Telecommunications Challenges Solved - Direct DID Solution

The IPsmarx Direct DID Platform enables service providers to address the growing demand for convenient international calling. Now, you can address some of the most prominent telecommunications challenges in the industry.

Challenge #1

A business person has international offices and clients located all over the world and he does not want them to have to dial a long distance number in order to reach him.

Solution

With the IPsmarx Direct DID Platform, you can now offer business people many international phone numbers that are forwarded to one cell phone.

Challenge #2

A client’s mother lives in another country and he does not want to have to dial an access number, PIN, and destination number every time he wants to call her.

Solution

Instead of dialing an access number and then the destination, this client can have a local number that is forwarded directly to his mother’s phone so he will only have to dial one local number anytime he wants to call her. Service providers can offer this service with IPsmarx’ Direct DID Platform.

Challenge #3

A call center in India needs to have toll-free phone numbers for their customers in the US and UK to dial.

Solution

With the IPsmarx Direct DID Platform, service providers can offer a toll free number that is forwarded to a call center in a different country.

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Overview

DID (Direct Inward Dialing) is an emerging technology that has created new business opportunities for service providers.  With the IPsmarx Direct DID Solution, corporations and call centers are able to maintain many phone numbers with multiple area codes and have them forwarded anywhere in the world.  For example, a corporation located in Hong Kong, may have a US toll-free number ring at their office for the convenience of their US customers.

Using the IPsmarx Direct DID Solution, calls can be forwarded without routing through an IP phone.  The calls are placed using a landline or cell phone eliminating the need for an IP phone or internet access.

Cost Savings

The price differentiator as compared to true call forwarding is tremendous.  Today, if a client signed up for DID in the US and requested their Telco to forward calls to phone numbers in other destinations every call would be a long distance charge – up to 30 cents or more per minute.  With the IPsmarx Direct DID the call would be remarkably cheaper because the call is being sent through IP infrastructure. 

International Business Solutions

The IPsmarx Direct DID Solution supports multiple DID numbers.  For example, a client could have phone numbers in London, New York, and South Africa all routing to his cell phone in Toronto.  Business professionals on the go need multiple phone numbers around the world and the ability to forward calls to one number.

Call Center Solutions

With customer service call centers located all over the globe, call centers need the ability to offer local numbers to their callers. With the IPsmarx Direct DID Solution, Call Centers streamline their operation by avoiding the need for PSTN gateways and IP phones. They now have the flexibility to route many different DID’s to one call center with no additional hardware needed.

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Features

• Call Monitor
• Automatic Email Notifications
• Integrated RADIUS-based Billing
• Unified Customer Management
• Minute Rounding & Fee Definition
• SIP & H323 Carrier Support
• Advanced Taxation System
• Instant SIP & H323 Protocol Conversion
• Complete Codec Support
• Priority Based Routing
• Unlimited End-Point Carrier Support
• Data Encryption for Critical Data Storage
• Online Back Up Tool
• Application Manager
• Enhanced Customer Management
• Multiple Levels of Access
• Flexible CDR Reporting
• Flexible ASR Reporting
• Flexible ACD Reporting

Call Monitor 

Administrators have access to the call monitor to view live calls any time. IPsmarx’ monitoring tool displays the name of the caller, call destination, type of service, rate, call duration, available talk time, codec being used, and any other information relevant to the call.

Automatic Email Notifications

Using this feature, administrators can customize email messages to be automatically sent to their customers. For example, a Pre-paid Direct DID customer trigger limit can be created to inform the client when their balance goes below a certain threshold amount.

Integrated RADIUS-based Billing

Our internal RADIUS server for AAA (Accounting, Authorization, and Authentication) procedures guarantees optimal performance and outstanding billing functionality. This feature is compliant with RFC-2865 industry standard.

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Unified Customer Management

By taking advantage of Unified Customer Management, carriers can offer any other VoIP service supported by IPsmarx, such as IP phone service, calling card, or IP-PBX using the same billing solution and management interface. End users can sign up for any of the services offered using one web interface, and receive one bill for their usage of various services. Administrators and End Users can also set usage limits for each service. For example, they can set one usage limit for calling card and another for wholesale. Note: Service Providers must have appropriate IPsmarx add-on modules to offer additional services.

Minute Rounding & Fee Definition

Using this feature, administrators can establish optional extra fees and minute rounding.  For example, with a 30 by 6 resolution, the caller will be charged for the first 30 seconds regardless of the talk time.  In this scenario, after the first 30 seconds, the caller will be charged in 6 second increments. Administrators can also define fees, such as maintenance or connection fees.

SIP & H323 Carrier Support 

Our softswitch supports both SIP and H323 protocols, allowing carriers to interconnect with providers and customers regardless of their call control protocol. The correct port for each protocol can be assigned automatically. This can also be changed manually to any port requested by the end point carrier. Our H323 module supports Fast Start capability. Note: H323 support must be added to the softswitch as an add-on module.

Advanced Taxation System

With the IPsmarx softswitch solution, a third party taxation company is not required. All taxation can be managed in the same management interface. Administrators have the ability to establish multiple tax profiles and manage various taxes.

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Instant SIP & H323 Protocol Conversion 

This feature enables the softswitch to link calls between VoIP providers using incompatible protocols. The softswitch views the incoming protocol being used and looks at the outgoing protocol being requested and then changes the protocols required without any disruption of call quality. Note: H323 support must be added to the softswitch as an add-on module.

Complete Codec Support 

To increase interconnection opportunities for VoIP carriers, the IPsmarx softswitch supports all major codecs including G729, G723, G711a, G711u, h364, and h364 in pass-thru mode and via codec negotiation.  The IPsmarx platform also supports  DTMF according to  RFC2833. Since IPsmarx platform supports codec negotiatioan , there is no need for any codec settings at the client or carrier side and this feature makes IPsmarx platform even easier to manage.

Priority Based Routing

This feature allows Carriers to define a priority for each entity in the dialing plan and IPsmarx routing engine will follow these priorities every time that it wants to send a call to an end-point carrier. 

Unlimited End-Point Carrier Support

The IPsmarx softswitch allows administrators to define an unlimited number of end-point carriers in order to take advantage of the best price and quality the market has to offer. Fail-over is also included in the softswitch package to ensure that our carrier clients have the most reliable service offering.

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Data Encryption for Critical Data Storage

Administrators and end users can rest assured that critical data  will be encrypted using complex encrypting methods such as RSA and MD-5.

Online Back Up Tool 

This feature allows administrators to make an online backup from the entire database and save it on an internal or external hard disk. 

Application Manager

The IPsmarx Application Manager offers the convenience of system updates, while allowing the flexibility of re-boot by component, resulting in streamlined system management and reduced cost of ownership.

Enhanced Customer Management

Administrators not only have the ability to define a custom level of access for their customer service representatives, they can also offer an interactive field for employees to add notes for each customer to streamline the customer service process.

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Multiple Levels of Access 

This feature allows multiple users to be logged in to the softswitch management interface at the same time with different levels of access.  This enables carriers to establish customized levels of access to the softswitch interface. Reports and permissions can be allowed or restricted at the administrator’s discretion.

Flexible CDR Reporting 

The CDR, Call Detail Record, is an enhanced reporting tool which enables carriers to view call details, cost, profit, and duration of each call. This report is available per carrier or per customer.

Flexible ASR Report

The ASR, Average Success Rate, enables carriers to evaluate the quality of their termination providers.  The report measures call duration based on carriers, destination, and more. A percentage of the calls being terminated by the system can also be generated, which will aid in determining the quality of end-point carriers.

Flexible ACD Report

The ACD, Average Call Duration, report measures call duration based on carriers or destinations.  This produces a report indicating how long callers are on the phone and generates a time value to measure the quality of end-point carriers.

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Add-On Modules

• Invoicing Module
• Advanced RTP Management
• Package Billing
• E-Store
• Reseller Management
• Marketing Tools
• Gift Card Solution
• Trouble Ticketing System
• H323 Support Module
• Multi-Dial Plan Module

Invoicing

With this flexible invoicing module, carriers can send bills manually or automatically, define the frequency of each bill, and export the invoice to PDF format, Microsoft Excel, or Microsoft Word. The IPsmarx invoice formatting tool allows adminstrators to customize the format of their invoices and with unified invoicing, all services that are offered through the IPsmarx platform can be listed on one invoice.

Advanced RTP Management

With this add-on feature, carriers can choose to enable or disable RTP proxy. If the RTP proxy feature is disabled, the RTP stream will be sent directly from the client side to the end end-point carrier. In this case IPsmarx softswitch is not involved in RTP transmission, thus sending the RTP to a separate server. If distributed architecture is used, RTP traffic can be sent to a separate RTP proxy server. By taking advantage of this feature, carriers may reduce the load on their hardware. To view a diagram of our distributed architecture, click here.   

Package Billing

With this feature, carriers can create monthly calling plans and define unlimited minutes or a determined amount of free minutes to specific pre-defined destinations. For example, a carrier may offer a flat fee for a specific number of ports per month. 

E-store

The IPsmarx E-store module is an E-Commerce Solution that is fully integrated with our billing platform. Configuration with a supported merchant account is also included in this module. Using the E-store, you can offer fully automated sign up and online payment for your customers as well as a user portal with access to payment history, call detail records, and account recharge. Design of the front end of the E-store (your homepage) can be fully customized to your company and brand by a certified web designer.

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Reseller Management

With the IPsmarx Unified Reseller Management modules, Administrators can sign up resellers to promote any of their VoIP services. Administrators can define their own reseller program and set permissions, such as sharing or limiting access to the different services they can offer, re-assigning customers to different resellers and allowing resellers to add funds to customers' accounts. There are four types of reseller modules available within the IPsmarx platform, allowing Administrators the flexibility to define their own unique reseller program.

Usage Based Reseller Module

A Usage Based Reseller will get compensated through a commission structure set up by the Administrator. This commission can be based on a percentage or a flat rate or both and the commission can be based on long distance calls as they are placed or at the end of the monthly bill. The Usage Based reseller will be able to login to their own interface to manage their customer accounts, but they can only use the service selling rates assigned to them by the Administrator when registering a new account. Reports like CDR, Commission and Balance report can be also available to them if the Administrator has allowed it. If the Administrator allows it, resellers will be able to see and manage each other’s customer accounts. Resellers can also sign up their own subagents. 

Payment Based Reseller Module

A Payment Based Reseller will receive compensation through commission set up by the Administrator. This commission can be based on a percentage or a flat rate or both and will be applied as soon as the reseller’s customers add money to their account balance. The Payment Based Reseller will be able to login to their own interface to manage their customer accounts; they can only use the service selling rates assigned to them by the Administrator when registering a new account. Reports like CDR, Commission and Balance report can be also available to them if the Administrator has allowed it. If Administrator allows it, his resellers will be able to see and manage each other’s customers’ accounts. Resellers can also sign up their own subagents. 

White Label Reseller Module

Using this module, Rate Based Resellers (white label resellers) have the flexibility to define selling rates for their customers and agents, and their agents are able to define their own selling rates for their customers. This module allows the reseller to set up their own selling rates based on predefined buying rates. The Rate Based Reseller will be able to login to their own interface to manage their customer accounts and create their own service selling rates. Reports, such as CDR, ASR, ACD and Customer Report are also available to them as well as invoicing (as long as the Administrator has this feature enabled). This type of reseller traditionally has their own brand, company name, and logo that is displayed on their own website.  

Pinless Reseller Module

The Pinless Reseller module is available to compliment the Payment Based Reseller module. Resellers can utilize this module to sign up customer accounts or recharge customer’s account balance by just retrieving a customer’s phone number and the number they registered will be automatically assigned to the pinless feature. The pinless reseller module offers the advantage of faster registration for when resellers are located in a fast paced customer service environment, such as a convenience or grocery store. The Administrator will have access to the Pinless recharge report for details about total amount recharged per pinless reseller, profit and other information. 

Reseller E-store

This feature enables your resellers to have their own branded website. They can display their own logo and their customers can use this complete E-commerce solution to sign up and pay for their services.

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Marketing Tools

Whether it’s creating a new service offering, or implementing a new marketing campaign, the IPsmarx solution streamlines the process, allowing your team to focus on marketing strategy instead of lengthy technical implementation. Our suite of integrated marketing tools empowers your marketing team to create promotions, loyalty & referral programs, service & rate packages, manage email campaigns, offer gift cards, and update your website with the latest news and promotional information – all with just the click of a mouse.

Bonus Points

This application enables your marketing team to define a point system to encourage customer loyalty. For example, they may define that for every $100 spent, customers can receive 5 bonus points that can redeemed for free minutes, similar to frequent flier miles.

Referral Program Management

To encourage customer referrals, this application allows you to reward your customers for referring friends to sign up for this service. Customers who refer friends are eligible to receive a pre-determined number of bonus points that they may redeem for your products and services.

Message Board

Your Marketing Team can easily display messages to various customer groups on the customer web portal, making it easy for your customers to find out about your latest news and promotions.

Promotion Discount Tool

In conjunction with the IPsmarx E-store, this tool allows you to create competitive ways to position your services, while adding value to your customer’s purchase and driving your online sales. Using this tool, you can create a coupon or a discount equivalent to a dollar value or percentage and asign the coupon or discount to the online services you would like to offer to your customers.

Gift Card Solution

Creating and managing gift cards is easy with our Gift Card Solution. Your customers are also able to redeem gift cards online through our E-Commerce Solution.

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Trouble Ticketing System

Our robust ticketing system enables you to manage customer service and support within the IPsmarx platform without the need for a 3rd party application. Your customers can open tickets that can be assigned to various layers (technical support, customer service, sales, etc.) Resellers and agents are also able to open tickets.

Internally, your organization can manage ticket resolution and escalation and also define answers to common questions and email responses that can be saved as templates for efficient response management.

H323 Support Module

For end point carriers who support H323 only, this module can be added to the softswitch to allow interconnection. The correct port for each protocol can be assigned automatically. This can also be changed manually to any port requested by the end point carrier. Fast start capability is another benefit of this feature. SIP and H323 protocol conversion is supported as well. 

Multi-Dial Plan Module

With the Multi-Dial plan feature, you can have multiple dial plans that are each assigned to a particular service you offer. For example, you could offer two different tiers of VoIP service - a “Premium” quality service and a “Regular” quality service. Each route is able to offer different qualities, yet remain part of the same overall dial plan. This could also be used when testing new carriers, ensuring live traffic routes are uninterrupted.

SIP Card Module

The SIP Card Module allows the System Administrator to generate a batch of residential SIP accounts and export the list of SIP login/passwords information. This information can then be printed on cards. The end user will be able to configure their IP phone, any SIP device or their Softphone with the SIP registrar information to hold an account for Call Termination using VoIP.
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Requirements

• Operating System: Windows 2003 or 2008, 32 or 64 Bit, English Edition
• Database: MySQL Server
• Internet Access: 20 Kbps for each simultaneous call with g729 codec and 1 static, public IP address assigned to the softswitch