Unified Comms Capabilities Statement

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2 Connecting through Communications It s a humbling and empowering thought to think that, as the six degrees of separation theory describes, we are, on average, only six steps away from every other human being on earth. The ability to connect with each other to share ideas, friendships and commerce has helped us to achieve great things and to improve our collective well-being. Inspired by this theory, we are and we exist to bring people and information together. We provide integrated managed voice and data services linking people, places and clouds. We ve been helping businesses to communicate for over 10 years by designing customised voice solutions using our own traditional and IP switching infrastructure, backed up with our compelling 15 minute fix SLA. We believe that everyone should be connected. We re. Connect with us. Contents Our Capabilities 2 Why Choose? 3 What makes Six Degrees Group Different 3 Key Benefits 3 Our Voice Services 4 At a Glance 4 Direct Voice 4 Direct Voice Key Benefits 4 Livenumber for Business Continuity 5 Livenumber Key Benefits 5 Outbound CPS & WLR 6 Outbound CPS & WLR Key Benefits 6 SIP Trunking 7 SIP Trunking Key Benefits 7 Inbound Voice 8 Inbound Voice Key Benefits 8 Global Voice 8 Global Voice Key Benefits 8 Mobile Voice & Data 9 IP Telephony Systems 9 Support and Services 10 Key Benefits 10 Page 1 of 10

3 Our Capabilities Core Assets At, we like to be in control of the services we deliver to our customers. To do so effectively, we like to own the core assets that enable our overlay services. We own our own datacentres that house some of our equipment, we have a 30 PoP network with equipment in the UK, New York and key points of interconnection in Western Europe. Our voice network is built on our own Class 5 voice switches, including a diverse IP softswitch core, giving us complete ownership of how we route customer calls. We are interconnected with six tier 1 voice network operators and over 20 data network operators for maximum resilience. Connectivity We use tail circuits from a variety of network partners to provide last mile connectivity. We use the BT Openreach network to provision digital and analogue lines via WLR3 and we partner with all major circuit providers for either traditional voice or IP data tails. For our Central London customers, we also have a small LLU footprint with dark fibre connecting our PoPs. This flexible approach is integral to our business continuity planning solutions as it allows us to build layers of resilience into our solution by providing diverse circuits from diverse carriers connected to diverse multi-service PoPs. We interconnect with providers like BT Wholesale, Cable & Wireless, Colt and Verizon to deliver the overlay services our customers consume. Overlay Services Our customers rarely buy just circuits from us the real value comes through the services we put over the circuits we provide. This document outlines our managed voice services and an accompanying document describes our managed data portfolio. We believe that it s our approach that makes us different. Our flexible way of building solutions allows us to take a consultative approach to helping to solve your business problems. We know one size doesn t fit all, so we don t impose one model on our customers by offering choice, we make a real difference to how people connect, communicate and work. Managed Services Core Datacentre MPLS Core 20+ Interconnects Virtual Servers Voice Switches SIP Trunking Connectivity MPLS Ethernet EFM xdsl Mobile WLR Overlay Colocation Managed Hostings Private Cloud (laas) Direct Voice Inbound Voice SIP Services Professional Services Network design, managed services, infrastructure management, operational support Page 2 of 10

4 Why Choose? At, we believe that there s a clear gap in the market. Micro-sized businesses buy from local providers and mega-corporations only deal with global tier 1 operators directly. But for people in the middle mid-sized companies and mid-market corporates the choice is limited. If you re looking for a supplier with the firepower and technology portfolio of a tier 1 but with the agility and service of a mid-market player, then you re looking in the right place. was formed to fill that gap. Below are six reasons why we believe we re the logical choice: 1. Capabilities: We firmly believe that we ve got the strongest end-to-end, core-to-edge capabilities in the mid-market space, giving us control over what we deploy. 2. Service: We refuse to compromise on excellence in service delivery and we believe that only a mid-market player can be as flexible as us in looking after you. 3. People: We believe our people are amongst the best in the industry at what they do; more than that, they re passionate about customers and are unwilling to let them down. 4. Focus: We don t try to be all things to all men; we don t want hundreds of thousands of very small customers we want to be the best mid-market provider out there. 5. Delivery: You only need to look at our customers and our case studies to see that some big names trust us to run their business we have to deliver and we do, time and again. 6. Performance: There should be no need to apologise for sector-leading organic growth and profitability it proves that we re great at what we do and that benefits our customers, shareholders and staff. This document describes the broad capabilities in our unified comms division. That is, literally, only half the story. Our managed data division offers datacentre services, managed hosting and cloud, and IP network connectivity. For more information, please visit or ask to see the managed data capabilities document. Organisation Chart What makes Six Degrees Group Different Personal relationships and service True innovation through our independence Bespoke technical support Flexibility in choosing the right services appropriate for each individual customer A dedicated Account Manager with full customer service support Key Benefits Mid-market & Corporate Focus We focus exclusively on mid- to large-sized customers with complex solution requirements. Asset Ownership We own the voice and data switching assets that form our solutions, giving us end-to-end control. 15 minute SLA We offer an unrivalled 15 minute fix on voice quality issues for direct connect customers. Tier 1 Partnerships We have interconnections in place with major network operators giving flexibility and diversity of routing. Managed Data Unified Comms Connectivity Datacentre Cloud Voice Mobility Systems Page 3 of 10

5 Our Voice Services sets the standard in managed voice solutions with a range of world-class products and services designed to meet the demands of today s connected world. We help businesses of all kinds achieve more by streamlining operations, reducing costs and improving efficiency. Our Group brings together the best service providers, the best technology and the best people to deliver outstanding solutions and service excellence. We re carrier neutral with interconnects across all major Tier-1 providers. With all these carriers combined into a single managed platform, we offer single point access to the widest choice of connectivity options. Our switches route all outgoing UK and international voice calls to deliver higher quality calls, lower call set-up times and fewer unobtainable numbers. Direct Voice At, we operate our own voice switching infrastructure as well as interconnecting with all major Tier-1 network operators. Our exchanges are geographically diverse, carrier neutral and offer both traditional and IP switching. We can even offer traditional (ISDN) or IP (SIP) trunk interface options. The combination of these elements delivers both resilience and flexibility as we are always in complete control over how your calls are handled. It s thanks to this control that we re able to offer a unique 15 minute SLA on voice quality issues. In the unlikely event that you experience call quality issues dialling a specific location, we commit to fixing that problem within 15 minutes. This compares favourably with the industry standard SLA of four hours and is the sort of service levels that we can only deliver through being able to make instant changes to call routing and transit carrier utilisation. At a Glance Direct Voice Livenumber for Business Continuity Outbound CPS & WLR SIP Trunking Inbound Voice Global Voice Direct Voice Key Benefits Carrier neutral managed voice service 15 minute service level agreement ISDN and/or SIP connectivity available UK and international call traffic options TDM and IP switching capabilities PSTN Interconnects PSTN Interconnects London PoPs x3 Birmingham PoP ISDN or SIP ISDN or SIP Customer site Page 4 of 10

6 Our Voice Services (continued) Livenumber for Business Continuity Unexpected events and emergency situations can have a serious impact on vital business communications. From terrorist threats to power cuts, ensuring that your business stays connected is essential. Our business continuity solutions for voice services are resilient and secure. Livenumber allows you to make and receive calls, even in the most demanding circumstances. Calls are delivered to mobile, home, a disaster recovery DDI number, another site office or any other nominated location. And if you need to meet Financial Services Authority compliance rules, there s also the facility to record conversations whenever necessary. Livenumber is a resilient inbound service featuring dual parenting to give you complete control over voice services during an emergency situation. It can be activated quickly and simply from an intuitive web portal or a PDA. Once enabled, customised text messages are automatically sent to pre-defined recipients to inform them that a business recovery plan has been invoked (or revoked), and what actions need to be taken. Livenumber can be used to manage the delivery of an individual DDI on a daily basis, or multiple DDIs for a specific user group or department, giving you the flexibility to handle voice communications exactly as you decide. Like all our direct connect voice products, Livenumber is available in TDM, IP or a hybrid configuration for maximum resilience. We deliver this service on our own geographically diverse switching platforms giving us and you complete control over how your calls are handled. PSTN Interconnects DDI Ranges London PoPs x3 ISDN or SIP Internet Livenumber ISDN or SIP Customer site DDI Ranges Birmingham PoP PSTN Interconnects Livenumber Key benefits Ease of use and speed are necessary in a crisis, so Livenumber can be invoked using a user friendly web portal or on the move using a BlackBerry. When Livenumber is enabled, you re able to ensure that a relevant customised text message is sent to your user base to let them know that a business recovery plan has been invoked (or revoked) as well as a step-by-step guide as to what they should do next. Livenumber can be used by an individual to set up and control the delivery of their own DDI on a day-to-day basis. This can also be extended to control multiple DDI s ie, a group or department giving you the additional flexibility to handle voice communications as you see fit. Again this has the additional flexibility of being accessible from a BlackBerry App. Livenumber is an extremely resilient inbound service encompassing dual parenting with access to any carrier you have available from your premise, thus providing diverse and resilient routes over the potential of multiple carrier circuits. Livenumber allows you to Port different DDI Number Ranges therefore applying a common solution to all your incoming calls. Livenumber allows you to duplicate your PBX call restrictions. i.e. no calls to Premium Rate numbers Page 5 of 10

7 Our Voice Services (continued) Outbound CPS & WLR During the initial consultancy phase of working with a new customer, we often realise that direct connect voice is not the ideal solution for everybody. We do not need to connect you directly to our exchange for you to benefit from our multiple interconnections; using Carrier Pre-Selection (CPS), we can dynamically route your calls across alternate carriers with you benefiting from improved choice and reduced costs. This allows us to cherry-pick the best options, particularly to international destinations, to give you the quality you need at a price you ll be happy to pay. Many of our CPS customers also chose to use for their line rental, thus bringing their calls and lines under a single supplier contract. We are able to offer Wholesale Line Rental (WLR) to provide analogue and digital circuits for voice and broadband usage. Many companies miss out on the opportunity to have not just their calls but also their lines handled by one supplier who becomes a single point-of-contact for all their communications requirements. Thanks to WLR3, can provision lines directly on the BT Openreach network. This means that our customers gain all the advantages of using BT s unrivalled network reach whilst being able to benefit from our personal service and dedicated support resource. We can provision not only new lines but also take over management of existing lines, often at a reduced cost, and we can frequently leverage our audit capabilities to identify lines that are no longer necessary, cutting spend levels further. Outbound CPS & WLR Key Benefits Multi-carrier consultative approach Improved choice and reduced costs WLR provisioned on BT Openreach network Single supplier for all calls and lines Audit capabilities to identify excess spend Page 6 of 10

8 Our Voice Services (continued) SIP Trunking knows that a full-scale migration to SIP trunking is inevitable. Developments such as BT s 21CN (21st Century Network) demonstrate that the migration is already underway. This is combined with carrier network upgrades that result in VoIP being used for all backhaul and core network voice transit to mean that numbers of TDM analogue and digital voice trunks are in decline. Many of our MPLS customers have quality of service capable WAN links between their sites and already use their WAN for inter-site voice over IP. For those customers, adoption of SIP trunking is the next logical stage in their evolution as they already have a network that is voice ready. For many other customers, they are looking at SIP trunks for business continuity as an interim stage before a full SIP migration. We can provide data connectivity with QoS and SIP trunks for a similar price to ISDN. If you need a new or upgraded Internet or WAN connection anyway, we can deliver SIP trunks for a fraction of the cost of ISDN using a high-speed fibre link. SIP Trunking Key Benefits 50% reduction in trunk rental versus ISDN Leverage investment in high-speed data networks Hybrid TDM and IP solutions available Business continuity and resilience options Burstable trunk capacity for handling traffic spikes A full or partial move to SIP e.g. using a blend of ISDN and SIP trunks in a hybrid configuration can be undertaken to allow customers to improve their inbound capabilities. SIP breaks the link between the DDI and the line connected to the local exchange, allowing you to be more flexible in how you handle calls. This is especially compelling for companies who need to deal with constant changes in their business. SIP trunking allows capacity to be dynamically added or reduced, depending on call levels, during the course of a business year. In short, SIP trunking will reduce line charges, will offer new business continuity options, improves on inbound call handling, offers new options for burstable trunks and is easier for businesses to manage through simple online management portals. offers carrier-grade SIP services on its own UK network, through a geographically diverse IP softswitching platform, providing maximum flexibility and price/performance. Distribution Centre 2 MB Public Telephone network for Voice (PSTN) VOIP 100 MB Sales Office 2 MB SIP on MPLS with QoS VOIP Head Office VOIP Home Worker 8 MB ADSL Internet Page 7 of 10

9 Our Voice Services (continued) Inbound Voice provides a complete managed inbound voice service. Our NGN number ranges will redirect calls to any predetermined DDI number allowing you to decide how you wish to handle your inbound calls. Moreover, they can allow you the flexibility to offer free calls (03xx/0800), national rate calls (0844), revenue share (0844/0871) minutes and premium rate (09xx) services. We can advise you on the Phonepay Plus regulatory implications of the options available, guide you on the image that different NGNs present, and discuss the flexible call routing options our inbound services can offer your business. Customers that migrate their inbound numbers to our SIP-based platform will benefit from new models of call handling. Using our Number Translation Services (NTS), geographic numbers can be pointed elsewhere to allow companies to present a nationwide presence. For example, 0141, 0161 and 029 number ranges can all be pointed at 0121 and 0207 locations to let a Birmingham and London-based organisation give the impression that they also have Glasgow, Manchester and Cardiff sites. In conjunction with our SIP trunking services, this inbound flexibility means that customers are no longer tied to the dedicated copper connection between the local exchange and their offices; now, they can answer calls from any DDI in any location in the world, with full control over call routing. This is a particular benefit for those looking to make inbound call handling part of a robust business continuity program or for those who wish to consolidate on office space and locations without needing to eliminate local DDI ranges. Inbound Voice Key Benefits Non-geographic number ranges for enhanced flexibility Number translation services to handle multiple STD DDIs Call recording, call queuing and management information Inbound call management as part of business continuity planning Many customers wish to provide recorded announcements, call recording and call queuing, and to have management information relating to how well they are handling calls and about call volumes. These features can be deployed for little more than a flat monthly charge on their bill. Rather than routing calls directly to your premises, they are redirected via our platform where we add the appropriate options to each call automatically, unseen by your caller unless needed. Global Voice Managing and administering a global communications network is complex and challenging. Most traditional telecommunication providers have independent operations for each country, so you deal with multiple suppliers, multiple bills and multiple problems. This often results in higher costs too. does things a bit differently; Global Voice, our international voice service, simplifies international telecoms management and reduces costs. Global Voice Key Benefits Reduction in global call charges Single supplier for all voice traffic IP backhaul options for flexibility Some Global Voice customers use their own IP network for voice backhaul and others use the Six Degrees network. Either way, the principle is the same we backhaul the voice traffic to a pre-determined location on our network from where we switch the calls. Page 8 of 10

10 Mobile Voice & Data works with all major networks for the provision of mobile voice and data services. We also offer value-adding services like mobile call recording and solutions that enable bring your own device capabilities as IT departments look to make the ongoing consumerisation of IT a benefit, not a hindrance, to their company. Phones and Smartphones is able to offer devices from leading manufacturers based on major operating systems, including BlackBerry, Apple, Android and Windows Phone. Increasingly, companies are seeking to provide choice to users but that can make technology integration and supply-chain management challenging. We re here to help. Flexible Pricing and Kit Funds Choosing the right network and device mix is only the beginning of the process. also helps with advice on the right mix of rentals, sharers and bolt-ons for your needs. We support this with kit fund options that are designed to facilitate a technology refresh when you need it. Mobile Call Recording Originally, it was only FSA regulated organisations that implemented call recording products. Now, with mobiles being the sole communication device for many users, the technology has reached mainstream deployment. offers a hosted recording and storage solution that uses Tier 1 carrier grade technology to capture all kinds of mobile communication - without the need for upfront investment in internal deployment. It s fast and straightforward to implement and is scalable to 40,000 users on a single platform. The solution can be deployed using our own hosted service or your existing systems. Calls are stored in secure data centre facilities and there s full access to all recordings through a 24/7 online portal. Bring Your Own Device Enablement For many companies, the requirements of mobile workers have been completely reversed. Instead of needing a device and a SIM card, the user is providing their own equipment but needs access to company information. We can help you to move your systems into a cloud-centric web services model and provide remote and secure access to company information and systems. Even if you are providing new equipment like tablets and smartphones, you may be struggling to manage the remote devices and data access; if so, can help too. IP Telephony Systems Providing unified communications solutions requires IP telephony. supports telephony in a variety of ways. Maintenance of Existing PBX/ IP-PBX Equipment Many of our voice customers wish to consolidate their suppliers and ask us to take on the maintenance of their existing PBXs as a master telephony supplier. We are able to support all major manufacturers e.g. Avaya, Cisco, Ericsson, Mitel, Nortel and Siemens. New IP Telephone Systems also provides new equipment, often along with conferencing and collaboration products to build complete unified comms solutions, to our customers. They come to us to provide an integrated offering with us providing connectivity, traditional and SIP trunks and ongoing support, all from a single point-of-contact. SIP Gateways for SIP Enablement For customers who are looking to introduce a SIP trunking solution from, but don t have an IP-capable telephone system, we provide SIP gateways to enable our SIP trunking services. These are available for outright purchase or on a rental basis as part of the SIP trunking contract. Fixed Mobile Convergence For many users, it s Fixed Mobile Convergence (FMC) that s the real benefit of unified comms. is in an ideal position to provide FMC as we can handle the fixed, mobile and enabling systems necessary to achieve any flavour of FMC that our customer needs. Hosting of IP Telephony Some customers wish to augment business continuity solutions like Livenumber by physically hosting their IP-PBX offsite. As part of our managed data services, we are able to host either a primary or backup (or both) IP system in our London and/or Birmingham datacentres. This is also available as a private or virtual private (multi-tenanted) cloud solution where we build the prime or backup service as a native VMware application, with us providing diverse SIP and IP connectivity to all locations. Page 9 of 10

11 Support and Services supports our customers through our UK-based helpdesk that is manned with highly qualified voice engineers and we have 24/7 support through our network operations centre. We strongly believe that our support personnel are an integral part of our overall account management framework. Our customers have become accustomed to dealing with the same passionate staff for many years, not some nameless individual in a call centre, and enjoy their personal relationships with our team. Professional Services We have taken the expertise of our engineering and technical staff and created a suite of professional services predominantly designed to be pre-sales offerings. Our professional services include: Key Benefits Named account managers and support staff 24/7 support through our NOC Audit and architecture design services Compliance and business continuity planning Telecoms audits, including international voice services VoIP readiness audits, to evaluate if your company is ready for SIP Network design services to build the optimum network for your company Solutions architecture to combine multiple areas of our portfolio into one solution DR/BC planning to help you to understand how we can help Compliance planning to ensure you meet your regulatory requirements At, we strive to build the best technical solutions available to mid-market and corporate customers in the UK today. But we know that s not enough. We re also passionate about delivering outstanding service and we employ some of the smartest and most capable people around to make sure that our products keep working and our customers enjoy consuming our services. We believe that connecting with our products will give you the tools to be more successful in achieving your business goals and that connecting with our people will help you to benefit even more through a true long-term partnership. Page 10 of10

12 Six Degrees Unified Comms Ltd Paul Street London EC2A 4LB