Call Accounting

CenturyLink completes $12.2 billion acquisition of Qwest Communications

2011-04-01T08:36:00.001-07:00

By Peter Svensson, The Associated Press

NEW YORK, N.Y. - CenturyLink says it has completed its purchase of Qwest, combining the country's third- and fourth-largest traditional phone companies into one.

The closing of the $12.2 billion all-stock deal follows nearly a year of regulatory reviews. The combined company offers landline phone service in parts of 37 states.

CenturyLink is keeping its headquarters in Monroe, La. Qwest's Denver headquarters will turn into one of CenturyLink's six regional headquarters and will also be the overall headquarters for its business services group.

The combined company has about 47,000 employees, and some job cuts can expected. Both CenturyLink and Qwest have already been cutting jobs, because they're losing phone lines as customers chose to rely on cellphones or cable phone service.

RSI to attend the Avaya Partner Community Council In Montreal, Quebec

2010-10-06T13:48:00.000-07:00

Resource Software International Ltd. (RSI) will be attending this year's edition of the Avaya Partner Community Council to be held in Montreal, Quebec.

The event will be staged on October 25 - 27, 2010 at Marriott Chateau Champlain Hotel, Montreal, Canada.

Visit our booth as where we will be demonstrating our new Shadow Real Time Dashboard (RTD). The product offers Instantaneous monitoring and analysis of the health of your communication ecosystem.

SHADOW Real Time Dashboard (RTD) is a powerful tool that can monitor one or a complex array of mission-critical communication systems that require uncompromised performance and availability. The solution is a browser based, multi-vendor real-time console that can monitor and analyze data from virtually any telephony platform or device (incl. ACD, Contact Center, Call Center, Voice Mail, SMNP, CDR, etc.). SHADOW RTD provides supervisors with instantaneous metric about the health of their communication facilities. More information can be found here.

Visit our website for details about our total unified communication management software solutions including call accounting, real time dashboard, mobile tracking, hotel billing, CRM integration and emergency notification. Visit www.telecost.com

Who is PCC Americas?

North, Central and South American organization of voice and data Avaya partners dedicated to improving the overall products and services to our end user community.

PCC Americas is a 'not for profit' organization open to all Avaya Network's Partners in North, Central and South America. PCC Americas has two conferences a year along with monthly conference calls for various subcommittees and task forces. The purpose of this organization is to bring partners together to assure the rollout of products contain all the elements necessary for successful introduction, implementation and maintenance of Avaya products throughout the globe.

RSI Announces Shadow CMS Call Center Reporting Now Available for Switchvox

2010-10-04T08:10:00.000-07:00

RSI Announces Switchvox Call Center (ACD) Reporting
Switchvox SMB is a member of Digium’s proven family of Business Phone Systems for small and medium businesses. Switchvox systems are designed to be easy to use, and easy to manage while bringing affordable Unified Communications solutions to SMBs.

RSI is pleased to announce a Call Center Reporting module for the Switchvox SMB platform. This new offering supplements the existing, best in class, Shadow CMS Call Accounting solution available today.

Call center reporting arms agents and managers with the tools required to effectively monitor, manage and maintain key queue/agent statistics. The ability to actively report on queue wait times, answered/abandoned percentages, call counts and call durations allows managers to take the necessary steps towards positively impacting daily operations.

Contact Us for details
sales@telecost.com

RSI Attending Avaya West Area Sales – WIN BIG Conference

2010-02-11T08:17:00.000-08:00

Avaya West Area Sales – WIN BIG Conference
Resource Software International Ltd. (RSI) announced today its participation and platinum sponsorship of the Avaya West Area Sales - WIN BIG Conference. The event, to be held February 10 to 12, at the Encore Wynn Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada, will bring together 150 Avaya Sales & Engineering Team Members, Newly on-boarded Nortel associates, and Participants from other partner organizations (DevConnect Partners and Business Partners) that are sponsoring the event.

About Avaya West Area Sales – WIN BIG Conference
From the Wynn Encore hotel to winning deals, this conference is all about taking down the competition and driving new business. To WIN BIG, we know we need to solution sell and that is where you come in. Avaya wants you there to show us and our partners what you do, how you do it and how we can work with you.

For more Avaya/Nortel product information, visit http://www.telecost.com/avaya

RSI Avaya Call Accounting Compliant

2010-01-19T13:54:00.000-08:00

Resource Software International Ltd. (RSI) announced today that its core applications for call accounting and total unified communications management solutions are uniquely positioned and compatible with Avaya and Nortel enterprise communication gear. On the heels of the anticipated Avaya Roadmap announcement, RSI reaffirmed that its core solutions have already met the Avaya Compliant Solutions and Nortel Developer Partner standards.

"This is an exciting day for RSI”, said Rito Salomone, President, “Avaya has issued a strong commitment in working with its partners to offer unified communication solutions. The Avaya Roadmap provides a vision into the future convergence of Nortel and Avaya brands bringing forward the best technologies of both companies. During this transition, RSI has you covered with dynamic seasoned applications that leverage the best technologies of both portfolios. We will continue to work with Avaya in developing best-in-class call accounting and total unified communication management solutions for every enterprise. It is now more compelling than ever to look at RSI.”

SHADOW CMS Enterprise is a fully scalable enterprise grade communication management solution that can merge call detail records, voice mail, auto attendant and call center logs into a concise consolidated analysis. SHADOW CMS Enterprise provides the necessary tools to allow administrators to forecast, monitor and allocate communications management expenses. SHADOW spans a range of industry sectors including retail, government, education, tourism, health care, professional, hospitality and general business environments. RSI offers this application to all customers of all sizes with scalability in mind. SHADOW CMS Enterprise is truly unique with its compatibility with Avaya Aura Communication Manager, Avaya IP Office, Avaya (Nortel) BCM, Avaya CS1000, Avaya Meridian 1, Avaya (Nortel) Norstar and Avaya (Nortel) SCS 500.

Revolution Web Call Accounting is a popular completely browser based application with an embedded SQL database, built-in Web server and automated job scheduler. The product has received many industry accolades and is fully compatible with Avaya IP Office and the Avaya Business Communication Manager. Revolution Web Call Accounting is also compatible with Avaya Norstar and Avaya SCS 500. RSI is uniquely positioned to offer this powerful application to the combined SME market for the new Avaya portfolio. It is expected that over the course of the next two years Avaya will blend both IPOffice and BCM into a unified solution. RSI has you covered with compatibility on both platforms.

Additionally, RSI offers both products for various industry verticals for seamless integration to industry software such as hotel property management systems and professional accounting packages. Revolution Web Call Accounting and SHADOW CMS Enterprise offer full multi-vendor and multi-platform compatibility with popular systems from other vendors including Cisco, Siemens, ShoreTel, Mitel, Alcatel, Asterisk, Adtran and others.

About Resource Software International Ltd. (RSI)

Founded in 1990, RSI is a developer and manufacturer of a broad range of total unified communication management solutions including call accounting, hotel billing, CRM integration, mobile tracking, presence console, managed services and multi-vendor management. RSI is focused on providing customers products,training and resources that manage, control and reduce the expense of their communication ecosystem. As a proud Avaya DevConnect Partner, RSI is focused on providing Avaya (and former Nortel) customers training and resources that offer insight about the health of their communication facilities. RSI has distributors in North America, Europe, Asia, Caribbean and Middle East.

For more information, visit http://www.telecost.com/avaya

RSI Unveils Unified Portal for Avaya/Nortel Call Accounting Products

2009-12-23T09:31:00.000-08:00

RSI has unveiled a new website that is exclusively designed to meet the needs of Avaya customers. The site has been configured to include Avaya Compliant Solutions and Nortel Compatible Products that are lab tested and recognized around the globe.

The Avaya DevConnect and Nortel Developer Partner portfolios are now both available at:
http://www.callaccountingsoftware.com

“We advise our Nortel customers that our products will continually be supported and developed over the long haul. The Nortel assests are broadly accepted worldwide. RSI is strategically positioned to assist Nortel customers and those migrating to Avaya or other platforms. “, said Rito Salomone, president of RSI. “During these tough economic times, it is important to assure our customers that their investment is fully protected. Our applications are designed to work with the latest technologies. ”

RSI is uniquely positioned to offer total communication management solutions to every enterprise including multi-vendor environments that include Avaya/Nortel, Cisco, ShoreTel and others.

RSI now offers the broadest range of call accounting solutions including Shadow CMS Enteprise for Avaya Aura Communication Manager, Shadow CMS Enterprise for Nortel, Revolution Web Call Accounting for Avaya IP Office, Revolution Web Call Accounting for Avaya one-X QE, Nortel Activity Reporter and more all under one roof.

About Resource Software International Ltd. (RSI)

Founded in 1990, RSI is a developer and manufacturer of leading-edge communications management solutions. RSI offers a wide range of products including: call accounting, hotel/motel management, ACD reporting, CCR, Voice Mail and IVR reporting, carrier comparisons, and rebilling outsourcing services. RSI has distributors in North America, Europe, Asia, Australia, Caribbean and Middle East.

RSI Expands Its Visual Rapport Unified Communication Presence Console Portfolio

2009-12-10T10:25:00.000-08:00

OSHAWA,ON and ST-GEORGES, PQ - Resource Software International Ltd. (RSI) and Komutel Inc. jointly announced today a landmark technology and branding agreement. RSI will add the Komutel productivity and presence console applications to their Total Unified Communication Management Solutions portfolio which also includes call accounting, hotel billing, switch configuration and mobile tracking.

The agreement will facilitate the market acceptance and expansion of a complete umbrella of applications designed for leading manufacturers of unified communication gear including Avaya, Cisco, Mitel, ShoreTel and Nortel. By combining RSI’s broad distribution network with Komutel’s best in class unified communications productivity applications, the alliance will allow both parties to create and deliver advanced technologies more rapidly to their customers.

Under this agreement, RSI will have the exclusive right to brand and distribute Komutel (and the former ConverTec) applications through major channels in the United States including Verizon, AT&T, CenturyLink, Qwest, Shared Technologies, Blackbox and Windstream.

RSI will brand, distribute and support the highly popular Komutel Solution for Integrated Telecommunication (SIT) unified console as part of its powerful Visual Rapport console portfolio. Visual Rapport SIT is a unified telecommunication productivity tool offering exclusive and enriched features such as information management, resources status and presence management. This solution is compatible with major telecommunication platforms such as Avaya, Cisco, Mitel, Nortel and Asterisk. Visual Rapport SIT is used in multiple vertical markets including security, healthcare, business operation, dispatch, emergency services and contact centers.

"This agreement enhances the strength of both Komutel and RSI to deliver products more quickly and broadly.", said Rito Salomone, President, RSI. "We believe this is a win-win-win situation for our two companies, our channel partners and most importantly our mutual customers."

"RSI has an excellent reputation in the industry along with well established channels to market", said Richard Poulin, President of Komutel. "Working together Komutel and RSI can quickly deliver cost effective solutions that improve efficiency and lower costs. We look forward to working with RSI to provide customers with robust Unified Communication applications."

About Komutel Inc.

Komutel is a high technology business focused on the development and marketing of innovative and cost effective telecommunications solutions. Komutel offers a suite of software products designed to enhance the performance of internal communications and inbound/outbound call handling. Komutel call centre solutions provide intelligent call queuing, real-time statistics and historical reporting in single site or networked multi-site environments. Komutel solutions are recognized in the telecommunications industry for their user friendly operation, performance enhancing analytics, reliability and return on investment. Komutel recently acquired Convertec Inc. to enhance its position as a global leader in console applications.

About Resource Software International Ltd. (RSI)

Founded in 1990, RSI is a developer and manufacturer of leading-edge communications management solutions. The company offers a wide range of other products including: call accounting, hotel/motel management, ACD reporting, CCR, Voice Mail and IVR reporting, CTI applications and rebilling outsourcing services. Our customer installations include small to medium (SMB) and large enterprise organizations. Our dealer network includes major telephone companies, PBX and IP switching manufacturers, interconnects, equipment vendors, hotel and motel management companies, alternate long distance providers and consultants.

Our distributors span the globe with offices in Australia, New Zealand, Asia, Europe, United States and Canada. More information can be found at www.telecost.com

RSI Offering Investment Protection and Long Term Solutions for Avaya and Nortel Community

2009-12-09T10:11:00.000-08:00

RSI is offering a complete portfolio of total unified communication management solutions including call accounting, hotel billing, presence console, switch configuration and mobile tracking solutions to Avaya and the former Nortel communities.

With our Avaya DevConnect Gold and Nortel Developer Partner experience, RSI is an industry leader in providing end-to-end communication management solutions globally.

We are reaching out to our existing and new friends to provide them with a powerful portfolio of multi-vendor solutions.

Learn more here: http://www.telecost.com

Inquire about distributing our products: http://www.telecost.com/dealer.htm

XBlue Networks Call Accounting

2009-11-09T23:08:00.001-08:00

Resource Software International Ltd. (RSI), an international developer, manufactuer and distributor of unified communication management solutions, announced today that it has completed interoperability testing with XBLUE Networks 45p and Xplus100 Hybrid Digital telephone systems. RSI successfully tested its multi-platform, browser based SMB call accounting solution - Revolution Web Call Accounting.

All testing was executed by RSI using pre-established, standard test plans specifically designed for interoperability verification with traditional and VOIP telephone systems. Test coverage includes basic communication and functionality between XBLUE Networks telephone systems and Revolution Web Call Accounting.

"This announcement marks another milestone in the evolution of Revolution Web Call Accounting and demonstrates our dedication to ensuring our solutions support all traditional and VOIP telephony platforms. We look forward to providing XBlue Network customers with the very best communication management solutions." said Rito Salomone, President, RSI.

XBLUE Networks specializes in providing hybrid telephone systems to small businesses. The 45p telephone system supports up to 9 telephone lines, 24 digital speaker phones and 4 analog ports. The Xplus100 system supports up to 20 telephone lines, 48 digital speaker phones and 8 analog ports. An 8 port voice mail solution with 6 hours of message storage can be added to both the 45p and Xplus 100 platforms.

About RSI

Founded in 1990, Resource Software International Ltd. is a developer, manufacturer and distributor of leading edge computer telephony management solutions. The company offers a wide range of products including: call accounting, hotel/motel management, switch administration, text messaging, ACD Reporting, CRM integration, soft consoles, internet reporting and management software. RSI has distributors in North America, Europe, Caribbean and Middle East.

Information about RSI, its products and the company's maintenance program can be found on the World Wide Web at www.telecost.com

SHADOW B-ACD Reporting for Cisco Unified CME

2009-11-05T10:10:00.000-08:00

As more and more businesses implement call centers and hunt groups to better handle customer service inquiries, order taking, and other inbound call activities, managers are struggling to find a way to insure that these centers are running efficiently. The old adage rings true “you cannot manage what you cannot measure”. RSI’s SHADOW B-ACD Reporting for Cisco Unified CME provides invaluable management tools to gauge employee productivity, inbound call volumes, and measure the quality of service our customers are experiencing.

By using SHADOW Call B-ACD Reporting for Cisco Unified CME to break down the call center and hunt group data into easy-to-use and easy-to-understand reports, managers are able to spend more time overseeing operations and managing their human resources and less time trying to interpret complex data streams. Recurring reports can be run on a hands-free basis in both detail and summary formats; queue and hunt group call volumes can be broken out by the hour; and robust filtering and export options ensure that the relevant information is being provided to the appropriate parties. Enhance the efficiency of your call center today with SHADOW Call B-ACD Reporting for Cisco Unified CME.

Upgrading your communication equipment vendor? We have you covered! No need to change your call accounting software. Visit http://www.telecost.com

Free Multi-Vendor and Multi-Platform Call Accounting Proposal

2009-10-07T08:09:00.001-07:00

RSI specializes in multi-platform, multi-vendor total unifed communication management solutions. We would be pleased to offer you a solution that can consolidate your environment under one umbrella and protect your investment long term. We offer centralized, browser based, hosted and single site solutions for call accounting, hotel billing, ACD Reporting, switch administration, contact center consoles, CRM Integration, Unified Communications and even custom development.

For a FREE quotation or product information, click here

The Importance of Making The Proper Communication Management Investment During Difficult Economic Times

2009-10-07T07:14:00.000-07:00

FRWEB1 - The Importance of Making The Proper Communication Management Investment During Difficult Economic Times
November 12, 2009 - 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm
www.telecost.com

This presentation will highlight the importance of making the right communication management decisions especially during difficult economic times. The presenter will provide insight on the importance of efficient communication facilities in all business sectors, customer engagement, productivity enhancement and intelligent procurement. Focus will be placed on the RSI product portfolio that protect your investment. RSI will offer concrete solutions for telecom expense management designed for multi-vendor environments. The webinar will highlight the uniqueness of our communications management tools, practical applications, vertical markets and our unique relationship with major vendors. RSI is an Avaya DevConnect Gold Member, Mitel MSA Partner, Cisco Technology Partner and Nortel Developer Partner among other relationships. The session will run for approximately 45-50 minutes with additional time reserved for Q&A.

Contact:
sales@telecost.com
or
Click here to Register

Resource Software International Ltd. (RSI) Announces Sponsorship of AVAYA 2010 Global Sales & Americas Partner Conference

2009-09-10T08:40:00.000-07:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - September 10, 2009

OSHAWA, ONTARIO - September 10, 2009 - Resource Software International Ltd. (RSI) announced today its participation and gold sponsorship of the AVAYA 2010 Global Sales & Americas Partner Conference. The event, to be held October 11 to 15, 2009 in Nashville, Tennessee, brings together 2,500 Avaya Sales and Marketing associates, including technical sales support teams, and over 1,000 members of the Avaya partner ecosystem including BusinessPartners, AlliancePartners, and DevConnect members.

"RSI is delighted to endorse this major event with premium sponsorship and the unveiling of new solutions. We offer total unified communication management solutions for every enterprise to manage, control and reduce communication expenses." said Rana Banik, Director of Sales. "This is an excellent forum to demonstrate to our partners our latest Avaya Compliant solutions for IP Phones, IP Office and Avaya Aura Communication Manager."

About Resource Software International Ltd. (RSI)

Founded in 1990, RSI is a leading Avaya DevConnect partner with a broad range of total communication management solutions including call accounting, hotel billing, CRM integration, mobile tracking, presence console, managed services and multi-vendor management. As a proud Avaya DevConnect Gold Member, RSI is focused on providing Avaya customers products, training and resources that manage, control and reduce the expense of their communication ecosystem. For more information, visit www.telecost.com

Contact Information
Rana Banik, Director of Sales
rana@telecost.com

Resource Software International Ltd. (RSI)
40 King Street West, Suite 300, Oshawa, Ontario. L1H 1A4
Phone: 905-576-4575
Fax: 905-576-4705
Email: rsi@telecost.com
Web: www.telecost.com

RSI Unveils New Call Center Reporting for BCM at INNUA

2009-06-10T12:51:00.000-07:00

Most organizations pride themselves in providing customers with answers quickly and efficiently. A properly working call center can distinguish your business and provide a competitive advantage. An overloaded, inaccurate or malfunctioning call handling system could spell disaster. Now you can make intelligent workforce, skill set and network planning decisions with concise system metrics. SHADOW Call Center Reporting for BCM gives you a powerful means of deciphering the reams of information produced by your telephone system call center statistics.

SHADOW CMS Call Center Reporting enables administrators to effectively plan and manage their call center resources, improve customer experience and maximize their bottom line. A properly functioning and intelligent call center can allow a minimal number of agents to field a large volume of calls.

A powerful query builder and graphical reports provide easy to read at-a-glance call center statistics that highlight busy hours, peak times, agent performance and lost or abandoned calls. According to industry reports, the implementation and proper maintenance of an intelligent call center can reduce abandoned calls by up to 15 percent, lower inbound 800/888 costs by 10 percent and increase employee productivity by up to 40 percent.

Today’s telecom managers are charged with making sure their communication facilities are functioning effectively. RSI offers a total unified communication management solution (TUCMS) that includes reporting under one umbrella for call accounting, call center, voice mail, auto attendant, hunt group and IVR. Talk to us about TUCMS!

View our product brief!

For more information, visit our Nortel Compatible Products website:
www.telecost.com/nortel

Shadow Internet Control Browser Management Software for Every User

2009-06-09T12:31:00.000-07:00

The speed, reliability and accessibility at which business can disseminate information is the primary driver for corporate success. Communication is the essential key to a world that demands instantaneous results. If used effectively, the information highway known as the Internet can rapidly maximize corporate visibility, increase productivity and touch a massive audience with relatively low expense. Advertising, email campaigns, webinars, software downloads, support and online commerce are some of the tools that can be implemented with relative ease. The Internet has become a part of modern living. Forward thinking companies have embraced this powerful global medium to communicate their message and conduct business. Virtually every business now has a web presence.

The Internet can also be a source of real time information, news and entertainment. Surfing the Internet has become a favorite pastime of people of all ages. Most businesses are generally resigned to the fact that employees are sometimes using company resources during business hours for personal use. Social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace and Twitter are regularly accessed during work hours. There is a huge risk of misuse, abuse and productivity loss. Some employees become so addicted to "staying connected" with their friends that it becomes detrimental to their work. The Internet is a vast world of unfiltered and unedited information. It can expose millions of people including minors to gambling, drug abuse, pornography, hate literature and violence.

Statistics from various respected sources indicate a critical need for internet control measures. International Data Corporation estimated that 30% to 40% of employee Internet use isn't work related. Nielsen/NetRatings reported 92% of online stock trading occurs from the workplace during work hours and 46% of online holiday shopping takes place at work. Another shocking statistic from SexTracker states that 70% of all Web traffic to Internet pornography sites occurs between 9 am and 5 pm. In the United States, real cost loss estimates range from 1.75 billion to well over 2.5 billion a year.

Communication managers must have a handle on Internet usage practices in order to gage bandwidth needs, monitor and control browsing activity and secure their business intelligence. Educational institutions, government agencies and general business can derive huge benefits from measuring and policing Internet usage. Perhaps of even greater importance, monitoring of communications can help detect intrusions and highlight attempts to steal, hack or sabotage corporate intellectual property.

Internet control is only part of the total picture. Managers need to have a unified communication management arsenal. Productivity loss from misuse of a combination of popular communication facilities such as non-business telephone and mobile calls, personal email, hiding behind voice mail and internet browsing can cost companies 30 minutes to two hours per day per employee. If each business owner extrapolates these findings based on lost salaries and opportunity cost the numbers are staggering.

Founded in 1990, Resource Software International Ltd. is a developer, manufacturer and distributor of total unified communication management solutions. The company offers a wide range of products including: call accounting, internet usage, hotel/motel management, contact center console and CTI applications. RSI has distributors in North America, Europe, Caribbean and Middle East.

For more information, visit http://www.telecost.com

RSI Announces Enterprise and SMB Call Accounting Compatibility with Nortel SCS 500

2009-06-09T12:19:00.000-07:00

OSHAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA - June 10, 2009 - Resource Software International Ltd. (RSI), an official Nortel Developer Partner, announced today that it had been granted compatibility recognition with the popular Nortal SCS 500. Registered Product status was achieved for Revolution Web Call Accounting on SCS 500 in December 2008 and now Shadow CMS Enterprise.

Registered Products:
Revolution Web Call Accounting is also a Nortel Compatible Product for Nortel BCM and Norstar.
Shadow CMS Enterprise is also a Nortel Compatible Product for Nortel BCM, Norstar, and CS 1000.

All testing was executed by RSI and Nortel using rigid standards for the Nortel SCS500 system. Test results were reviewed by Nortel. Test coverage includes basic communication and functionality between a specific release of Nortel’s SCS500 platform and a specific version of the Revolution Web Call Accounting, both as identified above. Where a SIP interface is used, testing is focused on the compliance of the SIP communication between the two products to RFC 3261, RFC 3842, RFC 2833, RFC 3515, RFC 4235, RFC 3891, RFC 3263, and RFC 4662.

"RSI is continuing to leverage its position as a leading provider of communication management solutions for every enterprise on Nortel gear. We are proud of our longterm relationship as a third party solutions provider, Developer Partner with Compatible and Registered Products and strategic partner of Nortel. This announcement represents our next milestone in broadening our portfolio of management solutions for all Nortel platforms" said Rito Salomone, President, RSI.

About RSI
Founded in 1990, Resource Software International Ltd. is a developer, manufacturer and distributor of leading edge computer telephony management solutions. The company offers a wide range of other products including: call accounting, hotel/motel management, switch administration, text messaging, ACD Reporting and CRM integration. RSI has distributors in North America, Europe, Caribbean and Middle East.

Information about RSI, its products and the company's maintenance program can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.telecost.com/nortel.

Visit Resource Software International Ltd.(RSI) at GlobalConnect 2009

2009-06-02T13:44:00.000-07:00

Join Resource Software International Ltd. at Booth 630 in the Nortel Partner Pavilion at Global Connect 2009, June 7-10 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

RSI is an active Nortel Developer Partner with a series of Nortel Compatible Products tailored for most Nortel telephony platforms including Norstar, BCM, SCS 500, Meridian 1, CS1000 and Survivable Remote Gateway. At the RSI booth at Global Connect 2009, we’ll be showcasing our latest offerings including our new:

Total Unified Communication Management Software

RSI is presenting a revolutionary portfolio of unified communication management applications that set the standard in measuring the health of communication facilities. This new portfolio encompasses reporting for a broad range of facilities including telephone, auto attendant, voice mail, call center, multi-party conference and internet usage.

Some of our exciting new applications include:

Visual Rapport Suite
A collection of industry standard visual communication console, desktop productivity and unified communication applications. Check out our new Visual Rapport Integrator for Outlook, Outlook Calendar, Windows Live Messenger, Skype and more.

SHADOW CMS Enterprise Call Accounting
SHADOW CMS is our flagship application that is scalable across any enterprise with any platform. SHADOW CMS is a robust call accounting and communication management solution that centralizes and consolidates facility usage and cost. Check out our latest compatibility certificates for SHADOW CMS and SCS 500, BCM 450 and CS 1000.

SHADOWIC Internet Control and SHADOWIR Reporter
SHADOWIC Internet Control helps you restrict inappropriate surfing and enforce Internet usage policies in your organization. Coupled with SHADOWIR Reporter, the administrator can monitor Intenet bandwidth, examine usage, detect intrusion and prevent misuse and abuse.

Visit our Nortel portal to discover our complete line of Nortel Compatible applications. Popular applications include Nortel Activity Reporter, Revolution Web Call Accounting, MerAssistant Switch Administrator, tools OSN and our complete line of Visual Rapport and SHADOW applications. For more visit http://www.telecost.com/nortel

Global Connect 2009, presented by the International Nortel Networks Users Association (INNUA), will connect you with the latest Nortel technologies, VoIP and multi-media, convergence planning, unified communications, business administration and more. As a Nortel customer, this is an event you cannot miss.

Access valuable educational sessions and training, complemented by exciting networking opportunities allowing you to meet and mingle with nearly 2,500 Nortel professionals from around the globe. And if you're looking to explore the latest solutions and innovations in the industry, the Global Connect Exhibit Hall is a one-stop location showcasing the latest Nortel technologies including applications from Resource Software International Ltd. (RSI).

About RSI

RSI is an active Nortel Developer Partner with many Nortel Compatible Products, third-party and branded solutions. RSI provides solutions for most Nortel Telephony Platforms including Norstar, CS 1K, SCS 500 and BCM. Our solutions provide important communication management statistics for cost allocation, bill reconcilliation, project billing, network planning, workforce and contact center management, CRM Integration, Desktop Console, toll restriction, emergency notification, switch administratio, internet usage and consolidated telecom expense management.

More information about our product offerings can be found at www.telecost.com or our RSI Nortel Compatible Products portal www.telecost.com/nortel

RSI Call Accounting now Compliant with Avaya Aura Communication Manager 5.2

2009-05-28T08:14:00.000-07:00

OSHAWA, Ontario — Resource Software International Ltd. (RSI), a leading provider of total unified communication management solutions (TUCMS) for every enterprise, today announced that its Shadow CMS enterprise call accounting is compliant with Aura™ Communication Manager 5.2. Avaya is a leading global provider of business communications applications, systems and services.

Shadow CMS helps businesses curb misuse, reconcile telecom expenses, highlight detrimental quality of service, discover system hacks and manage the health of their communication networks. The application now is compliance-tested by Avaya for compatibility with Avaya Aura™ Communication Manager 5.2.

“RSI is delighted our flagship application, Shadow CMS, has demonstrated compliance with Avaya Aura™ Communication Manager 5.2. Over the years, Shadow CMS has been continually developed to meet the high standards of interoperability of Avaya IP Office, and Avaya Communication Manager“, said Rito Salomone, President, RSI. “Combined with Avaya telephony platforms, Shadow CMS helps our mutual customers maximize efficiency and productivity, track and analyze networks, and forecast, monitor and allocate communications management expenses. ”

RSI is a member of the Avaya DevConnect program—an initiative to develop, market and sell innovative third-party products that interoperate with Avaya technology and extend the value of a company’s investment in its network.

As a Gold member of the program, RSI is eligible to submit products for compatibility testing by the Avaya Solution Interoperability and Test Lab in Lincroft, N.J. There a team of Avaya engineers develops a comprehensive test plan for each application to verify whether it is Avaya compliant. Doing so ensures businesses can confidently add best-in-class capabilities to their network without having to replace their existing infrastructure—speeding deployment of new applications and reducing both network complexity and implementation costs.
“By participating in Avaya’s compliance testing program and committing to open standards, development partners like RSI are helping businesses get more out of their network investment,” said Eric Rossman, vice president, developer relations and technical alliances, Avaya. “Our customers are able to easily communications-enable critical business processes, change the way they work and uncover new value that can help them build their bottom line.”

About Avaya
Avaya is a global leader in enterprise communications systems. The company provides unified communications, contact centers, and related services directly and through its channel partners to leading businesses and organizations around the world. Enterprises of all sizes depend on Avaya for state-of-the-art communications that improve efficiency, collaboration, customer service and competitiveness. For more information please visit www.avaya.com. For more information on the Avaya DevConnect program, visit www.avaya.com/devconnect.

About Resource Software International Ltd. (RSI)
Founded in 1990, Resource Software International Ltd. is a developer, manufacturer and distributor of total communication management solutions. The company offers a wide range of products including: call accounting, hotel/motel management, contact center console and CTI applications. RSI has distributors in North America, Europe, Caribbean and Middle East. As a proud Avaya DeveloperConnection Gold Member, RSI is focused on providing Avaya customers training and resources that offer insight about the health of their communication facilities. For more information, visit www.telecost.com

Shadow CMS Enterprise Call Accounting Now Avaya Compliant With Avaya Aura Communication Manager 5.2

2009-05-13T14:59:00.000-07:00

Resource Software International Ltd. (RSI) announced today that it had received notice from Avaya about its successful compliance testing with Avaya Inc.'s Avaya

Aura™ Communication Manager 5.2. RSI is an Avaya DevConnect Gold Member with a portfolio of applications that have been granted Avaya Compliant Award status.
each party's solution.

Avaya is committed to providing its customers with solutions that are fully compatible with the Shadow CMS Enterprise 4.1.0. With this successful Compliance testing, Avaya provides customers the assurance of successful product interoperability. By continuing to pursue improvements in product integration, we offer a more cost effective, integrated solution to our customers.

For more information, visit our website at http://www.telecost.com/avaya

Shadow CMS Enterprise Now Compliant with Avaya Communication Manager

2009-04-15T11:05:00.000-07:00

OSHAWA, Ontario — Resource Software International Ltd. (RSI), a leading provider of total communication management solutions (TCMS) for every enterprise, today announced that its Shadow CMS enterprise call accounting is compliant with Avaya Communication Manager 5.1.2. Avaya is a leading global provider of business communications applications, systems and services.

Shadow CMS helps businesses curb misuse, reconcile telecom expenses, highlight detrimental quality of service, discover system hacks and manage the health of their communication networks. The application now is compliance-tested by Avaya for compatibility with: Avaya Communication Manager 5.1.2.

“RSI is delighted our flagship application, Shadow CMS, has demonstrated compliance with Avaya CM. Over the years, Shadow CMS has been continually developed to meet the high standards of interoperability of Avaya IP Office, and Avaya CM“, said Rito Salomone, President, RSI. “Combined with Avaya telephony platforms, Shadow CMS helps our mutual customers maximize efficiency and productivity, track and analyze networks, and forecast, monitor and allocate communications management expenses. ”

RSI is a member of the Avaya DevConnect program—an initiative to develop, market and sell innovative third-party products that interoperate with Avaya technology and extend the value of a company’s investment in its network.

As a Gold member of the program, RSI is eligible to submit products for compatibility testing by the Avaya Solution Interoperability and Test Lab in Lincroft, N.J. There a team of Avaya engineers develops a comprehensive test plan for each application to verify whether it is Avaya compliant. Doing so ensures businesses can confidently add best-in-class capabilities to their network without having to replace their existing infrastructure—speeding deployment of new applications and reducing both network complexity and implementation costs.

“By participating in Avaya’s compliance testing program and committing to open standards, development partners like RSI are helping businesses get more out of their network investment,” said Eric Rossman, vice president, developer relations and technical alliances, Avaya. “Our customers are able to easily communications-enable critical business processes, change the way they work and uncover new value that can help them build their bottom line.”

About Avaya
Avaya is a global leader in enterprise communications systems. The company provides unified communications, contact centers, and related services directly and through its channel partners to leading businesses and organizations around the world. Enterprises of all sizes depend on Avaya for state-of-the-art communications that improve efficiency, collaboration, customer service and competitiveness. For more information please visit www.avaya.com. For more information on the Avaya DevConnect program, visit www.avaya.com/devconnect.

About Resource Software International Ltd. (RSI)
Founded in 1990, Resource Software International Ltd. is a developer, manufacturer and distributor of total communication management solutions. The company offers a wide range of products including: call accounting, hotel/motel management, contact center console and CTI applications. RSI has distributors in North America, Europe, Caribbean and Middle East. As a proud Avaya DeveloperConnection Gold Member, RSI is focused on providing Avaya customers training and resources that offer insight about the health of their communication facilities. For more information, visit www.telecost.com

Media Inquiries:

RSI
Rana Banik, RSI
905-576-4575
rana@telecost.com

AVAYA
Lynn Newman, Avaya
908-953-8692
lynnnewman@avaya.com

###

RSI Announces Shadow CMS Call Accounting Granted Avaya DevConnect Compliant Award

2009-04-02T11:35:00.000-07:00

April 2, 2009 - RSI has been awarded the Avaya DevConnect Compliant Award for successful compliance testing with Avaya Inc.'s Avaya Communication Manager 5.1.2

Shadow CMS Enterprise 4.1.0 has been compliance tested by Avaya's DevConnect Technical Team and today has been officially accepted as compliant.

Avaya is committed to providing its customers with solutions that are fully compatible with the Shadow CMS Enterprise 4.1.0. With this successful Compliance testing, Avaya provides customers the assurance of successful product interoperability. By continuing to pursue improvements in product integration, we offer a more cost effective, integrated solution to our customers.

Shadow CMS had previously been granted a similar award for compliance with Avaya IP Office and Quick Edition One-X platforms.

Shadow CMS is now compliant with these Avaya platforms across the enterprise.

RSI Joining Partners Adtran, Nortel, Avaya at VoiceCon 2009 in Orlando

2009-03-31T13:59:00.000-07:00

VoiceCon draws over 6,000 attendees at the most highly focused and highest quality conference in the enterprise voice communications market. For over a dozen years, end user attendance has continued to grow making VoiceCon the most significant IP Telephony/convergence conference of the year.

Nortel will once again be on hand to showcase their innovative unified communications solutions. RSI is a Nortel Developer Partner with a host of compatible products for unified console, call accounting and switch administration.

Concurrent with VoiceCon 2009, ADTRAN today announced d the ADTRAN Alliance Program, a collaboration between ADTRAN and a number of best-in-breed technology and service providers delivering solutions centered on the NetVanta 7000 converged IP PBX. RSI is proud to be an Adtran Alliance Partner for call accounting solutions.

Avaya is announcing at VoiceCon Orlando a new server that connects disparate SIP-enabled PBXs into a single system with global dial plans and call routing - a cost-saving first step toward rolling out corporate-wide unified communications. RSI is an Avaya DevConnect Gold Member with Avaya Compliant Applications for communication management.

RSI Call Accounting At Augusta Masters 2009 PGA Golf Tournament

2009-03-31T12:52:00.000-07:00

Resource Software International Ltd. (RSI) announced today that it is joining a select group of tournament sponsors to offer unified communication management applications to the Masters 2009 Golf Tournament, held in Augusta, Georgia, commencing April 8, 2009.

RSI is the official call accounting vendor for the Masters 2009 Golf Tournament.

Visit our website: www.telecost.com

RSI News: Adtran Announces Alliance Program

2009-03-31T07:09:00.000-07:00

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. - (Business Wire) ADTRAN®, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADTN), a leading supplier of networking and communications solutions, today unveiled the ADTRAN Alliance Program. The ADTRAN Alliance Program is a collaboration between ADTRAN and best-in-breed technology and service providers that complement the NetVanta® 7000 converged IP PBX Series. This will enable solutions providers to deliver fully interoperable enterprise-class IP communications solutions to meet the specialized needs of small- and medium-sized businesses in a number of vertical markets.

The initial phase of the ADTRAN Alliance Program features both IPT technology partners and SIP trunking service providers. Members of the alliance have successfully completed interoperability testing of their complementary services or solutions with ADTRAN’s NetVanta 7000 Series IP PBX platforms. Products and services selected for inclusion in the program address key needs in the market with a wide range of business applications that enable SMBs to increase productivity and efficiency while reducing costs through enhanced communications solutions.

“With a network-wide view of our customers’ issues and challenges, we created the ADTRAN Alliance Program to help identify leading technology and service providers that are particularly well equipped to address the key needs of SMBs,” said Chris Thompson, senior product manager, ADTRAN. “We are working with innovative partners to further address the needs of our customers. This is the initial phase of our program, with plans underway for additional IP Telephony technology partners and SIP trunking service providers. Further expansion of the program will allow us to provide a broad range of interoperable complementary solutions to meet customers’ expanding communication needs.”

IP Telephony Technology Partners offer innovative solutions that have been strategically chosen to address specific applications in conjunction with the NetVanta 7000 Series. These best-in-breed partners include CounterPath, Incendonet, LifeSize Communications, Multi-Tech, Polycom, Resource Software International (RSI), SIP Print, and SNOM. The combination of the NetVanta 7000 Series and these complementary partner solutions now enable service and solutions providers to offer a broader, more comprehensive solution with the added benefit of proven interoperability to meet the growing needs businesses have for:

Desktop IP Phones
DECT Wireless Phones
SoftPhones
Speech Recognition
Call Accounting
Call Recording
Unified Messaging
Telepresence/Video Conferencing
SIP Trunking Service Providers offer IP telephony services that are certified to be fully interoperable with the NetVanta 7000 Series. The combination of the NetVanta 7000 Series with these services offers SMB customers proven ways to cost-effectively transition to converged voice and data networking. Current SIP Trunking Alliance members include:

Bandwidth.com
BroadVox
Covad Communications
CommPartners Connect
Speakeasy
Voxitas
“The ADTRAN Alliance Program allows us to guide our customers to many of the industry’s leading solutions that complement the NetVanta 7000 IP PBX Series and meet businesses’ individual needs,” said Jeff Coke, president, VarData LLC. “By joining with innovative, recognizable and reliable providers for unified messaging, call recording, SIP phones, SIP trunking, speech recognition and more, ADTRAN is enabling us to provide SMBs with a complete multi-vendor communications solution that is proven and reliable.”

NetVanta 7000 Series IP PBX platforms offer a complete voice and data networking solution for business locations of up to 50 stations. These innovative platforms combine multiple functions including an IP PBX, voice mail, multilevel auto attendant, full-featured IP router, 24-port Power over Ethernet (PoE) switch, firewall, and Virtual Private Network (VPN) into a one-box system. With a wealth of integrated features, enhanced ease of use capabilities and industry-leading interoperability the NetVanta 7000 IP PBX Series is an attractive solution for converged SMB networks.

For more information on the ADTRAN Alliance Program, visit www.adtran.com/alliance.

About ADTRAN

ADTRAN, Inc. is a leading global provider of networking and communications equipment, with a portfolio of more than 1,700 solutions for use in the last mile of today's telecommunications networks. Widely deployed by carriers and enterprises alike, ADTRAN solutions enable voice, data, video, and Internet communications across copper, fiber, and wireless network infrastructures. ADTRAN solutions are currently in use by every major U.S. service provider and many global ones, as well as by thousands of public, private and governmental organizations worldwide.

ADTRAN, Inc.
Tammie Dodson, 256-963-6739
tammie.dodson@adtran.com

RSI Announces Call Accounting Interoperability with Epygi

2009-03-13T09:16:00.000-07:00

Resource Software International Ltd. (RSI) announced today that is has successfully completed interperability testing within its labs with Epygi Quadro family of IP PBX products.

RSI offers Revolution Web Call Accounting and Shadow CMS Enterprise to customers seeking to reduce telecom expense, manage communication facilities and secure their investments on their infrastructure.

RSI offers a total communication management solution for businesses of any size and environment!

Visit RSI at: www.telecost.com

Why Nortel is still the right choice

2009-02-05T19:40:00.000-08:00

February 4, 2009

As a Nortel customer, I understand you have important questions. My team and I have been able to speak to some of you personally over the last two weeks, but you've no doubt heard a lot about Nortel from a lot of different places. I would like to give you the simple truth about our recent restructuring announcement:
Most importantly, Nortel's day-to-day operation are expected to continue without interruption. Nortel filed for credit restructuring to deal decisively with our cost and credit burden so we can remain a viable company for the long term, and over the next several months, we will restructure our business for the future. Nortel is currently working with $2.4 billion in cash, which is sufficient to fund our operations through the restructuring process, and we are 100% focused on continued R&D investments and support for the Nortel product portfolio.

Please take a moment to read "Looking Forward in 2009", a brief overview explaining the strengths of Nortel's current position. You'll find statements of confidence from our customers and partners, sales growth information, industry recognition, and much more. We plan to emerge from this process as a more focused, financially sound and competitive company.

We are happy to answer any questions you might have. Please contact your Account Manager or call us at 1-800-4-NORTEL (1-800-466-7835). You can also find all the latest information on our restructuring plan at www.nortel.com/restructuring.

The success of your business is our #1 priority. I want to thank you for choosing Nortel, and for your continued support and loyalty. We look forward to working with you in the near future.

Warm Regards,

Joel Hackney
President, Enterprise Solutions

Customers Stand Behind Nortel During Transition

2009-01-19T07:51:00.001-08:00

January 19, 2009 (Computerworld) When Nortel Networks Corp. filed for protection from creditors in the U.S. and other countries last week, one of the telecommunications equipment vendor's primary goals was to preserve a cash holding of $2.4 billion, which it plans to use to provide ongoing support to customers.

The $2.4 billion "is an important number to understand," said Joel Hackney, president of Nortel's enterprise solutions unit. "That money allows us to deliver products we have committed to customers and [continue] product support."

Hackney said that as soon as the bankruptcy filings were announced, he called the CIOs at Nortel's five largest customers to explain the move. "They're savvy, and they get it," he said.

IT managers who might consider switching to rival vendors should look at why they chose Nortel in the first place, Hackney added. "I'm absolutely convinced that our value proposition only gets stronger with the financial protections," he said.

Nortel has debts of about $4 billion and was due to make a $107 million bond payment last week. CEO Mike Zafirovski said in a statement that the bankruptcy filings would enable the company to restructure and narrow its focus.

The International Nortel Networks Users Association, a Chicago-based group with about 4,000 members, issued a statement saying that the filings will give the vendor "an opportunity to truly focus on strengthening" its financial position.

"Chapter 11 is simply a restructuring tool, and Nortel is not going away," Victor Bohnert, the INNUA's executive director, said in an interview.

Nortel's filings "give me no pause at all," said Pierre-Eric Belzile, executive director of information and communication technology for the Montreal Canadiens hockey team. "I'm a big user and a big supporter."

The Canadiens recently installed IP phones from Nortel, and the team uses the vendor's gear to support a ticket-sales call center and the ticket-scanning system at the Bell Centre, its rink.

Rito Salomone, president or Resource Software International Ltd. (RSI) said, "This move was long overdue for a company that needed to find solid ground. Their technology is not going away. Nortel will restructure and return as a leaner and stronger entity."

INNUA Response To Nortel Restructuring

2009-01-14T14:16:00.000-08:00

INNUA Partners,

Many of you have likely heard that Nortel has announced plans to seek creditor protection today. While this may not appear to be good news, there are many positives that will come from this decision. Specifically, the filing will afford Nortel protection from their creditors - allowing time to restructure their organization and solutions portfolio. The intent is for Nortel to emerge from this situation even stronger.

What does this mean for INNUA and the Global Connect event?

First and foremost, I would like to assure you that INNUA is not going anywhere and we are experiencing membership growth even through this challenging economy. It is important to note that our organization operates independently of Nortel to serve the needs of Nortel customers. Our membership benefits will continue uninterrupted. In fact, we anticipate that INNUA members will be more engaged then ever as INNUA is their direct line of communication to Nortel.

INNUA’s Global Connect 2009 will take place this June 7-10 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We expect strong customer attendance and presence from Nortel corporate executives to provide an update on Nortel’s strategy. We also look forward to you joining us to meet with the customer community during this critical time.

INNUA has maintained a strong relationship with the Nortel leadership team. We have already received an initial briefing this morning on this decision from Joel Hackney, Nortel’s President of Enterprise Solutions and Wes Durow, Nortel’s Vice President of Enterprise Marketing and Strategy. We also have several discussions scheduled in the coming week where we will learn more about this decision and the impact on INNUA.

Our members have made significant investments in Nortel solutions for their organizations and will remain very loyal customers. In fact, more than 70 percent of our membership have been Nortel customers for more than ten years. We thoroughly appreciate your ongoing support of the Nortel customer community and INNUA.

Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions.

Sincerely,

Steve Ford
INNUA President
sford@innua.org

Victor Bohnert
INNUA Executive Director
vbohnert@innua.org

Beware of Area Code 809 Scam

2009-01-14T13:47:00.000-08:00

A customer actually received a call last week from the 809 area code. The woman said 'Hey, this is Karen. Sorry I missed you--get back to us quickly. I Have something important to tell you.' Then she repeated a phone number beginning with 809. The message was ignored.

Then following day the customer received this e-mail:
Subject: DON'T EVER DIAL AREA CODE 809 , 284 or 876

THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION PROVIDED TO US BY AT&T.
DON'T EVER DIAL AREA CODE 809

This email is being distributed all over the US. This is pretty scary, especially given the way they try to get you to call. Be sure you read this and pass it on.

They entice you to call by telling you that it is information about a family member who has been ill or to tell you someone has-been arrested, died, or to let you know you have won a wonderful prize, etc. In each case, you are told to call the 809 number right away. Since there are so many new area codes these days, people unknowingly return these calls.

If you call from the US or Can ada, you will apparently be charged $2425 per-minute.

Or, you'll get a long recorded message. The point is, they will try to keep you on the phone as long as possible to increase the charges. Unfortunately, when you get your phone bill, you'll often be charged more than $24,100.00.

WHY IT WORKS

The 809 area code is located in the British Virgin Islands. The charges afterwards can become a real nightmare. That's because you did actually make the call. If you complain, both your local phone company and your long distance carrier will not want to get involved and will most likely tell you that they are simply providing the billing for the foreign company. You'll end up dealing with a foreign company that argues they have done nothing wrong.

Please forward this entire message to your friends, family and colleagues to help them become aware of this scam

Call Accounting for Cisco Call Manager Express

2009-01-14T09:19:00.001-08:00

Cisco devices such as Call Manager Express generate a number of syslog event types. These logs include system interface up and down events and h.323 call logging. A Cisco Voice Gateway with PRI lines,will generate an %ISDN-6-CONNECT event when a call connects and an %ISDN-6-DISCONNECT when the call disconnects.

To generate proper call detail records and to generate billing records, which have numbers for both peers, full h.323 connection call accounting needs to be activated. The records from this log type generate a %VOIPAAA-5-VOIP_CALL_HISTORY syslog entry.

Resource Software International Ltd. (RSI) offers call accounting and communication management software for SMB to large enterprise environments with Cisco Call Manager or any Cisco device with an active syslog.

For more information, visit http://www.telecost.com

Free Text Messaging Website

2009-01-12T21:53:00.000-08:00

Here is a site for sending free text messages to phones in Canada. Its a lot easier to type your message on a keyboard then use a phone key pad.

The messages that are sent show as being sent from donotreply@freetxt.ca and the first line says [Freetxt.ca Message]

I tested the site with a solo mobile number (using bell as provider) and the message arrived in about 5 seconds.

The site is: www.freetxt.ca

The international sister site (USA and Other Countries) is: www.txt2day.com

Free Text Messaging Website Eliminates Sender SMS Charges

2008-11-03T10:56:00.000-08:00

Communication is the essential key that shrinks our world and brings people together. Since its invention, the telephone has historically been the centerpiece of communication. People can communicate in real time without physically traveling for face-to-face meetings.

As communication technology has grown, new means of communication are being adopted in every enterprise. Today communication can be achieved using a broad range of facilities including voice, video and text/data communication through fixed and wireless devices.

In recent years, Short Messaging Services (SMS) has become a phenomenon especially among young people. SMS allows for short text messages to be sent from one mobile device to another mobile device.

SMS text messaging is the most widely used data application on the planet, with 2.4 billion active users, or 74% of all mobile phone subscribers sending and receiving text messages on their phones. Text messages cannot exceed 160 characters including spaces. Some wireless devices have full keyboards for faster texting whereas others require numbers to be tapped multiple times to achieve a particular letter. Most teens quickly master the cumbersome keyboards and adapt quickly to rapid texting. SMS is popular among teens to socialize, send jokes, flirts and reminders.

The most common application of the service is person-to-person messaging, but text messages are also often used to interact with automated systems, such as ordering products and services for mobile phones, or participating in contests. There are some services available on the Internet that allow users to send text messages free of direct charge to the sender. There are many email to text websites including most of the mobile service providers. All follow the same principle of giving free texting to the sender.

Since its inception in 2005, txt2day.com has been the largest free text service on the Internet, allowing anybody to send free text messages from their computer to a phone. Txt2day is ideal for users over their message limit, those stuck without a phone, or people who hate typing on tiny keyboards. For more information visit http://www.txt2day.com

RSI Call Accounting Software Compliant With Cisco Unified Communications Manager 6.1

2008-07-25T13:01:00.000-07:00

OSHAWA, ONTARIO – July 17, 2008 – Resource Software International Ltd. (RSI), a global leader in communication management solutions, today announced it had successfully completed interoperability testing and certification with Cisco Unified Communications Manager 6.1.

RSI is one of the first vendors of IP communications call accounting and billing software to offer fully interoperable solutions for Cisco UCM 6.1 and compatibility with Cisco Call Manager and Cisco Call Manager Express. The RSI Shadow CMS software portfolio was granted compliant status after verification was completed through independent lab testing.

Shadow CMS is a communication management software portfolio for every enterprise. Communication facilities are the lifeline of most successful businesses and often the most taxing expenditures. Management of telephone charges, equipment fees, VoIP traffic, internet usage, and provider discounts is a difficult task. RSI provides the necessary call management tools to allow administrators to forecast, monitor and allocate communications management expenses.

“We are proud to offer Cisco customers industry leading communication management solutions for the latest Cisco IP communications platforms. We believe this announcement demonstrates our commitment to offering best in class applications tailored for Cisco gear.”, said Rana Banik, Director of Sales. " We are proud of this new milestone and look forward to offering Cisco customers the very best in communication management software solutions. ", said Banik.

About Resource Software International Ltd. (RSI)

Resource Software International Ltd. (RSI) is a proud member of the Cisco Technology Developer Partner program. This relationship enhances our ability to quickly provide Cisco customers with broad based communication management solutions for IP networks. These solutions include call accounting, hotel billing and data storage.

Founded in 1990, RSI is a developer, manufacturer and distributor of leading-edge communications management solutions. The company offers a wide range of other products including: call accounting, hotel/motel management, ACD reporting, CCR, Voice Mail and IVR reporting, carrier comparisons, and rebilling outsourcing services. RSI has distributors in North America, Europe, Asia, Australia, Caribbean and Middle East.

For more information visit www.telecost.com.

About the Cisco Technology Developer Program

The Cisco Technology Developer Program is a community of hardware and software application developers and vendors that specialize in tailored network enabling technologies. Membership is limited to market leaders that offer interoperable products, solutions, and services that benefit Cisco customers.

About Cisco

Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO), is the worldwide leader in networking that transforms how people connect, communicate and collaborate. Information about Cisco can be found at http://www.cisco.com.

For ongoing news, please go to http://newsroom.cisco.com.

Nortel offers SMBs open-source-based, SIP-flavored unified communications

2008-04-15T14:44:00.000-07:00

By Shamus McGillicuddy,
News Editor15 Apr 2008 SearchUnifiedCommunications.com

Nortel has introduced a new open source, software-based unified communications (UC) platform for the small and medium-sized business (SMB) market.

Nortel's Software Communications System (SCS) 500 is a SIP-centric platform based on the sipXecs open source project sponsored by SIPfoundry. It powers IP telephony, presence, instant messaging, conferencing and other UC applications.

Chris Nantes, manager of Nortel's global SMB portfolio, said SCS 500 includes more than 250 features developed by Nortel for sipXecs. It is fully integrated with the Dell OptiPlex 755 server platform and IBM System i. Nantes said it will eventually run on Dell's PowerEdge R300 server and on IBM's Power Systems servers and blades.

The SCS 500 is designed for companies with 30 to 500 employees.
"We're taking the best of two different worlds here," Nantes said. "One is the flexibility and strength and accelerated development cycle of the open source community and [we're] blending that with Nortel's heritage and leadership in the telephony and unified communications space."
"It's pure SIP on both the trunk and the line sides," Nantes said. "It opens the door for service providers to link in with centralized SIP application servers to provide more cost-effective trunking."

Nantes said SCS 500 fills out Nortel's UC SMB portfolio. Justin Jaffe, senior analyst at IDC, said the SMB market for UC is wide open.

"I can tell you that roughly 10% of SMBs currently use a VoIP solution," Jaffe said, "and IDC expects to see increasing, if incremental, adoption of both IP telephony and other UC capabilities during the next 12 months."

Nortel and other telephony vendors have found that using third-party, open source code as the core of their products allows them to focus more of their resources on providing more advanced UC features, according to Brian Riggs, research director of enterprise communications at Current Analysis.

"In order to develop and maintain PBX software, a vendor like Nortel has to devote a considerable amount of resources around engineering, support and ongoing development," Riggs said. "It's a very costly proposition, and in the end what they have is a fairly undifferentiated product."

Riggs said that Nortel, with sipXecs, and other vendors, such as 3Com with Asterisk, have found that using the core features of an open source platform frees them from "reinventing the wheel" and allows them to focus on more advanced features like fixed mobile convergence or how to tie their technology into a UC environment.

The SCS 500's integration with IBM's System i could be a big boost, Riggs said. By running the software on the System i platform, SMBs will be able to integrate it with IBM's Sametime technology on one box.

"Having that level of application integration is going to be a real differentiator," Riggs said. "It will bring a simple way for customers to implement these technologies. One of the problems with UC has been that it's very complex to purchase and install and support. One way to eliminate some of the complexities around that is to have a single platform that can do everything."

> Resource Software International Ltd. (RSI) now ships call accounting software for SCS 500
Visit www.callaccountingsoftware.com

Growing Trend in IP PBX Sales

2008-03-04T08:45:00.000-08:00

Enterprise telephony market tops $9.6 billion in 2007, IP phone shipments up 29%Enterprise telephony market tops $9.6 billion in 2007, IP phone shipments up 29%

BOSTON, MA--(Marketwire - February 28, 2008) - The enterprise telephony market grew 6% between 2006 and 2007, to $9.6 billion, according to Infonetics Research's latest "Enterprise Telephony" report. The market was buoyed by strong IP PBX systems equipment sales, and dragged down by TDM PBX/KTS equipment sales.
For the quarter, the overall market is down 7% from 3Q07 to 4Q07, as it followed a typically high third quarter (many vendors have their fiscal year-end in the third quarter), the report shows.

"2007 ended up being a good year overall for the PBX market, despite rapidly declining sales of TDM systems, which were down over 20%," said Matthias Machowinski, directing analyst for enterprise voice and data at Infonetics Research. "We continue to witness the migration to IP PBXs, but new in 2007 was evidence that end-users are benefiting from IP in a direct and meaningful way. Until now, most of the benefits have gone to the network manager, such as IP trunking -- things the user couldn't care less about. But this is starting to change, slowly but surely. For example, shipments of softphones were up 55% to 385,000 last year. These are the users that get to directly experience what's new and different with IP communications, by taking their office phone with them."

Other highlights from the report:
-- Worldwide IP deskphone and softphone shipments are up 29% in 2007 from 2006
-- The top 5 PBX/KTS system vendors account for 3/4 of total market revenue: Avaya, Cisco, Nortel, Siemens, and Alcatel-Lucent (in that order); Cisco was the only one of these with a meaningful increase in market share, and jumped from 5th to 2nd in 2007
-- Sales of TDM systems managed to stay above the $1 billion mark in 2007, likely for the last time
-- Hybrid IP PBX systems account for 2/3 of all lines shipped in 2007; pure IP systems account for 18%
-- The North American market had the weakest overall line growth in 2007; CALA had the strongest line growth, Asia Pacific the second strongest

Infonetics' forecasts of 2007 PBX/KTS line and revenue growth, made a year ago, were within 2% of actual results.

Infonetics' report provides worldwide and regional forecasts and market size for TDM PBX/KTS systems, IP PBX systems with hybrid and pure IP splits, IP PBX by system size, VoIP gateways, and IP deskphones and softphones. Companies tracked include 3Com, AudioCodes, Alcatel-Lucent, Avaya, Cisco, Dialogic, Mitel, NEC, Nortel, Quintum, Samsung, ShoreTel, Siemens, Tadiran, Toshiba, Vertical, and others. Market share pivot tables are included.
Download report highlights by logging in to Infonetics' online portal from http://www.infonetics.com/ (see Enterprise Voice area). For sales, contact Larry Howard, vice president, at larry@infonetics.com or +1 (408) 583-3335.

Infonetics Research (http://www.infonetics.com/) is an international market research and consulting firm specializing in telecom and data networking. Services include market share and forecasting, end-user survey research, service provider survey research, and service provider capex analysis.

For information about call accounting, VoIP billing, multi-site consolidation and telecom expense management contact http://www.telecost.com/

RSI Confirms Two New Products Nortel Activity Reporter and tools OSN

2008-01-15T03:41:00.000-08:00

OSHAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA – December 17, 2007 - Resource Software International Ltd. (RSI) confirmed today the announcement of two new products offered with Nortel BCM and SRG 50 Rls. 3.0.

Nortel recently announced the general availability of Business Communications Manager 50 Release 3.0 (BCM50 3.0) and the new SMB-centric IP Phone 1200 Series in NA, Asia and CALA (EMEA to follow on January 7th 2008). This latest release of the award winning BCM50 platform combines with the new IP Phone 1200 Series portfolio to create a robust set of convergence enhancements specifically optimized to meet the requirements of the Small and Medium Business market (SMB) and Enterprise branch offices. When positioned with Nortel’s SMB Data portfolio, the solution provides a complete converged solution from a single vendor; fully-tested and designed specifically for the SMB market -- all under the umbrella of a simplified, common management system.

Nortel will be offering new communication management software powered by RSI technology with this release. Nortel Activity Reporter is a jointly designed solution by Resource Software International Ltd. (RSI) and Nortel. The product is designed to provide system metrics for BCM 50 Rls. 3.0 (and later). It produces text and graphical reports based on station message detail recording (SMDR), hunt group, voice mail and custom call routing information. Visit http://www.telecost.com/nortel for more details.

Nortel is also introducing Survivable Remote Gateway Release 50 Release 3.0 (SRG50 3.0) in NA, Asia and CALA (EMEA to follow on January 7th 2008). The SRG50 Rls3.0 enables consistent VoIP and application services to be delivered cost effectively to small branches in the 5 to 80 line size. The SRG50 Rls3.0 complements the Media Gateway (MG) 1000B (SBO) which delivers a solution in support of the 50 to 400 IP user range. The SRG50 Rls3.0 delivers basic voice services in the event of WAN failure, whilst the MG1000B is capable of supporting many applications locally at the branch office under a WAN failure scenario.

In tandem with the Release of Nortel SRG 50, RSI is also releasing tools OSN. Users can now take advantage of tools OSN, which broadcasts an instant warning to user selected extensions when an emergency 911 number is dialed. Additionally, notification messages can also be sent to network workstations. The RSI tools OSN utilizes a single SRG50 LAN CTE license, enabled by default, to manage and control any number of local extensions or lines off the SRG50. tools OSN is Nortel Compatible Product available directly from RSI or its authorized Nortel channel partners.

“The launch of tools OSN is part of our strategic objective to offer customers the very best compatible solutions for Nortel telephony platforms through mutual co-operation with Nortel, development and strategic acquisitions.”, said Rito Salomone, President of RSI. “We are delighted to offer Nortel SMB customers peace of mind in emergency situations.”

tools OSN is a unique application designed specifically to work with Nortel BCM and SRG environments to watchdog the system. Valuable time is often lost in trying to locate the individual that placed an emergency call. tools OSN can broadcast E911 notification to telephone sets, email or network computers regardless of the type of emergency or crisis. Seconds can make the difference in saving lives, property and money when dispensing critical information and responding to emergencies. tools OSN may be configured with Public Safety Access Point information. The PSAP information can be delivered via email to authorized response personnel.

For more information, visit our Nortel Compatible Products website at http://www.telecost.com/nortel.

About Resource Software International Ltd. (RSI)

Founded in 1990, RSI is a developer and manufacturer of leading-edge communications management solutions. The company offers a wide range of other products including: call accounting, hotel/motel management, ACD reporting, CCR, Voice Mail and IVR reporting, carrier comparisons, and rebilling outsourcing services. RSI has distributors in North America, Europe, Asia, Australia, Caribbean and Middle East. Information about their products and services can be found at www.telecost.com

(c) 2008, Resource Software International Ltd. (RSI)
40 King Street West, Suite 300, Oshawa, Ontario. L1H 1A4
Phone: 905-576-4575 Fax: 905-576-4705 Email: rsi@telecost.com
Web: www.telecost.com

How can I delete my blog?

2007-10-16T13:57:00.000-07:00

You can delete your blog by following these steps:
1. Log in to www.blogger.com using your Blogger username and password.
2. Under the "Blogs" section, you'll see a list of your blogs.
To the right of your blog, you'll see a "Settings" option.
3. Select "Settings."
4. Press the "Delete This Blog" button.
5. Press the "OK" button when prompted to permanently delete the blog.

lsass.exe - Application Error

2007-10-04T12:17:00.000-07:00

The instruction at 0x7c914d1a referenced memory at 0x080cf984. The memory could not be "read".

This is an error reported by Microsoft Windows XP. After an exaustive search on the web for an answer and many suggestions that it could be the Sasser virus, I discovered it was a corrupt user profile.

This was easily corrected with a Windows XP Installation CD and Recovery Console. I repaired the Windows installation, then made a backup of the \windows folder\system32\config files and recoved the latest know restore point from "System Volume Information" folder.

RSI to Attend the Nortel Distributor Alliance Council (DAC)

2007-09-07T08:09:00.000-07:00

Oshawa, Ontario – September 3, 2007 – Resource Software International Ltd. (RSI), a leading developer of communication management solutions for every enterprise, will exhibit at the Nortel North America DAC Conference Spring 2007. The DAC Conference will be held in Toronto, Canada September 17 – 20, 2007.

The event will bring together many of the 700 members representing more than 100 Nortel distributor companies. The DAC is a forum of Nortel authorized partners and Nortel employees, working to leverage the powerful synergy across Nortel comprehensive Enterprise Solution set. This conference is a one-stop shop for learning about Enterprise Networks products, exchanging ideas and improving business. More information about the DAC can be found at www.dacamericas.org.

RSI will introduce new product offerings, designed for Nortel authorized Channel Partners and customers, to members of the Distributor Alliance Council, and Nortel employees. New products being showcased include MerAssistant Switch Manager, Visual Rapport for BCM and Revolution Web Call Accounting. For more information, visit www.telecost.com/nortel.

About the RSI and Nortel Partnership

RSI is an active Nortel Developer Partner with many Nortel Compatible Products, third-party and branded solutions. RSI provides solutions for most Nortel Telephony Platforms including Norstar, Succession / CS 1K, SCS 500 and BCM. Our solutions provide important communication management statistics for cost allocation, bill reconcilliation, project billing, network planning, workforce and contact center management, screen pop, toll restriction, emergency notification, switch administration and consolidated telecom expense management.

More information about our product offerings can be found at www.telecost.com.

Call Detail Record Logging

2007-08-09T10:31:00.000-07:00

Call detail record (CDR) logging is the means of recording and retrieving telephony data. CDR data is essential in monitoring, analyzing and forecasting communication facility usage. The information is often gathered and processed through a call accounting software package. Communication managers utilize various reports to track network performance, misuse and abuse, employee productivity and cost allocation.

Where does CDR come from?

CDR data that is submitted by your telephone system to a collection hardware buffer or software module linked to your call accounting package. The data contains particular information about every telephone call including date, time, duration, digits dialed, caller ID and trunk line. Often the term SMDR (Station Message Detail Recording is used interchangeably with CDR). The "raw" information is generally interpreted and translated into a database for real time or scheduled processing and reporting.

How is CDR delivered?

There are many PBX, IP PBX and other communication servers that can provide CDR. The methods of delivery are as varied as the manufacturers. The great majority of manufacturers still offer CDR through a real time serial (RS 232) link. Some of the more modern and IP-based systems offer date stamped files pushed or pulled through file transfer protocol (FTP). Some vendors utilize a syslog to deliver CDR data and others utilize proprietary protocols that require registration to their various partner programs.

How can you apply CDR to your business?

All CDR data contains valuable nuggets of information about each and every call. Most companies adopt a robust call accounting system to massage the data. The data mining applications vary for each company. Call accounting can be employed tor controlling misuse and abuse, monitoring network performance, bill reconcilliation, cost allocation and productivity enhancement.

How do you leverage the technology?

RSI (www.telecost.com) is recognized as an industry leader in the field of communication management. The communication management product portfolio includes tailored integration to the most popular switching and network manufactures. RSI has been granted Nortel Developer Partner status with recognition for its core portfolio as Compatible Products. RSI is a Cisco Technology Partner, Siemens HiPath Ready Standard certified, Avaya DeveloperConnect Member, Mitel MiSN Member, Adtran Complementary Solutions Provider, ShoreTel Technology Partner, NEC Univerge Partner and Alcatel Applications Partner.

Call Accounting Benefits

2007-08-07T08:21:00.000-07:00

Call accounting is software or hardware that provides metrics for telephony functions such as traffic analysis, toll fraud alerts, network management, E911 notification and cost allocation to various corporate levels.

Historically the software has been an invaluable tool for corporations that required control over telephone usage costs. Call accounting systems generally capture and report on call type, origin, date, time, duration and dialed digits. The system stores the data and utilizes the information to calculate cost and generate desired reports.

Call accounting can generally reduce telecom expenses from 10% to 40% by highlighting misuse and abuse, discovering supplier billing errors and increasing productivity through greater network and workforce efficiency.

Environments that are not monitored tend to have excessive charges for directory services, specialty numbers, personal and overseas calls. The implementation of a call accounting system can pinpoint calls to individual extensions for greater accountability. In fact, simple awareness of the impending installation of a new call accounting package circulated among staff curbs misuse immediately by approximately 10%.

Supplier billing errors can be a costly revelation. A Gartner Group study found 12 to 20 percent of corporate telecom invoices contain billing errors and 85 percent of such errors are in favor of the carrier. A good call accounting system can provide accounting assurance through bill reconciliation.

In this era of heightened security, it is imperative that a call accounting software package monitor suspicious, fraudulent and malicious behavior. Calls to E911, emergency services or to specific calling patterns can be tracked and notified to authorized personnel. In 2002, the United States Congress passed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act following fraudulent operations by companies, such as Enron and WorldCom. Call detail reports can be used to provide documented proof of fraudulent behavior.

Over the years call accounting has evolved from a single processor MS DOS system to elaborate SQL databases with globally accessible browser-based solutions. Web browsers are either pre-installed with the operating system or freely available downloads from the internet. Browsers are popular because they can access information remotely from a public IP address or via a virtual private network (VPN). Therefore an individual can access his stock quotes, read the latest headlines and review call accounting reports through various tabs on the browser. Web browser based systems allow enterprise users to easily manage many sites from a centralized location.

Many corporations are developing total communication management solution (TCMS) strategies to manage their growing communication spend. Call accounting is the core of any powerful communication management portfolio.

RSI (www.telecost.com) is recognized as an industry leader in the field of communication management. The communication management product portfolio includes tailored integration to the most popular switching and network manufactures. RSI has been granted Nortel Developer Partner status with recognition for its core portfolio as Compatible Products. RSI is a Cisco Technology Partner, Siemens HiPath Ready Standard certified, Avaya DeveloperConnect Member, Mitel MiSN Member, Adtran Complementary Solutions Provider, ShoreTel Technology Partner, NEC Univerge Partner and Alcatel Applications Partner.

What is Avaya one-X Quick Edition?

2007-06-27T06:25:00.000-07:00

Avaya one-X Quick Edition delivers small offices and small branches of large enterprises with the most commonly requested features of business communications in a simple plug and play platform. With SIP-based peer-to-peer technology layered onto the proven 4610SW and 4621SW IP telephones and connected to the outside world via PSTN Gateway, the system configures itself.

In minutes, all users have access to the most commonly used set of features including voicemail, conferencing, auto-attendant and call management. By eliminating the need for centralized servers, Avaya one-X Quick Edition enables very small businesses and small branch offices to enjoy significant savings on system acquisition and installation costs.

Best of all Quick Edition grows with the needs of your business, as you add employees, simply add additional telephones – it’s that simple.
SIP based peer-to-peer technology means that individual telephones participate in the system functions previously performed by a central server. By redistributing the workload out to the telephones, costs are reduced and system reliability is increased with the elimination of a single point of failure. All is this is achieved with no significant additional performance burden on the network.

For more information see the Key Topics Page at http://www.avaya.com/quickedition.

Microsoft and Nortel or Avaya?

2007-06-21T07:37:00.000-07:00

Avaya Inc claims it was offered a Unified Communications partnership by Microsoft ahead of Nortel, but refused to license its call control technology to the operating system giant.

"They came to us to offer that deal and we turned them down, and now they're coming back to try again," said Karyn Mashima, senior VP of strategy and technology at the Basking Ridge, New Jersey-based vendor of enterprise telephony infrastructure.

Full Article

Asterisk | The Open Source PBX

2007-06-20T11:54:00.000-07:00

Asterisk is a complete PBX in software. It runs on Linux, BSD and MacOSX and provides all of the features you would expect from a PBX and more. Asterisk does voice over IP in many protocols, and can interoperate with almost all standards-based telephony equipment using relatively inexpensive hardware. Asterisk provides Voicemail services with Directory, Call Conferencing, Interactive Voice Response and Call Queuing. It has support for three-way calling, caller ID services, ADSI, SIP and H.323 (as both client and gateway). Check the Features section for a more complete list. Asterisk needs no additional hardware for Voice over IP.
For interconnection with digital and analog telephony equipment, Asterisk supports a number of hardware devices, most notably all of the hardware manufactured by Asterisk's sponsors, Digium�. Digium has single and quad span T1 and E1 interfaces for interconnection to PRI lines and channel banks as well as a single port FXO card and a one to four-port modular FXS and FXO card. Also supported are the Internet Line Jack and Internet Phone Jack products from Quicknet.

Link: http://www.asterisk.org

Call Accounting for Asterisk: http://www.telecost.com

2007 PBX Sales for Q1

2007-06-06T23:03:00.000-07:00

As we approach Q3 2007, we now have our first look at the PBX-world in Q1. Since the close of Q1 we have had Inter-Tel announcing a merger with Mitel, and Avaya being purchased by a private equity company.

Here is what the world looked like on April 1, 2007:

North American PBX Line Shipments, Q1 2007

Line shipments, in thousands
% Of all line shipments in North America
Category or sector of products sold

Nortel 705 18% Hybrid
Avaya 658 17% Hybrid
Cisco 584 15% IP-PBX
NEC 399 10% Hybrid (mostly)
Inter-Tel
/Mitel 368 9% Hybrid & IP-PBX

Top 5 OEMs

70% Share for all sectors Total Lines 3,900

My numbers come from Dell'Oro Group.
One of the striking things about this view is how it illustrates how competitive this market is. The above chart, which combines IP and Hybrid sales, tells us that no one owns even a full fifth of the market, but it also tells us that 5 companies (or 6 brands) do make between them seven of every ten lines shipped.

Growth flattens out: IP grows; Hybrids retain three to one edge

North American PBX line shipments were flat Q/Q but are expected to have picked up during the second quarter (whose numbers are not yet available). For a number of years, a flat Q1 has become a seasonal pattern, so the market expects this is a typical year for growth. TDM shipments (yes- there are still TDM shipments) declined 4%, IP picked up 5% while Hybrids were flat. Hybrids remain the largest part of the market with $1.1 billion is sales, while IP (that is a pure IP-PBX, with no TDM at all) had $3.5 million (numbers are global).

It is worth noting that Nortel, Avaya, NEC and Mitel compete closely for the Hybrid space, while Cisco is a pure IP player. Mitelís planned purchase if Inter-Tel makes Mitel into a kind of dual player, with a brand in each sub-market. You can see that had Nortel purchased Avaya, the new entity would have dominated the Hybrids space in the way Cisco holds a large share in the pure IP space. If Cisco had purchased Avaya, the new entity would have been strong in both sectors.

Globally, Siemens remains a strong player, regaining the number one position from Alcatel in Europe. Indeed, in global terms, Avaya leads the Hybrid market with 25% market share, with Siemens at 22%, Nortel at 16%, NEC at just under 9%, with Mitel at just under 4% (this does not count Inter-Tel which is under the IP market). Cisco holds over 60% of the IP-PBX market.
More moves, adds and changes?

Many analysts expect more moves, adds and changes, and not necessarily driven by the OEMs product lines but by the many associated assets the OEMs have. Many manufacturers now have a very large share of their revenue from maintenance contracts, and income from software licensing. These might make the PBX makers attractive since these can be developed into stable income steams that might prove to be less exposed to the economic cycle.

Doug Green
Telecom Reseller

Nortel Buying Avaya?

2007-05-31T08:51:00.000-07:00

By Andrew R. Hickey, Senior News Writer31 May 2007 SearchVoIP.com
http://searchvoip.techtarget.com/originalContent/0,289142,sid66_gci1257498,00.html?track=sy42

Cisco and Nortel Networks have been identified by some as prime candidates to scoop up Avaya, as rumors swirl around a potential acquisition of the New Jersey-based VoIP and unified communications vendor.

Speculation about an Avaya buyout intensified this week when the company abruptly delayed an investor conference with no stated reason, and reports indicated that it was negotiating with bidders. Everyone from Nortel and Cisco to Microsoft and Oracle has been named as a potential suitor for Avaya, a company that is small by comparison but packs a large punch with its VoIP solutions.

Still, some industry analysts feel that neither Nortel nor Cisco would benefit by snatching up Avaya, noting that consolidation for consolidation's sake is rarely a good move.
"First of all, Cisco never buys to consolidate markets, they buy to innovate or they acquire market leadership," said Yankee Group senior vice president Zeus Kerravala. "In this case, Cisco is the market leader, and I think they would inherit stuff they really don't need. I think Cisco feels they can achieve market leadership without buying Avaya."

Kerravala pointed to Cisco's past roster of acquisitions, which includes many small companies that help it to innovate and market leaders like WebEx -- purchased recently -- to fuel that innovation.

Nortel, which has been plagued by poor market performance and lack of profitability, seems a more realistic fit. Nortel has recently created a strong push for unified communications, partnering with Microsoft and creating its own solutions for collaboration. Kerravala said, however, that Nortel couldn't benefit much from a consolidation play.

"As for Nortel, merging to consolidate historically hasn't worked in tech," he said. "I think Avaya is a well-run company, much more so than Nortel. In my opinion, trying to integrate two legacy customer bases and two different product lines would be a mess."

Matthias Machowinski, Infonetics Research's directing analyst of enterprise voice and data, agreed, noting that a buyout from either of the networking vendors would just signify continued consolidation in the industry. As it stands, he said, Cisco holds the No. 1 spot in the enterprise VoIP market, followed by Avaya, with Nortel coming in third.
"All Cisco needs to do is keep doing what they're doing," Machowinski said. "Cisco would only be interested in Avaya's services."

As for Nortel, he said, acquiring Avaya would simply eliminate a competitor.
"Nortel has everything Avaya has and more," he said, adding that Nortel would also have to support Avaya's vast user base. In addition, Avaya and Nortel both cover similar geographical areas and their products would overlap. Machowinski instead suggested that a Nortel-Siemens acquisition would make much more sense because Siemens is prominent in other areas, such as EMEA.

Kerravala said Microsoft may be the most likely candidate to pick up Avaya, since the software giant is looking to broaden its VoIP and unified communications portfolio.

"If someone buys Avaya, I think having it be someone Microsoft-like, who wants an entry and channel into voice, would get the most bang for the buck," he said. "Adding share to a company whose enterprise business is broken doesn't really fix the problem, it just gives them more share to lose. It's HP-Compaq all over again."

The future for Avaya users, whether or not there is an acquisition, remains uncertain.
"In tech, consolidation should happen by attrition, meaning let Darwinism apply and have the weaker vendors die," Kerravala said. "Simply consolidating businesses doesn't create strong ones, just bigger weak ones. I think Avaya customers would win if say an Oracle or Microsoft buys them. They would lose if a traditional vendor buys them. If it's Cisco, I'm not sure, but that's a scenario I don't see happening."

Machowinski said Avaya users wouldn't suffer in the short term, but he questions whether an acquiring vendor would be able to integrate technologies and support Avaya's product platform throughout the transition, especially since Avaya doesn't address networking technologies like routers and switches, where Cisco and Nortel put much of their focus.
Acquisition by a private equity or investment firm would be the most likely outcome, he said. One firm, Silver Lake, has been described as interested, but even then, what the acquisition would accomplish remains unclear.

Oracle and Microsoft, Kerravala said, are looking to get into VoIP and IP communications, an area where Nortel and Cisco both have a strong focus. Where Nortel and Cisco may use facets of what Avaya could offer, Oracle and Microsoft could see stronger benefits.

"Their motivation to acquire would be to get the technology and build on it," Kerravala added. "Like I said, acquisitions for innovation tend to work out better than for consolidation."
Overall, Machowinski said, it will be interesting to see what shakes out, especially since Avaya is already pretty well positioned in the market and is not considered "distressed" enough to be a prime target for a takeover.

"It's certainly an interesting development," he said. "I certainly don't see Cisco going forward with it, especially since Cisco and Avaya are pretty fierce in their competitiveness. You have to wonder if you could ever marry the two cultures at this point."

Niagara Legal Technology Day

2007-05-22T12:49:00.000-07:00

Re: Niagara Legal Technology Day
June 8, 2007
City Hall
60 East Main Street, Welland, Ontario

I am sending this letter to you invite you to participate in our 3rd Niagara Legal Technology Day.

What it is

It is a vendor driven technology show - with each vendor having a booth in a central exposition hall, and 3 connected rooms where vendors present 1/2 hour product demonstrations to show their products to the lawyers and legal assistants in attendance. Each vendor will have 2 or 3 time slots to present their products.

Why Attend?

This is the most cost effective method of meeting prospective purchasers of your products, and showing the benefits of your products to the lawyers and legal assistants who are interested in purchasing your products.

This is an opportunity to meet prospects, and make sales in a non-pressured atmosphere.

What Do We Need to Provide?

We ask that you have some of your brochures and other promotional materials to us in advance, so that we can assemble attendee grab bags so that everyone leaves with information about your products.
We also will need some information on your products in advance for our Exhibition Guide and Web Site.

We also need to know if you will need a table or if you will have a booth for the Exhibition Hall.

What Does it Cost?

The registration fee is $275.00 which includes a continental breakfast and lunch for two persons from your company. This is less than one fifth of what you would pay to the LSUC or the CBAO, and all you would have is the right to show in an exhibitor's hall. By putting the emphasis on the companies and the products, you are the show, instead of seeing the participants run by your booth on the way to somewhere for something.

It is not so much what it costs, as what the benefits to you are.

What Will You Have for Us?

We have a Central Exhibition Hall with three demonstration rooms off it so that everyone who comes will have ample opportunity to see your products, and talk to you about the products and learn how the products will help them.

We will have projectors for your use, and internet access in all rooms and power.

Yours Truly
Douglas R. Thomas
Library Committee Chair
Welland County Law Association

RSI Offers Unified Communication Management Solutions for Every Enterprise

2007-05-15T11:49:00.000-07:00

Communication is the lifeline of every organization. Imagine the damage to your business without a secure and reliable communication network. Since its invention, the telephone has historically been the centerpiece of communication. People can communicate in real time without physically traveling for face-to-face meetings.

As communication technology has grown, new means of communication are being adopted in every enterprise. Today communication can be achieved using a broad range of facilities including voice, video and data communication through fixed and wireless devices. The instantaneous and critical nature of communication has forced managers to watchdog the health of a network with more powerful monitoring and management applications.

Traditional call accounting software is being revamped and updated to incorporate a complete umbrella of tools to track and analyze traffic from various sources including instant messaging (IM), email, voice mail, call center automated call distribution (ACD), interactive voice response (IVR) and call detail record (CDR) statistics.

Call accounting has given way to more powerful siblings that offer complete communication management solutions (CMS). These new systems consolidate reporting of various facilities into one logical solution. CMS systems are generally web based and SQL database driven to take advantage of remote and multi-user access. Managers are able to get a much better handle on corporate communication network security, performance and misuse. Companies that adopt communication management systems realize up to 30% savings on monthly telecom expenses in addition to enhanced productivity.

Most legacy call accounting systems are reactive solutions. They can only report activity that has already taken place. Modern solutions are completely integrated with manufacturer hardware to provide "as it happens" response for emergency and security notification.

Communication management systems can reduce telecom spend by pinpointing billing errors, identifying network inefficiencies and curbing misuse. Billing errors often account for up to 10% of a corporate telecom budget. If left unchecked, billing errors can eat away at the bottom line.

Corporations concerned about securing sensitive data require monitoring solutions that highlight possible breach from would be spies, hackers and malicious personnel. CMS systems can trace obscure or unusual behavior and alert authorized personnel.

Many corporations can derive huge returns by managing their communication networks properly. Productivity can increase up to 50% by systematic tracking of communication logs. Some estimates have put productivity loss at 20 minutes to 1 and one half hours per day per employee due to abuse of communication facilities such as non business telephone calls, email and internet use. The cost to a corporation can be staggering if left unchecked.

The analysis of communication facility logs can be important in optimizing and provisioning of IP PBXs, VoIP services, wireless equipment, multi-party conference and other call handling applications. CMS systems can act as a means of consolidation with mergers, acquisitions, and new technologies creating non-uniform networks. The “new call accounting” remains a core weapon in the arsenal of all telecom and IT managers. A powerful CMS system can unify communication management under one umbrella.

Shadow CMS by RSI is a powerful system that facilitates communications management from various telephone systems and IP switches. Modules include call accounting, hotel billing, guest tracking, traffic analysis and web call management. The system is completely scaleable from a small office to a global multi-site environment.

RSI is recognized as an industry leader in the field of communication management. The communication management product portfolio includes tailored integration to the most popular switching and network manufactures. RSI has been granted Nortel Developer Partner status with recognition for its core portfolio as Compatible Products. RSI is a Cisco Technology Partner, Siemens HiPath Ready Standard certified, Avaya DeveloperConnect Member, Mitel MiSN Member, Adtran Complementary Solutions Provider, ShoreTel Technology Partner, NEC Univerge Partner and Alcatel Applications Partner.

More information about communication management systems can be found at www.telecost.com.

New Property Management Software Release From RezStream

2007-05-11T11:50:00.000-07:00

RezStream Professional 2007.5.5!

RezStream Professional 2007.5.5 includes our new two-way Global Distribution System (GDS) module, new restaurant module via RezStream "SystemLink," new RezStream Professional Booking Engine reports, enhanced credit card encryption capabilities, enhanced support for custom envelope printing, and much more!

For more information about how to download this update, click here.

ENHANCED FEATURES now found in RezStream Professional 2007.5.5:

New two-way GDS moduleRezStream now offers a two-way GDS link that automatically transfers GDS reservations directly into both the RezStream Booking Engine and RezStream Professional PMS. For added convenience, existing GDS reservation cancellations and GDS reservation changes are also processed without manual entry. Note: Existing RezStream GDS customers will be called to activate your two-way GDS module at no additional cost! If you are not using RezStream GDS services, please call RezStream sales at 866-360-8210.

Key RezStream two-way GDS module benefits:

Why pay exorbitant GDS percentage fees? RezStream offers low flat fee per GDS reservation pricing! If you are not a current RezStream GDS client and would like more information about purchasing our two-way GDS module, please call RezStream at 866-360-8210.
Automatically receive GDS reservations 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
No manual entry of new GDS reservations, existing GDS reservation changes, or cancelled GDS reservations.

Custom GDS confirmation numbers.

Reservation reports now available for all RezStream GDS reservations based on arrival dates or dates that the reservation was made.Back to Top
Introducing our restaurant module via RezStream "SystemLink"Connect RezStream Professional to numerous point of sale systems such as Micros, Aloha, Digital Dining, and others. RezStream SystemLink automatically transfers charges from your restaurant POS system directly into RezStream Professional.
Additional RezStream SystemLink modules such as key card integration and in-room movies coming soon! In fact, RezStream SystemLink can link to hundreds of independent hospitality modules.

Note: Additional fees apply to purchase RezStream SystemLink and for each module activated. Call RezStream at 866-360-8210 for more details.
Back to Top

Enhanced credit card encryption

RezStream has updated all credit card encryption within RezStream Professional to comply with the latest industry standards. Please note that after updating to RezStream Professional versions 2007.5.0 or higher, it will take longer than normal for the program to open while it updates all stored credit cards within the system. Once the update is complete, you will still be able to access credit card numbers in the same manner as before you performed the update.
Back to Top

Enhanced custom envelope printing

In addition to the custom envelope creation tools we developed in a recent RezStream Professional update, RezStream has also included a new printer option for pinpoint control over all envelope print settings. You may now create fully custom envelopes and control envelope print settings as needed. This new setting can be found in RezStream Professional under: Tools>Print Options.
Back to Top

Bug Fixes

We addressed and corrected an issue where packages were not working correctly in the RezStream Booking Engine. We fixed deposit calculations for booking engine reservation deposits in the payment screen within RezStream Professional. We also resolved an issue where processing a payment for gift certificates caused an error message and/or gift certificate payments to not appear in payment reports. (This bug only affected initial test builds of version 2007.5.0 and higher.) We also remedied an issue where booking engine advanced deposit payments (real-time payments) were not being exported to QuickBooks.

What's next?

RezStream will be releasing a brand new credit card gateway very soon. All programming and testing is complete. We are awaiting final gateway certification before we release this new feature. This new credit card gateway will better serve the needs of lodging clients and also offer credit card processing services to our Canadian customers! We are still working on split billing/City Ledger features. RezStream appreciates your patience while we turn our full attention to this exciting program enhancement. As always, your suggestions are welcome at support@rezstream.com.

Thank you for your continued support and business,
Bill Mitchell
Chief Operating Officer
RezStream
3800 Gilpin Street
Suite 2-1
Denver, Colorado 80205
Sales: 866-360-8210
Support: 303-872-0220
Email: sales@rezstream.com Website: http://www.rezstream.com

Call from pay phone to cost 50 cents as of June 1

2007-05-02T13:20:00.001-07:00

Updated Mon. Apr. 30 2007 5:55 PM ET

Canadian Press

OTTAWA -- The price of placing a call from pay phones will go up for the first time in years as part of new CRTC guidelines that will give Canada's major phone companies more flexibility.

The new rules, to go into effect on June 1, will ensure that residential customers in urban areas won't see a rate increase for basic local telephone service.

However, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission will allow the major phone companies to raise the price of residential service in rural areas, where the lower population density makes the cost of providing services higher on a per-customer basis.

In addition, the CRTC said it is granting the phone companies' request to increase the price of calls from pay phones. The new cash ceiling will be 50 cents, up from 25 cents, and the non-cash ceiling will be $1 per call.

It's the first time since 2002 that the federal agency has revised its so-called price-cap regime.

However, since that time Canada's phone industry has undergone rapid change, particularly since the country's large cable companies and a host of other companies have entered the local phone markets with Internet protocol voice services.

The CRTC, which had opened up the local phone market to competition in the late 1990s, has been slow to loosen restrictions on the large, incumbent phone companies that continue to hold the largest share of the residential phone business.

The new rules apply to Bell Canada and its affiliate Bell Aliant, both part of the BCE Inc. group, Telus Corp., Manitoba Telecom Services and SaskTel, which is owned by the province of Saskatchewan.

What does UC mean?

2007-03-09T14:15:00.000-08:00

By David Yedwab

Feb 5, 2007 12:00 PM

Unified communications, or UC, is a major portion of Microsoft's most aggressive and extensive launch of new software products in its 30-year history. Microsoft exemplifies UC in its world with collaboration/meetings through the Live Communications platform re-named as Office Communications (with its accompanying client, Office Communicator); unified messaging provided by the Exchange 2007 e-mail program; voice/video/web-conferencing; instant messaging (IM), click-to-dial from Office apps; and, ultimately, full enterprise voice communications. Microsoft intends to gain a significant position in enterprise business communications — an annual expenditure exceeding $100 billion — by moving beyond e-mail, IM and collaboration as singular applications.

But Microsoft is not the only large IT player to use UC as an umbrella to cover what some say is a fragmented — but others say is merely a much-segmented — enterprise communications space. Other vendors have also adopted UC strategies. Nortel Networks, a traditional “voice” vendor, embraced Microsoft's UC vision through an alliance. IBM has entered the fray by aligning with Avaya, Cisco Systems, Siemens and others. BEA, Oracle and SAP will certainly be heard from as well.

So what does UC mean to business users? First, it means the evolution in voice systems brought by voice over IP over the past few years now forms a basis for further transformation. The walls within IT departments between network and applications groups are about to crumble, just as IP caused walls between voice and data shops to evaporate. More specialized functional groups will need to collaborate on infrastructure, applications, deployment, management and support. The evaluations from a technical and financial perspective become more complicated as everything becomes more inter-connected.

Second, mobility and mobile endpoints will continue to grow in importance as and vendors add mobility to their voice solutions. Smartphones are growing in importance to enterprises as well as mobile operators. The common practice of departmental vouchering of cell phone bills will likely be replaced as the mobile device becomes more connected and essential to doing business. IM, extending real-time communications to enterprise mobile endpoints over cell, Wi-Fi, WiMAX and other wireless networks will become nearly ubiquitous — maybe not all in 2007, but certainly appearing in plans before the decade ends.

Third, like mobility, video is an application that's been poised for growth since the IP revolution began, fueled by the commoditization and availability of higher-resolution and less-expensive HD video displays. Microsoft's Roundtable as well as recent video entries and extensions by Cisco, HP and traditional video players like Tandberg (now being acquired by Arris) indicate the growing relevance of video in the UC universe.

Fourth, service providers, while being distracted by the consumer push around IPTV, must find ways to avoid becoming just a pipe, delivering enterprise and other content.

Fifth, we will find out if open source solutions like Asterisk become major players in the UC world or are just another punctuation point on the road to UC.

Finally, UC might mean the end of the PBX as we know it. This is a possibility if Microsoft and Nortel win the day. If they are correct, enterprise voice becomes just another business application procured as software, running on standard commodity servers. That will toss many business models up in the air and severely challenge many enterprise IT careers.

There are implications for systems integrators, large and smaller enterprises and businesses, as well as public entities like governments, health care and educational institutions. All will see UC affecting the way they deliver services and meet their missions.

David Yedwab is a founding partner in Market Strategy and Analytics Partners LLC. He can be reached at (908) 879-2835 or david.yedwab@mktstrategy-analytics.com.

Call Accounting Comes To The Rescue For Resolving Disputes

2007-02-23T09:00:00.000-08:00

The business case for call accounting has generally revolved around the traditional benefits of cost recovery, network analysis and contact center management. Many customers are finding a broader array of uses for the reporting metrics available through call accounting applications to satisfy other business objectives.

In unionized environments, it is imperative that management adheres to negotiated contracts. This includes notifying staff of available unscheduled overtime hours and calling staff based on seniority. Disputes can arise when proper procedures are not followed.

Without call detail records (CDR) and call accounting software, management and unions can only rely on information that is not backed with firm statistics, resulting in straining relationships, and potentially loss of revenue through grievance procedures.

With call accounting software, union officials and managers can rely on concrete statistics to satisfy disputes and avoid grievances. Call accounting reports provide an unbiased mechanism that can determine if appropriate procedures were followed and the proper personnel were notified. Call records can be analyzed based on corporate priority sequence, date and time of the call and number of occurrences.

RSI is recognized as an industry leader in the field of communication management. The communication management product portfolio includes tailored integration to the most popular switching and network manufactures. RSI has been granted Nortel Developer Partner status with recognition for its core portfolio as Compatible Products. RSI is a Cisco Technology Partner, Siemens HiPath Ready Standard certified, Avaya DeveloperConnect Member, Mitel MiSN Member, Adtran Complementary Solutions Provider, NEC Univerge Partner and Alcatel Applications Partner.

For more information contact us at rsi@telecost.com or visit http://www.telecost.com/

Avaya IP Office New Features

2007-02-23T08:20:00.001-08:00

AVAYA ENHANCES IP OFFICE: Avaya this week added support for Session Initiation Protocol (SIP)-based trunking to its IP-based communications systems for small and mid-sized businesses. The company also introduced two new versions of its IP Office product: Standard for up to 32 users, and Professional for up to 270.

More info here http://ca.biz.yahoo.com/prnews/070212/nym009.html?.v=70

Call Accounting for Toll Fraud Prevention

2007-02-13T12:46:00.001-08:00

Toll fraud, misuse and long distance abuse are the unauthorized use of telephone services. and deliberate or improper use of the corporate communication facilities for toll calls.

Theft of authorization codes to use or sell to others has become a major concern with universities, health care and major corporations. Toll fraud ranges from people who think they can make a few free calls, to sophisticated call-sell operations that rack up thousands of dollars of long distance. Once stolen, codes can be rapidly distributed across the Internet to other hackers.

Some hackers have even programmed PBXs, voice mail systems, ACDs and other communication equipment remotely. They find tunnels into your system, access secret passwords, reconfigure personal mail boxes and manipulate sensitive data. Hackers can rework long distance routing tables for convenient access from even a pay phone. Thousands of calls may be made on a compromised system long before a customer receives a bill highlighting the abuse. In the United States, it is estimated that five billion dollars per year is lost to toll fraud.

Call accounting software is often employed to track excessive toll fraud and can act as the system watchdog. Reports from the software can highlight the fingerprints of abuse. These reports can be presented in court when pursuing felony charges.

VoIP applications are especially vulnerable to toll fraud because they form an integral part of the IP network unlike regularly monitored PBX systems managed by separate groups. The most effective way of combatting such fraud is having strong encryption policies in place. The communication logs should also be constantly monitored using VoIP-ready call accounting software that alerts administrators of suspicious calling activity.

Recent events have placed a spotlight on corporate espionage, terrorism and hightened security. My corporations now realize the importance of detecting toll fraud, misuse and abuse for their survival. Most CEOs are demanding tools to twart negligence and theft while tightening network security.

There are many warning signs of possible breach in a communication network. The obvious impact to the bottom line is the excessive cost of long distance calls. This type of abuse is often discovered and traced to individuals using a good call accounting system. Calling to specific international destinations, specialty service numbers (e.g. 900, 976 adult services), chat lines and entertainment services can be highlighted with frequently called number reports.

Internal call tracking can be crucial in large organizations that experience harassment calls. Often calls of this nature can be attributed to disgruntal employees or jealous former partners. Many telephone systems have the ability to track extension to extension or internal calls. Bomb threats or calls to emergency services can bring an institution to its knees. Many PBXs have a call trace feature that can identify the source and qualify the call.

Misuse calling can often be corrected by diligently highlighting inaccurate facility usage and better personnel training. These types of calls are not malicious in intent but do carry a costly price tag (e.g. directory assistance).

Unusual activity can be difficult to pinpoint but proactive telecom managers will employ techniques to trap peculiar patterns. Periods of unusual call surges, after hours calling, long calls to local numbers and repeated incoming calls can fall under the radar. These calls do not necessarily appear on a telephone invoice but can greatly impact productivity.

RSI is recognized as an industry leader in the field of communication management. The communication management product portfolio includes tailored integration to the most popular switching and network manufactures. RSI has been granted Nortel Developer Partner status with recognition for its core portfolio as Compatible Products. RSI is a Cisco Technology Partner, Siemens HiPath Ready Standard certified, Avaya DeveloperConnect Member, Mitel MiSN Member, Adtran Complementary Solutions Provider, NEC Univerge Partner and Alcatel Applications Partner.

For more information contact us at rsi@telecost.com or visit http://www.telecost.com/

Service Delivery Platforms Bringing SOA to Phone Companies, Says Insight Research

2007-02-08T05:58:00.001-08:00

Telecommunications companies will be investing billions of dollars over the next five years on service delivery platforms (SDPs) in order to bring the benefits of on-demand services to their wireline and mobility enterprise customers, says a new report from Insight Research. SDPs are computing platforms and software that support emerging standards such as IMS and SIP while continuing to inter-work with legacy protocols.

According to the study, "IMS, SIP and Service Delivery Platforms: Telecom Adoption of SOA and Enterprise Applications 2007-2011," SDP adoption by carriers will facilitate the delivery of on-demand telecommunications services by integrating network element performance with critical business processes. Functionally, these SDPs will enable the adoption of a service-oriented architecture (SOA), making it possible to reuse individual service components in order to quickly build a new enterprise service, as well as to separate the creation and execution of new service applications from the underlying network.

"These platforms will loosen the knot that ties network elements to business processes, thus increasing carrier flexibility when it comes to BSSes and service creation, which should translate to quicker time to market for new services," says Robert Rosenberg, President of Insight Research. "This loose coupling of business processes means that carriers will also be able to work more efficiently with their business chain partners," Rosenberg concludes.

A free report excerpt, table of contents, and ordering information are available online at http://www.insight-corp.com/reports/SDP07.asp. This 97-page report is available immediately for $3,995 (hard copy). Adobe Acrobat (PDF) report licenses are also available. Visit Insight's website, or call 973-541-9600 for details..

For more information please contact:
Ms. PJ Conger, Marketing Director
973-541-9600
pj@insight-corp.com

Is There Something Sinister About Caller ID Spoofing?

2007-02-05T19:26:00.000-08:00

Spoofing refers to the ability to disguise the originating caller identification number when placing a telephone call. The calling party may select an alias or dummy number to appear on the called party telephone display.

Proponents of this technology laud its uses for law enforcement and private investigators. They claim the technology protects agents from being discovered in undercover operations. Agents can freely make pretext calls to criminal elements by using caller ID spoofing. A pretext call is one that allows law enforcement to solicit information over the telephone by representing themselves as someone else.

Caller ID spoofing is now marketed by a number of websites to any business or individual who wishes to subscribe to the service. Individuals can hide or mask the call origin with whatever number they desire. This guarantees anonymity. Collection agencies or government tax agencies often find it difficult to reach defaulters. This service could help these companies contact an individual using call screening.

Critics of the caller ID spoofing claim that using this VoIP phone service makes it easy for scam artists to make it appear that they are calling from another phone number.

Jokesters could masquerade their caller ID as The Oval Office, Ed McMahon or Paris Hilton. Hackers and con artists could utilize spoofing to break into unsecured voice mail boxes that rely on caller identification for authentication. For example, Secure Science Corporation discovered that hackers could use caller ID spoofing to break into the voice mailboxes of over 15 million subscribers of wireless service provider T-Mobile. The company scrambled to add an optional pin code authentication to thwart tampering.

Criminal elements could utilize caller ID spoofing to reverse the tables on law enforcement, harass victims and break into interactive voice response systems that use the caller’s phone number as authentication. A child molester could contact a home and disguise number as a parent’s work number. An alarm company or emergency response dispatch could be contacted and reassured of false alarm by a burglar breaking into a premise.

Methods and kits on how to emulate and display spoofed caller ID messages are now available on the Internet. Anyone with a general understanding of the concept and a compatible modem can construct a device that will provide caller ID spoofing.

In the end, caller ID spoofing, like any other technology does have some merit especially for law enforcement. However this technology is very easy to use unethically and perhaps criminally. The lesson here is don’t trust caller id display. If you are unsure of the caller id information of a suspicious caller, take the number down, return the call or alert authorities.

Rito Salomone is the president of Resource Software International Ltd. (RSI). He has 18 years experience in the field of communication management solutions including call accounting, hotel billing, telephone reporting, screen pop, cti applications and web solutions.

For more information about the author you can review: http://www.telecost.com

Caller ID spoofing becomes all too easy

2007-02-05T07:36:00.000-08:00

Telecom and Networking Manufacturer User Groups

2007-02-02T12:04:00.000-08:00

Avaya
International Alliance of Avaya Users (InAAU)

Cisco
Cisco IP Telephony User's Group (CIPTUG)

Mitel
North American Mitel Users Association (NAMU)

NEC
Neax2400 Users Group

Nortel
International Nortel Networks Users Association (INNUA)

Siemens
Joint Users of Siemens Technology, US (JUST-US)

Apple, Cisco to talk on iPhone trademark

2007-02-02T06:32:00.000-08:00

The Associated Press February 1, 2007, 6:38AM EST

NEW YORK

Apple Inc. and Cisco Systems Inc. agreed to extend the time Apple has to respond to Cisco's lawsuit surrounding the iPhone, in order to discuss trademark rights and interoperability, the companies said late Wednesday.

San Jose, Calif.-based Cisco, which makes routers and switches to link networks and power the Internet, sued Apple over alleged trademark infringement for calling its new cell phone-iPod device iPhone.

During a conference call with analysts earlier this month, Apple Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook called the Cisco lawsuit "silly," and said Cisco's trademark registration was "tenuous at best."

"If Cisco wants to challenge us," Cook said, "we're confident we'll prevail."
Cisco claims Apple's new device is "deceptively and confusingly similar" to its own line of cordless Web-enabled phones from the company's Linksys division. Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple says it's entitled to use the name iPhone because its device operates over a cellular network, unlike Cisco's phones.

Make Your Cell Phone Off Limits - Do Not Call Registry

2007-01-31T07:16:00.000-08:00

The National Do Not Call Registry has been a smashing hit with most American consumers. Since its inception millions have flocked to register their home phone number to twart annoying telemarketing calls.

Your cell phone may be at risk. Telemarketing companies are now being granted access to cell phone numbers. Now you will have the benefit of buying new storm windows while taking your date out for dinner. Perhaps you might want to celebrate winning a trip to Mexico while you are fishing with your son. Your telephone service provider may want to tell you about all their latest wonderful wireless promotions. Of course, you will be charged for telemarketing calls to your cell phones.

The National Do Not Call Registry allows you to guard against unwanted solicitation. To register, call the following number from your cell phone:
888-382-1222. Your cell phone number will be recorded and kept on file for five (5) years. You must call from the cell phone that you wish to have blocked.

Reputable marketing companies abide by the rules of the National Do Not Call Registry. Those that fail to respect your wishes to be opted from their promotional calling may be levied huge fines.

Small or Medium business telemarketing firms with Nortel BCM or Norstar are turning to Resource Software International Ltd. (RSI) to help ensure they do not call numbers in the registry.

To find out more, contact RSI and ask us about tools CTI Pack for the National Do Not Call Registry.

Call Accounting Evolution

2007-01-29T20:38:00.000-08:00

The ability to gather telephone call records, process and report them has been around since the early 1980s. Call management has been a basic staple of telecom managers, hotels and professional firms. With today's constantly evolving telecom innovations, customers are more than ever in need of metrics for all aspects of their communication networks.

Historically call accounting software has delivered on the promise of cost recovery with estimates ranging from 10-40% of a business telecom expenses. The software is an excellent watchdog of excessive equipment fees, billing irregularities, policy abuse and toll fraud. Most telecom managers traditionally relied on concrete historical call detail records (CDR) to optimize services, carrier comparisons and convergence planning. The cost of a telephone call has been steadily decreasing with the introduction of peer to peer free calling, flat rate plans and bundled services.

Customer service, employee productivity and workforce management have always been critical concerns of most businesses. Call accounting can examines the health of an organization by looking at calling patterns, frequency of calls, network traffic and facility performance. A good call accounting software package addresses the changing landscape of communications management with robust cost effective, comprehensive array of reporting and management tools.

Call accounting software packages that historically focused on telephone tracking and expense management have transformed themselves into comprehensive browser based communication management systems (CMS). These systems include extension, line, operator, auto attendant, ACD, IVR, voice mail and other facility traffic. The ability to track call duration, call distribution, ring time, hold time and call queues has allowed leading communication management systems to analyze, measure and increase productivity.

The analysis of communication facility logs can be important in optimizing and provisioning of IP PBXs, VoIP services, wireless equipment, multi-party conference and other call handling applications. Today call accounting can act as a means of consolidation with mergers, acquisitions, and new technologies creating non-uniform networks. The new call accounting remains a core weapon in the arsenal of all telecom and IT managers.

Rito Salomone is President of Resource Software International Ltd. (RSI). To contact the author, please email rsalomone@telecost.com

RSI is recognized as an industry leader in the field of communication management. The communication management product portfolio includes tailored integration to the most popular switching and network manufactures. RSI has been granted Nortel Developer Partner status with recognition for its core portfolio as Compatible Products. RSI is a Cisco Technology Partner, Siemens HiPath Ready Standard certified, Avaya DeveloperConnect Member, Mitel MiSN Member, Adtran Complementary Solutions Provider, NEC Univerge Partner and Alcatel Applications Partner.

For more information contact us at rsi@telecost.com or visit http://www.telecost.com/!

Call Accounting: All About ROI

2007-01-29T19:30:00.000-08:00

By Ellen Muraskin

Call accounting is about data collection and analysis: who's making calls, where are they going, and what are they costing? Read more...

Nortel CS1000E Executive Overview

2007-01-29T07:34:00.000-08:00

Introduction

IP Telephony has become an attractive offering available from various telecommunication manufacturers. As a modern technology that utilizes the inexpensive transport mechanism existent today called Voice running Over an IP infrastructure (VoIP), IP Telephony can now be a viable solution and cost savings mechanism in the Enterprise arena.

Nortel Networks Communication Server 1000E

The CS 1000E system is a modular solution manufactured by Nortel Networks. One of the significant features of this platform is VxWorks as the native operating system that runs on the hardware. From a system security vulnerability stand point, the CS 1000E is safer and less prone to external attacks inherent to other IP Telephony systems running a Windows based operating system. Numerous operating system exploits and open ports have been found on these Windows based systems.

Call Server

There are two Call Servers in a CS1000E system. One operates in active mode and the second in standby mode. The active Call Server is the heart of the call processing function that controls all IP Phone features and trunk interfaces operating in normal mode. It also performs the function of database server for synchronization of configuration information with the standby Call Server and with all Media Gateways.

The active Call Server performs call control, signaling and routing for all TDM and IP calls placed across the network. The Call Server is a rack mountable unit with a small footprint housing a hot swappable fan unit, and field replaceable power supply.

Signaling Server

The Signaling Server is an off-the-shelf Intel based single board computer that provides call control services such as registration of IP Phones and gateways, translation of call initiation and tear down sequences from IP to Call Server language, IP address translation services, and bandwidth control. The Signaling Server also runs VxWorks real-time operating system.

Software modules reside on this device: a Line Terminal Proxy Server (LTPS), a Signaling Gateway, and an H.323 Gatekeeper. The TPS module essentially is the IP Phone interface, providing registration, TFTP service, and bandwidth control and feature delivery to the IP Phones.

Nortel Signaling Servers can be deployed in a redundant, load-sharing configuration for increased scalability and reliability of the LTPS. Moreover, should both Signaling Servers become unavailable, phones will register with Succession Media Cards located in Succession Media Gateways. This provides tertiary redundancy for the Line Terminal Proxy Server.

Both signaling servers also include the Signaling Gateway software module which translates Nortel Networks IP Telephony protocols into H.323 to communicate with local H.323-compliant devices.

The H.323 Gatekeeper software module resolves addresses unknown to the local CS1000E Call Server. Typically, a primary gatekeeper is deployed on one Signaling Server while another is deployed in "hot standby" mode anywhere in the network. Additionally, other H.323 Gatekeepers are deployed in "failsafe" mode in the event a primary and secondary gatekeeper become unavailable, this provides three levels of redundancy for gatekeepers.

Nortel Media Gateways

Media gateways are the primary means to interface with all TDM lines and trunks. All Media Gateways contain an embedded form of the Call Server software and can be configured to be a Survivable Media Gateway.

Nortel Internet Phones

All Nortel Networks Internet Phones use by default the standard G.711 audio codec algorithm to convert analog voice signals into digital packets, though they could be configured to use any of a list of three other Codec types as well: G729a, G.729ab and G.723.1.

Configuration and Management

Nortel Networks CS 1000E system is delivered on individual units that are each rack mountable and configurable via direct connection into their console ports or via an IP-based terminal server expressly deployed for that purpose. Nortel Networks CS 1000E systems support a very effective and granular CLI on all of its system components. With CLI commands a systems administrator can entirely configure, deploy, modify, monitor and manage the system either directly connected into the system console port or via Telnet from a remote location.

For in depth system configuration and management including trunks, features, routes and gateways, Nortel CS1000E comes with a Management platform called Element Manager. Element Manager is a WEB based application that runs on any browser. Element Manager 4.0 is an integrated systems management platform to control all CS 1000E system components. It allows the system administrator to perform all the necessary system feature implementations, IP Phone settings, line and trunk configuration parameters, dial plan implementation and system monitoring and verification.

Nortel Networks CS1000E enterprise solution also includes various trunk configuration, alerting and monitoring control functions that enhance the overall system functionality. Features such as trunk barring, trunk traffic reporting, trunk failure monitor, trunk verification, and others allow the implementation of a robust, resilient and proactively monitored system.

Conclusions

In conclusion, The CS 1000E system is a secure, robust, extremely redundant and scalable IP-based platform when compared to Windows server based platforms from other manufacturers.

Enterprise organization in search of a reliable, resilient and scalable IP Telephony system to accommodate their needs, and make optimal use of their existent IP network and wiring infrastructure, should not wait any longer. Both of the systems analyzed in this paper offer much more than the bare standard features existent in PSTN environments, although Nortel Networks CS 1000E offers a collection of additional features that give it an overall edge.

The CS 1000E system offered by Nortel Networks is by far the most redundant, resilient and scalable with its component based architecture and its native operating systems that are much less vulnerable than other manufacturer solutions built on top of the Microsoft Windows software architecture. Windows based platforms have the largest list of vulnerability exploits and open services that are prone to external attacks. Numerous software patches and external means of network protection are needed to mitigate such systems vulnerability.

In terms of call volume that each of these systems can handle, Nortel Networks CS 1000E supports a greater load than other manufacturer platforms. The CS 1000E supports 300,000 Busy Hour Call Completions (BHCC) for digital TDM calls and 240,000 BHCC for IP Telephony calls.

CS 1000E operates reliably and call server switchover is seamless.

The CS 1000E use of the VxWorks operating system provides less vulnerable operation in terms of IP functionality and external source's attacks than other manufacturers application based on the Windows operating systems.

The Nortel CS 1000E multi unit solution allows system resilience and minimizes downtime due to built-in components redundancy.

CS 1000E and Internet Phone Functionality:

* Better IP Server security and less OS vulnerability
* More features overall, allowing greater customization by the end user
* More robust Call Server can handle more calls per hour (300K/240K)
* System ready to interface with external PBX or other IP systems
* Fully standards based system and components
* Up to third level of signaling server redundancy
* One built in auto-sensing 10/100baseT Ethernet switched port IEEE 802.3af compliant
* Second auto-sensing 10/100baseT Ethernet switched port for a workstation connection
* IEEE 802.3Q VLAN tagging and IEEE 802.3p priority settings standards compliant
* Multi language support with built-in user selectable options
* Keep alive signaling control with Call Server to facilitate accounting and billing functions
* Dial tone and signaling controlled at the Call Server and Signaling server
* Fast registration and recovery after power up or disconnect (The IP Terminal times taken to regain dial tone varied as follows: i2001, 23 seconds; i2002, 23 seconds and the i2204, 25 seconds on average)

About The Author

John Leonardelli, President, Gale Force Communications. John brings 20 years of voice, data and wireless telecommunications experience in various sales, management and operational roles. John is a Certified IP Telephony Expert where his expertise has been focused on IP Telephony, Contact Centre and complex technical solutions. John has a degree in Electronics Engineering, Telecommunications and Sales Management.

The Importance of Call Accounting Software

2007-01-24T14:56:00.000-08:00

Call accounting software is a system that records, translates and reports on telephone call activity. The software is used by most corporations to control expenses, allocate cost and increase productivity. Call accounting generally recieves Station Message Detail Records (SMDR) or Call Detail Records (CDR) from a telephone system through any of various protocls including serial, IP and file transfer.

SMDR is a feature that is available for most telephone systems and IP PBXs. The data is generally a system log of call traffic which includes call direction, date and time of the call, length of call, extension and trunk or line. There are various other pieces of information such as authorization code and account code that may be optionally available depending on the capability of the hardware. The raw or unprocessed SMDR output of the telephone system is often too volumous and difficult to read.

A call accounting software packages utilizes SMDR data and translate the information into a simplified database format for further analysis. The data is often presented in graphical, detailed or summary reports by extension, departments or other corporate levels.

The cost of a telephone call has been steadily decreasing with the introduction of peer to peer free calling, flat rate plans and bundled services. Call accounting software packages that historically focused on telephone tracking and expense management have transformed themselves into comprehensive communication management systems (CMS). These systems include extension, line, operator, auto attendant, ACD, IVR, voice mail and other facility traffic
.
The ability to track call duration, call distribution, ring time, hold time and call queues has allowed leading communication management systems to analyze and measure productivity.

Toll fraud analysis remains a component of most major CMS systems. However, there now exist new threats in bandwidth hacking which can result in poor performance for VoIP traffic, security breach and network shutdown. New CMS systems pinpoint irregularities, bottlenecks and network overflows and suggest recommended corrective action.

Rito Salomone is President of Resource Software International Ltd.(RSI). To contact the author, please email rsalomone@telecost.com

RSI is recognized as an industry leader in the field of communication management. The communication management product portfolio includes tailored integration to the most popular switching and network manufactures. RSI has been granted Nortel Developer Partner status with recognition for its core portfolio as Compatible Products. RSI is a Cisco Technology Partner, Siemens HiPath Ready Standard certified, Avaya DeveloperConnect Member, Mitel MiSN Member, Adtran Complementary Solutions Provider, NEC Univerge Partner and Alcatel Applications Partner.

For more information contact us at rsi@telecost.com or visit http://www.telecost.com/!

Nortel and Microsoft CEOs Outline Transformation of Business Communications

2007-01-22T06:10:00.000-08:00

Ballmer, Zafirovski share joint road map for voice over Internet protocol and unified communications solutions

See Press Release

Fonality Releases trixbox 2.0: Leading Asterisk-Based Application Platform for Businesses and Integrators

2007-01-18T05:32:00.000-08:00

Installs in less than 15 minutes, and features easy customizable configuration and ‘point-and-click’ updates

LOS ANGELES – January 4, 2007 – Fonality®, a leader in open source, Asterisk®-based IP telephony systems, today released trixbox® 2.0, a free, easy to use, open source telephony and application platform. The new version, available for immediate download, can be installed in less than 15 minutes, supports multiple languages and provides increased reliability and stability, flexible user customization, and support for a wide-range of hardware vendors. The software also allows the community to upgrade individual deployment components versus having to reinstall from scratch with each upgrade. trixbox.org will also be hosting its first ever training Webinar entitled “Building An Open Source IP-PBX With trixbox 2.0” on January 30, 2007.

“The trixbox community said they wanted a super-reliable Asterisk deployment that removed all the headaches and that is what we strived to deliver in this release of trixbox 2.0.” said Andrew Gillis, founder of trixbox and director of community development at Fonality. “I always envisioned trixbox as a platform that would be both easy enough for people to quickly deploy and stable enough that they could stake their reputation on it. trixbox 2.0 is the realization of this vision.”

trixbox 2.0 comes with a new point-and-click package manager which lets installers, via simple clicks of their mouse, decide which applications they want to install with trixbox. The advantage to the package manager is two-fold: first, it let’s you choose how lean or rich of a deployment you need. Secondly, it informs the installer, over time, of any new updates to any packages within their trixbox installation as vendors release them.

trixbox 2.0 includes a host of packages, or applications, including Apache, an enhanced version of Asterisk, FreePBX, Flash Operator Panel, MySQL, phpMyAdmin and SugarCRM. In addition, the new release provides call detail reports, an endpoint manager, VoIP service provider wizards, deeper application integration with SugarCRM, drivers for Sangoma and Rhino voice cards and support for multiple languages including English, German, Portuguese and Spanish with more to come.

On January 30, 2007 Kerry Garrison, senior product manager for trixbox at Fonality and author of “TrixBox Made Easy,” a step-by-step guide to installing and running your home and office VoIP system, will host the first trixbox.org Webinar, designed to deliver important information to IT managers and integrators who want to deploy trixbox 2.0 installations. This 90-minute session will provide an overview of trixbox 2.0 and discuss what is included, system requirements, hardware and ITSP support, skills required for successful deployment, installation and configuration steps and additional resources available from trixbox.org.

“The new features in trixbox 2.0 make it the application standard for telephony-savvy businesses and integrators deploying open source IP telephony systems,” said Garrison. “The upcoming Webinar will provide the most up-to-date and useful information about how to successfully implement trixbox 2.0 installations.”

For more information, or to sign up for the trixbox Webinar or download trixbox 2.0 for free, visit www.trixbox.org.
About trixbox
trixbox, formerly Asterisk@Home, is the world’s largest community of users of open source, Asterisk-based voice over IP telephony platforms. The value of trixbox is that, in under 15 minutes , a non-technical user can download and install, not only Asterisk, but Linux, SugarCRM, MySQL, FreePBX and other applications. trixbox tightly integrates these open applications to work together on one physical server, providing companies with a PBX phone system and the surrounding applications they need to support their business. The trixbox community has the largest number of registered users and the most active forums for discussing and resolving open source telephony and Asterisk-based issues.

About Fonality
Fonality, www.fonality.com, is a leader in open source, Asterisk-based IP telephony systems. PBXtra™, Fonality’s award winning IP-PBX product line for small and medium businesses, is based on a modified version of the popular open source Asterisk code base. Fonality has modified Asterisk to add reliability, stability and enterprise-class features, and is the world’s largest commercial Asterisk-based deployment. PBXtra uses Fonality's patent pending architecture to deliver all the advanced features of an enterprise-class phone system and call center at 40 percent to 80 percent less than traditional offerings, and is deployed to more than 18,000 business users in the U.S. and other countries. Fonality’s trixbox, www.trixbox.org, the world’s largest community of users of Asterisk-based software, with an average of 50,000 downloads a month, provides a free, easy to install Asterisk-based VoIP phone system.

Call Accounting for Every Enterprise
Call Accounting Software for Asterisk

AT&T Merges With BellSouth, Consolidates Cingular, YELLOWPAGES.COM Ownership

2007-01-17T12:54:00.000-08:00

AT&T Inc. has completed its acquisition of BellSouth Corp., creating a flagship American communications company committed to driving convergence, continued innovation and competition in the communications and entertainment marketplace.

The merger consolidates ownership and management of Cingular Wireless, the nation’s No. 1 provider of wireless voice and data services, and YELLOWPAGES.COM, a leading Internet Yellow Pages and local search site.

As a result, the new AT&T will be better able to deliver innovative integrated services, streamlined customer care and greater convenience in buying communications and entertainment services, as the combined company integrates its wireless and wireline Internet Protocol (IP) networks

For more information, visit AT&T

Spotlight on VoIP

2007-01-17T06:10:00.000-08:00

To VoIP -- Or Not To VoIP?
Answer Is 'Yes' For Cable Operators
By Wendy Herman, Nortel

Asterisk Call Accounting Software

2007-01-16T09:34:00.000-08:00

Hello Asterisk community,

After numerous request from various companies where we have implemented * as a phone system and also from many other * users all over the world, yesterday we released the 1st version of Asterisk module for Call Accounting Mate (www.callaccounting.ws) . As some of you know we also use Asterisk internally as our phone system and as developers for Call Accounting Mate, we felt it was necessary to implement a decent Call Accounting software for *. Call Accounting Mate runs on Windows and is completely web based. It ships with the necessary source files and Asterisk modules to interface Asterisk via tcpip to Call Accounting Mate.We have set up a Asterisk - Call Accounting Mate forum so we can gather input from the Asterisk community.

You can access the forum at: http://www.callaccounting.ws/forum/index.php?board=5.0

Regards,
San Singhania Tel : +1 718 5762066

Screen Pop Applications For Efficient Customer Care

2007-01-16T06:51:00.000-08:00

Caller Identification is information delivered at the start of a telephone call about the calling party. This information generally consists of the calling number and the calling name. Caller identification is generally made available by your carrier for a small monthly fee. Many subscribers use the service in conjunction with caller identification enabled telephones to identify and block annoying callers and respond to missed calls.

Many software companies now offer creative solutions that incorporate caller identification into contact relationship management. Caller identification is utilized to retrieve files or information about callers prior to answering the call. These solutions are known as Screen Pop applications.

Business calls are usually linked with information that exists in your database software or contact management applications, such as Access, Outlook, Act!, Maximizer, Goldmine or even a unique in-house custom application. As an example, a travel agency with a proprietary customer database could use Screen Pop to retrieve data at every agent’s desktop and access the details of each customer’s travel plans.

Often call handling rules are created based on caller identification routing tables. Business communication servers (or telephone systems) can perform time consuming telephony functions (including answer, conference, hold, park and transfer) based on the caller identification information.

Caller identification software is not foolproof. Many businesses have many telephone lines. This is troublesome for caller identification software that must keep a library of all the lines in order to perform proper screen pops. Recently caller identification spoofing has started creeping into mainstream. Spoofing allows people to masquerade their caller identification as anyone else. Many cellular telephones and international callers are often reported as unknown. Even though caller identification cannot be 100% reliable in all circumstances, creative software solutions are increasing productivity in call center and customer service environments.

Rito Salomone is the president of Resource Software International Ltd. (RSI). He has 17 years experience in the field of communication management solutions.

For more information you can review: http://www.telecost.com/ or contact the author at rsalomone@telecost.com

What is business VoIP?

2007-01-15T22:29:00.000-08:00

VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) involves using your Internet connection to place and receive calls. Business VoIP is the same as residential (home) VoIP except that business VoIP includes a PBX and offers many more advanced features like desk to desk calling, automated attendant, managing extensions, music on hold, find me - follow me, conference calling and much more. Business voip also often includes an Internet connection that routes calls over a private network which guarantees quality phone calls.

More Info:
Business VoIP Shopping Guide
Business Case for VoIP Phone Service
Small and Medium Enterprise – Business VoIP
How to transition over to Business VoIP
Business VoIP – Buyers Guide
Hosted PBX vs. Owned PBX vs. SIP Trunking
Real Value of Business VoIP Phone Service
Business VoIP Reliability
Is VoIP Right For Your Business?

Source: VoIPReview.org

Has Call Accounting Become Outdated?

2007-01-12T07:36:00.000-08:00

The day of exorbitant long distance charges seems to be in the rear view mirror. Many competitors have jumped into the lucrative pool of communication delivery. There has been consolidation of the traditional telephone companies and a spawning of new VoIP service providers.

The cost of a telephone call has been steadily decreasing with the introduction of peer to peer free calling, flat rate plans and bundled services. The telecom department in many major enterprises has been transformed or merged into other areas of IT. The need for a telecom manager may have gone the way of the dinosaur, or has it?

Call accounting systems have risen to the challenge. Most traditional telephone expense management systems have been transformed into broader and more robust communication management systems (CMS).

Toll fraud or finding excessive cost calls is no longer a major priority. A robust call accounting system spans well beyond the traditional component of telephone expense management. Call accounting examines the health of an organization by looking at calling patterns, frequency of calls, network traffic and facility performance.

If Jimmy is making 100 calls a day but none of them are long distance, a traditional system that focuses on cost would fail to recognize Jimmy's calling patterns. Non-business local calls, incoming calls and toll free calls can result in huge productivity losses for an organization. Frequently called numbers reports can shed a great deal of light on corporate calling patterns, marketing initiatives and telephone abuse. Conversely, Jimmy may be a rising start in the company if all his calls are for networking. Examining calling patterns is essential in fine-tuning and increasing productivity.

Today, there are many entry points into an organization. Auto attendant, voice mail, interactive voice response, email and live operator are some of the many facilities utilized by most average businesses. A strong communication management system will provide statistics that measure the performance of all these entry points. It is imperative that hackers, overflow or failures do not cause bottlenecks that hamper the communication flow of an organization. If a problem arises an effective communication management system should alert administrators in real time.

You cannot manage what you cannot measure! Call accounting will always remain a pillar in the evolution of communication management. Recent polls indicate that VoIP is fast becoming the dominant form of communication. There are countless businesses that may be caught with their pants down. Most companies do not even have a proper migration strategy. Communication management can help ease the transition by highlighting traffic volumes, peak hours, grade of service, abandoned calls, blocked calls, calls to reception and various other peg counts. These statistics will help determine the bandwidth needs and requirements for auto attendant, wireless, IVR and other services.

RSI is recognized as an industry leader in the field of communication management. The communication management product portfolio includes tailored integration to the most popular switching and network manufactures. RSI has been granted Nortel Developer Partner status with recognition for its core portfolio as Compatible Products. RSI is a Cisco Technology Partner, Siemens HiPath Ready Standard certified, Avaya DeveloperConnect Member, Mitel MiSN Member, Adtran Complementary Solutions Provider, NEC Univerge Partner and Alcatel Applications Partner.

For more information contact us at rsi@telecost.com or visit www.telecost.com!

Software Buffers over Hardware Buffers

2007-01-10T08:05:00.000-08:00

Why use outdated or expensive hardware buffer boxes for data collection of call detail records (CDR) or any other logs? RSI offers you flexible PC-based solutions that use: Remote Dial-up, ODBC, FTP transfers and TCP socket connections to PABX and Key telephone systems, VoIP servers and routers (inc. Nortel, Avaya, Adtran, Cisco, 3com, Samsung, Mitel, Siemens, Alcatel, Asterisk, Altigen, Panasonic, Inter-Tel, NEC, Tadiran, Toshiba, Shoreline, Vodavi, Zultys and click here for more

Special versions of Winlink IP & Serial Data Storage Software are available for specific vendor platforms that utilize proprietary or non-standard communication protocols. Collect CDR / SMDR or other logs in real time or through an automated scheduled process.

Visit our specific vendor websites for more information regarding specific SMDR protocol implementations:
Traditional Models (IP & Serial)
Avaya (RSP, TCP).
Nortel (CDR PULL, DCOM, Socket).
Cisco (ODBC)
Siemens (TFTP, Serial)
Mitel (Telnet,Serial)
3COM (HTTP)

Avaya One-X Mobile Edition

2007-01-08T13:08:00.001-08:00

Learn more about Avaya one-X Mobile Edition, software that puts your office and your personal life right in your pocket. Now you can use one number and voicemail system for all your calls – whether you’re in the office or on the go. Use your mobile phone to conduct conference calls, forward voice messages, and park calls on your office phone. You can even switch to Personal Mode to maintain your work-life balance. Go to avaya.com.

mobility, fixed mobile convergence, enterprise fixed mobile convergence, enterprise mobility, telephone, phone set, Nokia, IP telephone, IP Telephony

Keeping ahead of the curve

2007-01-08T08:47:00.001-08:00

Join thousands of other INNUA (International Nortel Networks User Association) members for this conference and trade show.

Global Connect 2007
June 10-13, 2007
Tampa Convention Center
Tampa, FL

For more information visit: www.innua.org

Did You Know?

2007-01-05T20:58:00.000-08:00

Organizations can routinely save more than 10 percent of their annual telecommunication expenses by systematically checking their carrier bills against equipment and services in use. Best practices include implementing telecom expense management packages.

Source: Gartner, Inc. "Better Management of Telecom Expenses Yields Significant Savings" March 2005

Call detail record

2007-01-03T12:29:00.000-08:00

Source: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In telecommunications, a Call Detail Record (CDR) (also Call Detail Recording) or Station Message Detail Recording (SMDR) is a record containing information about recent system usage, such as the identities of sources (points of origin), the identities of destinations (endpoints), the duration of each call, the amount billed for each call, the total usage time in the billing period, the total free time remaining in the billing period, and the running total charged during the billing period. The format of the CDR varies among telecom providers and call-logging software. Some software allows the CDR format to be configured by the user.

CDRs may be output to a file, may be sent as packets on a network, or may be output from a serial port on a piece of telecom hardware.

Where CDRs are stored by a telecom service provider, the records for a particular account can sometimes be downloaded at the request of the subscriber who holds that account. If the telecom provider supplies users with itemized bills, a CDR will show up in each bill, in a format similar to that of an itemized long-distance telephone bill supplied by a conventional telephone company.

In a telephone exchange, a CDR contains information about all the calls passing through the exchange. The CDRs are generated by Automatic Message Accounting (AMA) and processed by the Billing support system (BSS).

A CDR may contain more than one type of call traffic. For example, fixed line voice traffic and fixed line data traffic may be placed in the same file, but will be identified separately for rating purposes.

Call accounting software or communication management software is generally used to retrieve and process CDR data.

The Future of VoIP

2007-01-03T12:14:00.000-08:00

How VoIP Is Used
While there are a number of ways that VoIP is currently being used, most individual callers fall into one of three categories: ATA, IP Phones, and Computer-to-Computer.

ATA or Analog Telephone Adaptor, is the most common way of using VoIP. This adaptor actually allows you to hook up the phone, which is already in your house, to your computer, and then to your Internet connection. What the ATA does, is turn the analog signals your phone sends out into digital signals that can be sent over the Internet. Setting up this system is quite simple. It simply requires that you order an ATA, plug the cable from your phone (which would normally go into the wall socket) into the ATA, and then the ATA gets plugged into your computer, which is connected to the internet. Some ATAs include software that has to be installed on your computer before it is ready to be used, but basically it is quite a simple process.

The next type of VoIP usage utilizes IP Phones instead of your home phone. The IP Phone looks just like a normal phone, with all the same buttons and cradle. The only difference is that instead of having a normal wall jack connector, it has an Ethernet connector. So, instead of plugging in your IP phone to the wall jack (like you would with a regular analog phone), it is plugged directly into your router. This option allows you to circumvent your personal computer. It also means that you will not have to install any software because it is all built into the handset. In addition, with the availability of Wi-Fi IP phones, subscribing callers can make VoIP calls from any Wi-Fi hot spots. All these features make IP Phones an extremely exciting option.
Lastly, the simplest and cheapest way to use VoIP is through computer-to-computer calls. These calls are entirely free, meaning that there is no need for any calling plans. The only things you need are the software (which can be found for free on the internet), a good internet connection, a microphone, speakers and a sound card. Except for your monthly internet service fee, there is literally no cost for making these calls, no matter how many you make.

For large companies, VoIP also offers some very unique possibilities. Some larger companies are already utilizing the technology by conducting all intra-office calls through a VoIP network. Because the quality of sound is comparable to and in some cases surpasses that of analog service, some international companies are using VoIP to route international calls through the branch of their company, which is nearest the call’s destination and then completing it on an analog system. This allows them to pay local rates internationally and still utilize the same intra-office VoIP network, as if they are calling someone in the next cubicle.
Advantages of VoIP

While your current long-distance plan covers you for only one location, say calls made from your office, you can make a call from anywhere where you can get a broadband connection with VoIP. That is because all three methods mentioned above, unlike analog calls, send the call information via the Internet. Hence, you can make calls from home, on vacation, on business trips and almost anywhere else. With VoIP, you can bring your home phone along with you anywhere you go. In the same way, computer-to-computer connections imply that as long as you have your laptop and a broadband connection, you are ready to go.

There are also some nifty benefits to having your calls transmitted over the Internet. For example, some VoIP service providers allow you to check your voicemail via your e-mail, while others allow you to attach voice messages to your e-mails.

The Future of VoIP
While most analysts believe that it will take at least another decade before companies and telephone providers make the full switch to VoIP, the potential for VoIP technology’s use today is already quite astounding. A report by the Forrester Research Group predicts that by the end of 2006, nearly 5 million U.S. households will be using VoIP phone service. With the savings and flexibility that VoIP technology already offers, and new advances just ahead on the horizon, we can expect those numbers to escalate further in the future.

Article contributed by San Singhania who is a VoIP consultant at Lantone Communications. Led by a team of experienced IT developers, Lantone Communications is one of the leading VoIP Provider in Singapore.
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VoIP Info Source

2007-01-02T13:05:00.000-08:00

The following is a highly informative VoIP information wiki about the latest trends with Asterisk and various other IP PBX systems

.http://www.voipinfo.org

RezStream Property Management

2006-12-30T20:19:00.000-08:00

Call accounting software allows businesses to track customer phone calls (and charges) made from phones located anywhere at the property. Hotels often use call accounting software to track phone calls made in guest rooms and to assign monetary charges for customer billing purposes. Businesses who do not own this software must purchase both call accounting module and our External Posting Link if they wish to track phone data.

The RezStream "External Posting Link" is an add-on module that transfers call information (number dialed, duration of call, cost, etc.) from existing call accounting software, directly into RezStream Professional customer invoices. RezStream Professional users who already own a call package will need to purchase our External Posting Link if they wish to link their existing system to RezStream Professional.

If you do not currently own a call system, RezStream also has a preferred software vendor relationship with RSI. RSI has been designing and selling call systems since 1990. We have worked with them to create a version of Shadow CMS by RSI that links to RezStream Professional without having to purchase the External Posting Link

We can offer you a great deal the RSI Shadow CMS system.
External Posting Link
RSI Shadow CMS
Pricing

Call Accounting Evolution

2006-12-18T11:46:00.000-08:00

There was once a time when there were no telephones, facsimile machines, personal devices, computers or the Internet. Today most people cannot phantom such a primitive existence. Communication is the link that allows our world to function at its torrid pace. Business must continually adopt modern technology to successfully compete in a world that demands instantaneous results. The proper management of communication infrastructure is crucial in the success of any organization.

The entry points into every organization usually include a combination of auto attendant, custom call routing (CCR), voice mail, interactive voice response (IVR), automated call distribution (ACD), wireless and countless other devices. Many organizations are turning to communication servers over conventional PBX systems to deploy VoIP based pipelines that reduce cost and maximize flexibility. Voice and data communication can now co-exist and flow freely through the same bandwidth. Calls can easily be configured to simultaneously ring multiple devices, hunt to wireless or home phones, route to voice mail or forward to another call center.

Communication management is now a multi-pronged approach that combines statistics from various facilities to identify billing irregularities, misuse, bottlenecks, inactivity, productivity or workforce expense.

Billing reconciliation is often overlooked since carriers always bill based on contracted tariff plans, right? According to analysts at Gartner, “Organizations can routinely save more than 10% of their annual telecommunications expenses by systematically checking their carrier bills against equipment and services in use.” But it is no longer effective to look exclusively at your traditional telephone invoices and compare them to the call accounting system in the back room.

The old adage rings true today “you cannot manage what you cannot measure”. Call accounting is no longer the killer application of current times but it is certainly a necessary component. Leading edge communication management systems now collect system logs, Internet usage reports, router statistics, voice mail logs, CCR, hunt group information and various device-dependent logs as well as traditional call detail records (CDR).

Have you ever called your favorite electronics store to inquire about the latest digital cameras but got trapped in a series of never-ending prompts about store hours, hard drive specials and video games? Many companies are taking advantage of communication management systems (CMS) that study activity from automated attendant and custom call routing trees. These reports help pinpoint whether calls are being prematurely dropped, abandoned or misdirected. It is imperative that customers are quickly and efficiently routed to their desired destination. The customer experience with your communication facilities will dictate whether they return.

Cost allocation to various corporate levels has been a basic functionality of most robust call accounting system for years. The downward trend of long distance expenses due to falling carrier rates, bundled services and VoIP competition has lessened the importance of this feature. This has resulted in the misconception that call accounting is no longer relevant. However many companies forget that there are many hidden costs that can be highlighted through proper use of call accounting or communication management software.

If Jimmy in sales spends half his time talking on the phone, management might be thrilled at his dedication. However if Jimmy is spending half his time talking to his girlfriend, perhaps management should take a second look. Call Accounting can be a key indicator of misuse and employee productivity. Employee productivity recovery is one of the primary reasons to own a system today!

Often fraudulent calls may be routed through corporate facilities without the knowledge of the company. Hackers can find faults in improperly designed networks, infrequently used extensions, voice mail ports and tandem trunks. A call accounting watchdog should always be monitoring activity for irregular patterns. Modern call management systems utilize SMS, pager, email and web interfaces for instantaneous reporting.

Communication management is imperative in providing the proper metrics for migrating to IP. Most companies do not even have a proper migration strategy. Call accounting can help ease the transition by highlighting traffic volumes, peak hours, grade of service, abandoned calls, blocked calls, calls to reception and various other peg counts. These statistics will help determine the bandwidth needs and requirements for auto attendant, wireless, IVR and other services.

Some communication management systems have been established interoperability with major manufacturers such as Nortel, Cisco and Avaya. These systems often provide more tight knit integration through third party call control. These solutions often enhance the hardware by adding such features as: forced and verified account codes, call trace, set locking and real time emergency notification.

Often companies forget about the need for pinpointing the source of a telephone call in case of an emergency. Many call accounting systems have built-in real time alarm triggers that will alert authorized personnel of an emergency call. This feature is crucial when seconds could mean life or death. Call accounting has definitely evolved and matured into communication management. The need for this software is more important than ever.

References: Call Accounting for Every Enterprise (http://ezinearticles.com/?id=86399), Rito Salomone, October 2005 Better Management of Telecom Expenses, March 15, 2005 Additional Reference: What Great Telecom Managers Know, Roger Yang, Avema, June 2005
Rito Salomone is the president of Resource Software International Ltd. (RSI). He has 17 years experience in the field of communication management solutions.

For more information you can review: http://www.telecost.com/ or contact the author at rsalomone@telecost.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rito_Salomone

Call Accounting For IP

2006-12-18T11:03:00.000-08:00

callaccounting.ws recently announced that it has developed integration for the massively popular Asterisk the Open Source PBX into its Call Accounting Mate software. The move is largely in response to the large number of inquiries from developers and integrators of Asterisk. Call Accounting Mate now offers a tailored set of call logging components exclusively for the Asterisk product family. This new mechanism of interoperability provides seamless and dynamic IP integration for real time data collection and monitoring of call detail records (CDR).

For more information about Call Accounting Mate integration with Asterisk, please visit: http://www.callaccounting.ws/forum/index.php?board=5.0

Welcome

2006-12-18T10:37:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the home of the gold standard in Call Accounting Software blogs. We encourage you to post articles, ideas or questions that will foster an educational discussion about communication facilities and management of those facilities. Call accounting has evolved well beyond traditional call tracking and reporting. We wish to advance a discussion about the advantages of a call accounting system, experiences and proven tricks and techniques for getting the best from your software. This blog hopes to enlighten newbies as well as provide some insight for experienced call accounting users. We hope to explore new ideas, trends and direction of communication management.

CAS-Admin