With VoIP technology making huge strides, its clearly emerging as the future of telephone communication," said Steve Mace of VoIP provider Solwise.

"The compact EnGenius W-iFi phone will enable VOIP users to take the technology to a whole new level."

Business users may find this phone especially useful since EnGenius has included the idea that it should be able to slot into any wireless local area network with ease, allowing office calls to also be handled by the phone.

Other key features of the £100 phone highlighted by the company include support for the latest SIP standards, 128-bit security encoding and call forwarding, transfer and history.

Posted on: 2007-07-31, in: VoIP Hardware

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Microsoft announces huge unified comms take-up

Software giant Microsoft has announced some 430,000 licences have been handed out for its unified communications (UC) products, developed jointly with Nortel.

The two companies teamed up last year to create a common platform for business communications, including instant messaging and voice calls over IP networks (VoIP), to allow new products to be made specifically to fit into this system and so allow easy 'plug and play' functionality for users.

With hundreds of thousands of licences already taken up for the UC technology, IT research firm Gartner suggests this shows that more companies are seeing the value of using the IP-based systems.

Bern Elliot, vice-president at Gartner, told Computer Weekly: "UC products matured significantly during the past 12 months and by the end of 2007, 80 per cent of enterprise communications purchase decisions will require support for unified communications."

This follows a study released earlier this month by Infonetics Research which found that worldwide sales of UC products increased by a fifth between 2005 and 2006 to £191 million.

This then grew by a just over a quarter in the following year to a total of £253 million, showing the speed at which UC systems are continuing to be adopted by businesses.

Posted on: 2007-07-31, in: VoIP Hardware

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30m European VoIP users by 2008?

There may be as many as 30 million users of voice over internet protocol (VoIP) services come the start of next year, according to predictions from industry analysts.

Research from TeleGeography suggested the 30 million barrier could be near to being breached by 2008, which would be a dramatic rise from the 6.5 million VoIP users of two years ago.

However, the current penetration of VoIP services varies widely across the different countries in Europe, with some such as France or Holland having a high take-up while places like Spain lag behind.

Despite this VoIP-gap, TeleGeography predicted an acceleration of growth as these less well-equipped countries are increasing their use of VoIP at a "blistering pace".

The UK is seeing sustained growth in the use of VoIP to make voice calls, but it remains far behind France which accounted for 42 per cent of the entire number of VoIP users in Europe, currently at 15.6 million according to TeleGeogrpahy.

The firm's research found that there are some 6.6 million French VoIP users, which is more than the number of subscribers in the UK, Germany, Italy and Holland combined.

Posted on: 2007-07-30, in: General VoIP

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VoIP to get its Second Life

The popular virtual online world Second Life is to get an upgrade to include voice communication to allow users to chat without having to type.

VoIP communications are set to launch server-wide "in a couple of weeks" according to Linden Labs, which runs Second Life.

Chief executive Phillip Rosedale told IT website The Register: "This thing has a positive impact for everybody on Earth. We should roll out this 3D existence as fast as we possibly can."

The VoIP capability has been in beta since March this year and is set to boost the communication abilities of users in the virtual universe.

Previously the only methods of interacting with the avatars of other users were though emotes or text chat, which could be done either through server-wide instant messaging or chatting using location-specific typed conversations which can only be 'heard' by avatars within a certain distance in the world.

However, this comes at a time when the initial optimistic predictions for Second Life to cause a social revolution is seemingly coming to an end, with Reuters reporting a slump in users of the service in June.

Posted on: 2007-07-30, in: General VoIP

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