Overview Checkmarq bv was approached by Van Dorp Verhoog NVM s, a in The Hague, to provide a new PBX system that would prepare them for the future years to come and would reduce their telephone costs. The proposed solution was based on the Checkmarq VBX Series, Grandstream phones and Xorcom connectivity. All ISDN calls were to be handled by a Xorcom Astribank to be sure of good communication. The system was rolled out by MBLX, a certified Checkmarq reseller. The initial contact was me in december 2007, it then took a few weeks to collect the costumerʼs input. The installation of the Checkmarq VBX, including all of the features, took place in March 2008, over the course of only two business days. Following the installation, the telephone agents received on-the-job training. User Requirements Before installing the new PBX, long interviews were held with both the CEO of the Van Dorp Verhoog NVM Property Agents as well as the telephone workers in the company, to determine the requirements and ditional requests from the customer. The following list of major points was the result: Hybrid VoIP PBX IVR (digital receptionist) Several Call Queues with different time patterns Time Conditions Monitoring / Recording Ring groups 088 Dutch non-regional business numbers Caller ID Lookup Music on hold Personal Voicemail Voicemail to mail Fax to mail Outside telephone agents Hybrid VoIP PBX Van Dorp Verhoog required that the VoIP PBX be hybrid. So in case the DSL connection goes down and VoIP calling isnʼt possible anymore, the calls would be automatically switched to ISDN and visa versa. Since they have lots of co-workers on the ro, they also required a GSM Gateway to route internal calls to the mobile phones. The Checkmarq VBX-Series combines VoIP trunking with VoIP providers, in this case a secure IAX2 trunk to Vovone. The existing ISDN BRI lines are connected to the Checkmarq VBX default ISDN devices, the Checkmarq VBX Certified Xorcom Astribanks. The 4 ports ISDN BRI Astribank from Xorcom connects incoming and outgoing phone calls over the KPN ISDN Network, as well as the mobile calls over the GSM Gateway box.
Case Study Network Schematics: Outside Agents Voip Trunks CMQ VBX Series photo Xorcom Astribank Grandstream phones During this study, a major core network failure happened in The Netherlands, causing large areas to become cut off from DSL access. Due the hybrid nature of the VBX-Series, all calls were routed automatically over the ISDN network, using the Xorcom Astribanks. None of the telephone agents were even aware of the failure, until we mentioned it. IVR IVR, Interactive Voice Response, is also know as the digital receptionist. This requirement was very high on their list, because of the continuously growing telephone traffic during various peak hours, but not enough to hire a full-time receptionist.
This requirement was implemented using the IVR in the Checkmarq VBX, which is included in the free default license included in all of the VBX-Series models. This way the telephony flows efficiently to the Call Queues based on the callerʼs choice. Call Queues The use of several call queues combined with several time patterns was one of the items on the Van Dorp Verhoog wish list. Several call queues were implemented for the different divisions within Van Dorp Verhoog. The main reason for the call queues, inste of plain ring groups, was to ease the phone ʻstressʼ two ways; the customer was notified about the number of other callers waiting in line, and the estimated waiting time, the agents can finish their phone calls without being interrupted with call waiting tones. All call queues where implemented on the Checkmarq VBX, license free, using the very intuitive Webbased pages. Time Conditions The automatic time conditions requirement was defined as mandatory by Van Dorp Verhoog. In the solution provided they donʼt have to think about turning on their voicemail system and listening to it in the morning. The Checkmarq VBX does it all. It automatically engages the voicemail on the virtual unlimited various time schedules per hour, day, month, year, etc. The voicemail messages are converted to sound files that end up in the specified mailbox(es). One division in the company is restricted to taking calls from 9 to 11 am only, due to their tight appointment schedules. Callers outside this timeframe are directed to an announcement explain the timeframe and being able to leave a voicemail message. Monitoring / Recording The function to monitor and record conversations was an item that came up in our interview with the CEO. He wanted to be able to monitor the support calls, and also record calls to verify deals me between the company and the customer in case of a dispute, since in the past they h been to court due deals me over phone, but without clear evidence. The Checkmarq VBX has extensive monitoring features. So this was easily implemented as well as the recording. They can now look at every call me and click on the call, to listen to the conversation. All these recordings and monitoring data is stored on the Checkmarq VBXʼs mirrored disks and kept as long as hard disk space is available, but easily for over a year of business hours phone calls. The implementation of the recording recently paid off. When one of his employees became involved in a dispute with a costumer. Van Dorp Verhoog easily downloed the file and listened to the terms of the agreement that took place, preventing further legal steps.
Ring Groups This was one of the features that was built into their previous PBX and they wanted to preserve it on their new one. But as time went by, they migrated all their ring groups to call queues. 088 Business numbers The use off regional-free 088 Business numbers is growing daily in The Netherlands, this because you can easily register your own phone number block at the Opta, making it owned by yourself/the company and rendering you telephone operator independent. The implementation of 088 business numbers was done by Checkmarqʼs preferred VoIP provider Vovone. They connected the VoIP trunks to the Checkmarq VBX and me sure that all the numbers were correctly connected, ported over from a previous (conventional) telecom provider and routed within a very short timeframe. Using Vovoneʼs VoIP trunks also results in very competitive call rates all over the world. As a result of this implementation everyone within the company now has their own 088 extension. This has the vantage that they can be reached directly via their own phone number. When employees receive a fax message on the same number, the Checkmarq VBX notifies the recipient and mails the fax to the userʼs mailbox. Caller ID Lookup The use of Caller ID Lookup was defined as a requirement of the telephone agents. They were used to see the mobile numbers of their employees, with their name, on their old PBX. We extended this functionality to include all the companies in the region of the same branch. A customizable, and virtual unlimited, Caller ID Lookup database is one of the default features of the VBX-Series, making is relative easy to d phone number to name lookups. Music on Hold Music on hold is a feature that can be implemented in various ways. The vantage to the customer of doing this the Checkmarq way is that s/he can uplo WAV and MP3 files themselves, edit their own Music on hold play list, and even choose music styles based on the hour of the day, or season bound, like Christmas songs. Personal Voicemail Van Dorp Verhoog was used to having one voicemail recorder, which records messages when the company is closed. So they used to send around emails with reminders to people, to call someone back and so on. By implementing Personal Voicemail everyone got their own voicemail box, with their own personal message. This way the communication became more clearer while the work lo on the telephone agents was reduced. The VBX voicemail can even be forwarded to the other voicemail boxes on the PBX. Again, this feature is license free on the VBX-Series.
Voicemail to mail Voicemail to mail is a feature that was included in the solution because the costumer re about it in the Checkmarq VBX flyer. It simplifies communication. Example: The CEO gets a voicemail message in his mailbox. Even if he is not in the office, and is reing his email remotely, he can simply forward the message to his secretary who can reply directly Fax to mail Fax to mail is a feature mentioned earlier and is implemented as a follow up of the 088 business numbers. This way everyone has a personal fax machine without having to actually place one on their desk. The fax message is just send as a PDF file via email to the employee. Outside Telephone agents One of the CEOʼs requirements was to enable the use agents outside his office. They would have to be connected to the PBX. By configuring the VBX to accept external agents, Van Dorp Verhoog is able to connect external agents all over the world, just like agents that are in the office. All they have to do is plug in an authenticated IP phone to the internet and they can be reached on their phone using internal numbers, call queues, and so on. Even transferring a call is as easy as you are used to at the office. Results Since installation the system has run flawless. A UPS battery backup makes sure the VBX-Series PBX, as well as all internal phones powered over PoE switch, runs 24/7/365 -- even when the main power has drops. Important for these flawless setups is a error-free and certified Cat 5e network infrastructure, which is the case at Van Dorp Verhoog. Conclusion Van Dorp Verhoog s not only have a cheaper telecommunication bill every month due to VoIP, they also have become more efficient by using the Checkmarq VBX series. The CEO, Paul Rats, recently clearly stated he wished he h done this earlier. It would have saved him a lot of money and aggravation.
Current Setup The current telephony system is comprised of: Checkmarq VBX Series 4000 1 Xorcom Astribank BRI 4 Ports 20 Checkmarq Certified VoIP Phones Vovone Failover VoIP Trunks 3 ISDN BRI Lines 1 Dual GSM Box IVR (digital receptionist) Several different call queues with recordings and different time patterns Voicemail to mail Fax to mail Outside agents on different locations This system handles an average of 6 concurrent calls at any given time during business hours, with spikes of over 18 concurrent calls. This translates to over 120 calls per hour. The Checkmarq VBX including all the features mentioned earlier, was installed in March 2008. About MBLX MBLX provides support and installation services on Checkmarq VBX Series. They have nearly 35 years of experience in many areas of the IT industry. MBLX has been working with VoIP PBXs since 2006. Implementations range from small offices of 5 extensions to multi-site offices. All the deployments are now based on the Checkmarq VBX Series. MBLX is a Checkmarq VBX-Series Certified Reseller. More info: http://www.mblx.nl About Van Dorp Verhoog s Van Dorp Verhoog is a professional property agency, familiar with all the facets of the property sector. Has a solid reputation and a proud history. The company has an informal and low-threshold corporate culture, and the ʻno-nonsenseʼ method of working can certainly be considered distinctive. For over 35 years their team of specialists has guaranteed professional vice and guidance in the field of real estate, property management, business accommodation, initiating new developments, valuations and consultancy, mortgages and insurance. More info: http://www.vandorpverhoog.nl
Case Study About Xorcom Founded in 2004, Xorcom is a privately-held IP-PBX manufacturer. Xorcom harnesses the power of Asterisk Open Source IP-PBX the most rapidly developing telephony platform in the world to design and produce leing-edge hardware telephony solutions for commercial installations. Today, Xorcom offers the widest and most flexible range of solutions and hardware platforms in the Asterisk market. System integrators, telecom equipment manufacturers, and customer premise telephony and VoIP providers use Xorcom products to provide ded value to their end users. Xorcom sells its products via a worldwide distribution channel, OEM partners, and a sales office in the USA. More info: http://www.xorcom.com About Vovone Vovone provides VoIP services since 2001. Focussed on the consumer market in the early years, Vovone shifted to pure professional VoIP providing when the business market became more familiar with VoIP and the ʻlast mileʼ network infrastructures became reliable enough in selected countries to support the professional level VoIP Vovone delivers. Connected to all major telecom operators over the world, Vovone can deliver competitive call rates to all countries in the world and inbound phone services in selected countries. More info: http://www.vovone.com About Checkmarq bv Checkmarq bv is an appliance manufacturer since 2005. Being focused on security appliances till 2008, technology investment from itʼs holding company, IDC, me it possible to start building PBX appliances, with the goal to penetrate the market with aggressively priced quality telephony products without the expensive licenses major PBX manufacturers are known for. The functionality of the so called ʻ$100.000 Enterprise PBXʼ for the complete business market, from SOHO to Fortune 500 is what Checkmarq bv, with itʼs partners, are making possible today. More info: http://www.checkmarq.net