[VoiceOps] 2015 Softswitch

Mon Nov 2 09:00:24 EST 2015

Yes, I have taken a look at Enswitch by Integrics. Looks like
a solid platform, but a little concerned about the user interface and
overall design of the platform. Its not as polished as I would like it to
be, but overall seems nice. For the price it seems like an awesome system.
I don't like the tough of Asterisk being the core of the product.

So far based on recommendations I see Broadsoft, Metaswitch, NetSapiens,
and Enswitch by Integrics as options. I am going to throw out 2600hz as a
platform that might evolve into a solution to use, but its not there yet.

Besides these 5, are there any other recommendations?

On Thu, Oct 29, 2015 at 8:58 PM, Alex Balashov <abalashov at evaristesys.com>
wrote:

> Have you considered Enswitch by Integrics?
>
> ‎It's the best of breed of the sort of thing that it is. Moreover, if
> you'll tolerate BW price points, you'll think it's practically free.
>
> ‎https://integrics.com/enswitch/
>
> It's got the API and integration path requirement covered, too. I know
> about a dozen operators and they're all pretty happy with it.
>
> If you talk to Alistair Cunningham, their director, be sure to relate that
> Alex Balashov sends his regards.
>
> --
> Alex Balashov | Principal | Evariste Systems LLC
> 303 Perimeter Center North, Suite 300
> Atlanta, GA 30346
> United States
>
> Tel: +1-800-250-5920 (toll-free) / +1-678-954-0671 (direct)
> Web: http://www.evaristesys.com/, http://www.csrpswitch.com/
>
> Sent from my BlackBerry.
> *From: *Colton Conor
> *Sent: *Thursday, October 29, 2015 21:50
> *To: *Rob Dawson
> *Cc: *voiceops at voiceops.org
> *Subject: *Re: [VoiceOps] 2015 Softswitch
>
> I appreciate all the replies to this thread. I can honestly say that no
> one said it better than Rob Dawson. Especially the part about " 99% of
> all Broadworks shops sell the same exact product. Whatever comes out of the
> box, with the crappy BW portal, using Polycom phones but taking no
> advantage of any of the advanced features that are available. I really
> think that in the next few years that providers who are not offering a full
> UC&C experience for their customers and not doing anything to differentiate
> their products will start faltering. That innovative product suite is what
> providers will need in order to be competitive in the future."
>
> I couldn't agree more as I feel that is where I am currently at, on a
> Broadsoft platform, selling the same basic feature sets, at the same price
> points, as everyone else. Hard to be innovative with Broadsoft when
> Broadsoft nickles and dimes you for ever little feature especially when the
> big competitors are giving these features away for free or at no cost
> because their platform allows them to.
>
> So I am looking for a new soft-switch engine. Something that with API's I
> can integrate into these existing services such as fax (that I wish people
> would stop using).
>
> The only thing I have seem so far to come close as an all in one solution
> is NetSapiens. I have not looked at Metaswitch as its too expensive unless
> there is someone out there that has a wholesale, hosted, whitelable
> Metaswitch product?
>
> Anything else besides Broadsoft, Metaswitch, and Netsapiens that fits the
> bill?
>
> On Wed, Oct 28, 2015 at 12:50 PM, Rob Dawson <rdawson at force3.com> wrote:
>
>> To be fair, what you are describing is not really a softswitch but a
>> suite of applications that happens to be built around a switching platform.
>> There are some vendors that handle parts of this well, Cisco HCS can
>> provide a full UC&C suite including call control, multi-party video, IM&P,
>> desktop/content sharing, delivers it all through the same Jabber interface
>> on your desktop, phone, or tablet and has a beautifully simple user portal,
>> at least in 10.x and up. Broadsoft has UC-One which provides basically the
>> same feature set through a unified interface, though the portal is lacking.
>>
>>
>>
>> When it comes to some of the ancillary services though, it doesn’t make
>> sense for a solution vendor to start looking at developing a full fax or
>> call recording solution when RightFax and Hylfax, and whatever else already
>> exist. Most of them stick to what they are good at – call control and
>> features. If they need to provide video they buy a company, Tandberg for
>> example. They want to add desktop sharing, buy WebEx. This is how Broadsoft
>> acquired most (maybe all?) the constituent components of UC-One as well.
>>
>>
>>
>> If you start looking under the hood at any of the SPs that you mentioned
>> I would venture to say that you would find a bunch of discrete systems,
>> Broadworks or Asterisk for call control and features, Hylafax or Right Fax
>> for faxing, an open source SMS gateway, etc. with a bunch of “glue” tying
>> them together via APIs and a bespoke user interface to present a unified
>> view to the customer, all tied into the providers BSS/OSS systems.  That
>> “glue” and UI is what is unique to each SP and is what turns a pile of
>> boxes into a “solution”. It also allows you to add features and
>> functionality easily when the next great app comes along, and prevents you
>> from being tied to any one solution vendor. Hylafax doesn’t work out? Trash
>> it and switch to XYZ fax, your custom UI obfuscates the change from the
>> customer and they never know.
>>
>>
>>
>> I’ve said this before, 99% of all Broadworks shops sell the same exact
>> product. Whatever comes out of the box, with the crappy BW portal, using
>> Polycom phones but taking no advantage of any of the advanced features that
>> are available. I really think that in the next few years that providers who
>> are not offering a full UC&C experience for their customers and not doing
>> anything to differentiate their products will start faltering. That
>> innovative product suite is what providers will need in order to be
>> competitive in the future.
>>
>>
>>
>> Let’s be honest, If you and I both sell Broadworks and you have a feature
>> pack called “Premium” and I have one called “Executive” but they offer the
>> same features and the only difference is price, then we are fully
>> commoditized and can only compete on cost. Providing more services to your
>> customer than your competitor is able to adds value and provides
>> stickiness. Having a unique and differentiated product allows you to move
>> the conversation away from cost, and towards the value that you can bring
>> your customer.
>>
>>
>>
>> All that being said, I think you have a great list of features and an a
>> good start because you are looking to model some of the companies that are
>> already doing this successfully. I do think that you are asking too much if
>> you are looking for a sole sourced solution.  But, if you have the time,
>> capital, and people you can certainly go out and find the best of breed for
>> each component and then integrate them into your own unique platform.
>>
>>
>>
>> *Rob*
>>
>>
>>
>> *From:* VoiceOps [mailto:voiceops-bounces at voiceops.org] *On Behalf Of *Colton
>> Conor
>> *Sent:* Wednesday, October 28, 2015 9:55 AM
>> *To:* voiceops at voiceops.org
>> *Subject:* [VoiceOps] 2015 Softswitch
>>
>>
>>
>> I am still on the search for a 2015 grade multi-tenant soft-switch.
>> Something that can compete with Vonage Business, Switch.co, and other newer
>> innovative phone services.
>>
>>
>>
>>  Here are the requirements I am looking for, so if anyone knows of
>> something that fits this bill please let me know:
>>
>>
>>
>> 1. Has the ability to support SMS and MMS already. I am tired of so many
>> softswitch vendors saying they are adding SMS or MMS as a coming soon item.
>> It is 2015 people. SMS has been around since as long as I can remember.
>> Most of the large wholesalers (bandwidth.com, Level3) support SMS, and
>> some are supporting MMS. Not only should the softswitch support it, but
>> they should have some way to allow the user to send and view these
>> messages.
>>
>>
>>
>> 2. Supports call recording on both the inbound and outbound side. Should
>> be able to see call recording through the web interface. Web interface for
>> overall platform should be user friendly, and hopefully HTML5 based.
>>
>>
>>
>> 3. Supports Music on hold where you can upload multiple files. It can
>> play these files in random order like a radio station.
>>
>>
>>
>> 4. Supports the OPUS codec and VP8 for WebRTC capabilities. Hopefully
>> already has WebRTC capabilities.
>>
>>
>>
>> 5. Has a device provisioner where we can modify the XML files for each
>> device at the global, group, or seat level. So many of our customers have
>> special needs, and a one size fits all device template simply will not cut
>> it. We should be able to reboot phones remotely, and push firmware.
>>
>>
>>
>> 6. Built in faxing support.
>>
>>
>>
>> 7. Voice Quality Monitoring built in. Should show MOS scores, Jitter,
>> Packet Loss, for each call through the platform.
>>
>>
>>
>> 8. Busy Lamp field integration.
>>
>>
>>
>> 9. Some sort for mobile integration (beyond just call forwarding) for
>> mobile employees who don't want a desk phone. This can be apps for
>> smartphones, or something else. Most vendors say well our softswitch is SIP
>> compliant so you can use the 1000's of apps that support SIP already. That
>> will not cut it.
>>
>>
>>
>> 10. All the advanced features one would expect out of any modern hosted
>> PBX offering. Auto attendants, call forwarding, time of day rules,
>>  voicemail to email, etc..
>>
>>
>>
>> Does this simply not exist and I am asking for too much? Each of these
>> are things my clients are requesting for.
>>
>>
>>
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