NetGen Channel Newsletter April 2017

Your Wait is Over; Release 351 is Here
A System of Staggering Proportions
OM20/OM50 and Call-Center Features
More Than One Kind of Support
Distributor, Reseller, and Agent Opportunities

Your Wait is Over; Release 351 is Here

Hello, NetGen customers. We know some of you have been looking out for the GA release of 351. We appreciate your patience. We especially appreciate the patience of those of you that upgraded to the patch version of 351.

351 not only fixes several bugs, but also includes enhancements and feature additions, especially in security. It’s all explained in the release notes, but here are a few highlights:

Bug fixes

• Dropped voice calls: certain tones could cause the session to incorrectly switch to T.38 in mid-voice call, resulting in a dropped call.
• Much more flexible when parsing parameter entries from the GUI.
• Fixes a GUI login bug.
• Fixes a bug in SSH if time synchronization fails.
• And others.

New Features

• You can now upgrade with an IMG file with the GUI.
• Support for SIP TLS and SRTP added.
• Support for voice VLAN added.
• G.722 codec added.

Enhancements

• Six parameters that were limited to 24 characters now support up to 48.
• Interrupted SIP re-registration continues to retry.
• A three-party conference will continue even if the FXS station disconnects.
• A new GUI page, Security, has been added allowing a more-intuitive organization.
• Logins are limited by time and number of attempts.
• Packet-flooding is limited.
• Two privilege levels for SSH.
• T38_MAX_DATAGRAM now defaults to 200.
• And many more.

So please take advantage of this release. In addition to the release notes, there are detailed upgrade instructions on the support page. Click on HX4E. There’s also 770-449-7704, 2 for support. We are here to help.

A System of Staggering Proportions

What can a $550 MSRP PBX do for a logistics company with 6,000 operational facilities, 10,000 retail locations, and 120,000 employees? The company is Deppon Logistics, Ltd., Shanghai, one of the largest logistics companies in China. And it’s not one PBX; it’s 5,000 PBXs. And it’s not just about the PBX. It is a distributed call center that must handle millions of calls every day.

Just a few years ago, Deppon’s operations were based on legacy TDM telecom. The company knew that it had to soon make the switch to all-IP telephony, but wanted to fully benefit from the functional advantages offered by IP telephony, in addition to the dramatic cost savings.

Some considerations:

• Unlike the habit of US consumers who go on-line first, Deppon’s customers still prefer to pick up the phone and call to track their package, translating into hundreds-of-thousands calls every day just for tracking inquiries.
• China, a country of 1.3-billion people, has over 23 provinces. The call-center agents must handle the languages spoken by its 56 recognized ethnic groups. (Not a one-size-fits-all situation.)
• A dramatic improvement in caller experience was a top consideration.
• A smooth transition from TDM to IP was (and is) essential.
• Simplified toll-free intra-company communications must be a feature.
• Despite its enormous size, the system must support personalized customer service.
• Cost-effective fax must be included.
• The system must be easy-to-install and maintain.

The enormity and diversity of this communications problem suggested that a fully distributed system was required for regional differences and languages to be supported. This decision then spawned additional requirements:

• Cloud-based configuration, management, and support of the entire system was deemed essential.
• Offices must be capable of being easily integrated for intra-enterprise communications and management.
• Support for mobile users must be included.

Since the total requirement is for 5,000 call centers, call-center requirements are critical: (See following story.)
The selected solution is shown in the diagram below. The central element is either the OM20 or OM50 PBX by New Rock Technologies and NetGen Communications. These products are known for their ideal feature profile with exceptionally low prices and high capacities for the price.

Note that the PBXs are the core elements of the system, with the surrounding software all included, making it a part of the PBX core. And, if that’s not enough, the PBXs all have a no-charge REST API, allowing the value-adding channel or end user to add unique and proprietary value such as, for example, support for VXML or access of Web Services. In this case, Deppon uses the unit’s XML interface for configuration and problem resolution.

But what do we mean by “control and management via the cloud”? Recall this requirement: “Cloud-based management of the entire system was deemed essential.” Without centralized configuration, management, monitoring, and support, a distributed system of this size is not practicable.

The recently introduced New Rock Cloud, marketed and hosted in North America as YoubiquITy by NetGen Communications, works with a software agent embedded in each gateway and PBX to give the user complete control over access to the device via a token-passing procedure.

Cloud is used for NAT traversal, and gives the Element Management System (EMS) a proxy IP address and port for trouble-free access to the fielded devices, supporting, for example, direct communications between offices.
The software agent is used to bind devices to the cloud platform. The EMS will scan and add devices in batch mode using the device’s user ID and authorization token. The administrator can manage all the devices via auto-configuration or from the management GUI.

It’s not every day that a channel partner scores a 5,000-PBX order, but with all of the included software shown above, all of Deppon’s requirements were satisfied.
The message: find the requirement; NetGen has the products for you.

The OM20/50 and Call-Center Features

As shown in the article above, call centers don’t have to be expensive. Since the OM20 and 50 have a robust offering of software at no-charge, those applications are actually functional extensions of the PBXs. These include call recording, Neehau phone management and call-center software, the WeWei soft phone (and third-party phones), and CDR. Of course, we have a full selection of IP phones and strong support for legacy phones and fax.
Call-center specific features? Consider:

• Call pop-up
• Group pick-up
• Call queuing
• Agent assignment by manager
• Agent binding for repeat callers
• Call logging
• Call recording/playback
• Call-detail recording
• Open REST API

And the OM20 starts at $335 MSRP. We think that’s kinda amazing.

More Than One Kind of Support

You’ve probably heard us brag about our support, especially when it involves helping our customers iron out FoIP problems in their networks. But there’s more than answer-the-phone support; this article is about application support.
Ideally, you want someone to assist you that has been there and done that — our kind of support people. But a support person isn’t always by your side, so what about documentation? We have 177 documents in our support library: application notes, release notes, user guides, configuration guides, installation guides, software-packages documentation, and third-party documentation.
For example, the OM20 and OM50:

• Administrator’s Manual
• User Manual
• Quick Installation Guide
• Configuration Guide
• Using NeeHau with the OM PBXs
• Using WeWei with OM PBXs
• Using NRP Phones with OM PBXs
• Integrating OM PBXs and MX gateways
• Integrating Xibosoft Call Accounting
• Tie Trunks with Elastix
• Configuring Multi-Level IVR with OM
• Integrating Smart ATA with an OM
• Auto-Provisioning Guide
• High-Availability Guide
• Recording Agent Guide
• YoubiquITy and EMS Guide
• Release Notes
• Connecting OM PBXs with the MX100 trunking gateway
• Interconnecting OM with other PBXs
• Using Yealink IP Phones with OM
• Collecting CDR Records with OM
• CDR User Guide
• OM Localization
• GUI Changer User Guide

And that’s just for the OM IP PBXs! So look into becoming an OM20/50 developer. Use the API to create your proprietary application. And remember, we’re here to help. 770-449-7704, 2 for support, or support@NetGenCommunications.com.

Distributor, Reseller, and Agent Opportunities

Contact John Sennott, Director, Channel Marketing to discuss the opportunities you have to add the entire NetGen product line to your offerings to provide additional offerings for your customers, increase revenue, and create new market opportunities. Contact John @ jsennott@netgencommunications.com, or call 770-407-6032 to schedule a product review.