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With the increased uptake of business VoIP, many businesses are turning to SIP (Session Internet Protocol) trunking to reduce their costs further. SIP trunks allow a business to replace expensive fixed lines, such as PSTN and ISDN, with an internet-based SIP trunking service. This means reduced fixed line rental costs and reduced call charge tariffs.

If SIP trunking is new to your business, it might also be worth reading our other article ‘Have you considered SIP Trunking?’, which outlines in detail the benefits of SIP Trunking.

There are many telecoms providers offering SIP trunking at various prices and packages. For a business looking to purchase SIP trunking there are certain things that the business needs to be aware of to ensure that they get the right solution.

PBX Compatibility

Most modern IP or IP enabled PBX telephone systems support SIP ‘out of the box’ and older PBX systems pre-2007/8 can function with SIP Trunks (requiring an additional SIP-ISDN ‘SIP gateway’ device).

Most IP PBX systems are certified interoperable with SIP trunks. However, it is important to check that the SIP Trunk provider has performed compatibility testing with your particular PBX system and is aware of any issues between its SIP trunking service and your PBX system.

Concurrent Calls

What is the maximum number of concurrent calls that your business makes?

Not all businesses know the answer to this question as the systems they use cannot provide this level of information. For example, an ISDN30 service will allow up to 30 concurrent calls. If the businesses grew and needed to make additional concurrent calls then a second ISDN30 may be required. This is where traditional telephony becomes expensive, due to the fixed cost of line rental – and call charges typically 35% higher than VoIP (for example when compared to BT Standard Business rates).

The benefit of moving to SIP trunking is its flexibility; increased concurrent calls do not lead to a significant increase in charges, instead SIP trunking allows single channel increments with the maximum number of channels only dictated by bandwidth. Do bear in mind that some SIP trunk providers charge per concurrent call – but leading SIP trunk providers do not.

Bandwidth

SIP trunking can use any IP network. Most modestly sized businesses tend to use ADSL broadband. ADSL is ‘asymmetric’ and therefore has download speed much greater than upload speed: e.g.: an 8.0 Mbps download may offer only 800.0 Kbps upload speed.

A telephone call requires symmetry and so when placing calls via an ADSL service the upload speed that is key; the bottleneck for VoIP calls comes with the much lower upload speed on ADSL services. So, the more upload bandwidth available, the more concurrent calls that can be made.

It is always wise to buy a fast business grade ADSL service, ensuring that it has a low contention ratio.

Factors affecting the potential ADSL services that an ISP can offer your business:

• The type of ADSL service that your local telephone exchange supports. The majority of exchanges in the UK do now offer the higher specification ADSL2+ service; those that don’t will offer the ADSL or ADSL Max instead.
• Distance from the business location to the connected telephone exchange. The greater the distance then the greater the degradation of service. This leads to lower bandwidth availability.
• Type of CODEC being used. The G.711 codec is a higher quality codec than the G.729 for example, the former consuming approximately 90Kbps, the later approximately 40Kbps.
• If your business has heavy internet usage and makes a high number of concurrent calls then it would be advisable to separate voice calls from the data calls (in fact, we always advocate this). Again focusing on the more modestly sized business, this is would typically be achieved using two ADSL lines (or cable services); a further benefit here is that one line can be configured to be an automatic back -up for the second.

Service Levels

Businesses are well advised to check the levels of service available to them in terms of the SIP trunk solution being recommended and with the associated ADSL connectivity. Some businesses prefer to buy both from one provider, others prefer the flexibility of separate providers.

Changing to SIP

Changing to a SIP Trunk service is a straightforward task: and we can provide a range of delivery networks ranging from high quality business grade dual DSL services to leased lines, all of which can provide the necessary QoS required.

We can discuss your options and potentially activate a SIP Trunk service within days so that your business can benefit from reduced costs as soon as possible. Please call us on 0845 0000 500, or alternatively fill in our Contact Form.

Zultys, Inc., our technical partner for 500 Premises, announced this week that Technology Marketing Corporation has named the Zultys end-to-end Unified Communications solution for the SMB and Enterprise markets as a recipient of the 2010 Next Generation Network Leadership Award presented by its publication, NGN Magazine.

“We are continually innovating and adding new capabilities and benefits to our Unified Communications solutions for the SMB and Enterprise markets. Our iConnected mobile UC application for the iPhone, MXmobile for the BlackBerry and other real-time mobility solutions are just some examples of our continuing development in this area. We are very pleased to have been recognized by NGN Magazine with the Next Generation Network Leadership Award,” said Neil Lichtman, CEO of Zultys. “Zultys’ family of IP PBXs and Unified Communications solutions elegantly weave multiple capabilities into a single system to help companies reduce costs, increase productivity and improve customer service.”

“Zultys has been recognized for their exceptional work in advancing NGN services and technologies. The Zultys family of Unified Communications solutions has proven its exceptional quality and its innovation has contributed to the transformation of the industry,” stated Rich Tehrani, CEO, TMC. “Congratulations to the entire team at Zultys and I look forward to more innovations in the coming year.”

For further information, visit the 500 Premises section of our website. Alternatively, if you have any questions then call us on 0845 0000 500, or alternatively fill in our Contact Form.

Zultys, our technology partner for 500 Premises has announced the launch of their Zultys ONE SIP bundles. These bundles provide everything a customer needs to have a full Unified Communications suite of applications running over SIP trunks. Customers can also leverage this deployment as a means of failover or to obtain numbers from different markets.

SIP, being the leading standard for VoIP Communications, is now the choice of all customers who want high availability, increased productivity and reduced costs. To accelerate and launch this deployment, Zultys is working with multiple premier ITSPs. To that end, Zultys has developed solution packages that include the ability to deploy 60 SIP trunks with each of its MX250 SIP Packages called: SIP/20, SIP/50, SIP/100, SIP/200, and pre-licensed with all the software and hardware needed to rapidly deploy a pure SIP solution – just add phones!

“Our objective was to enable the activation of SIP connectivity and trunking in a simple, elegant and cost efficient manner,” said Neil Lichtman, Zultys CEO. “Zultys delivers a standard interface to activate the service with multiple ITSP providers in a matter of minutes not hours”. Making communications cost effective, Zultys offers compelling bundled SIP trunk pricing that leverages the 60 free SIP licenses included with every bundle.

All the power of SIP in the elegant simplicity of a single purpose built server with no additional licenses or hardware to purchase: The Zultys difference!

Should you require any further information then please call us on 0845 0000 500, or alternatively fill in our Contact Form.

Traditionally, telephone systems have been connected to the outside world via standing PSTN telephone lines or via an ISDN service, typically ISDN2 or ISDN30. However this traditional picture has been changing for some time. With the true emergence of VoIP there is now an increased uptake of SIP (Session Internet Protocol) Trunking – and with good reason.

SIP Trunks allow a business to replace expensive traditional fixed lines with an internet-based SIP Trunking service. This means reduced fixed line costs and, in addition, reduced call tariffs.

Most modern PBX systems support SIP ‘out of the box’ and PBX systems pre-2007/8 can function with SIP Trunks (requiring an additional SIP-ISDN Gateway conversion device).

Why does a business need SIP trunking?

If your business currently uses ISDN2 or ISDN30 circuits, has a high call spend or has internet connectivity through a leased line or dedicated SDSL service, then it is certainly worth considering SIP Trunking as a replacement. SIP Trunks can offer a significant cost savings by:

• Only paying for the capacity a business needs. ISDN2 provides 2 channels capacity. ISDN30 allows a minimum of 8 channels and a maximum of 30. Should a business require, say, 31 channels then the business would need to rent two ISDN30 services: one with a capacity of 30 channels and the second with a capacity of 8 – therefore paying for 7 additional channels that the business does not necessarily require. SIP Trunking, on the other hand, allows single channel increments with the maximum number of channels is only dictated by bandwidth.
• Eliminating the need for ISDN lines and therefore rental charges. SIP Trunking replaces the need for ISDN lines, instead requiring more cost effective internet connectivity.
• Cheaper rental charges. In recent years, internet connectivity charges have dramatically reduced and continue to fall in a competitive market. Within the same time-frame this is has not been true of ISDN rental charges.
• Cheaper call charges. SIP Trunk calls are nearly always cheaper than ISDN calls, even with reputable least cost routing in place. Compared to BT Standard Business rates, it is not uncommon for calls to be between 40%-90% cheaper.
• Less hardware costs. Traditionally, additional ISDN channels have meant the need for additional cards for the PBX. As well as the cost of the extra card there is an associated license fee, installation cost and annual maintenance charges (which are typically based upon a percentage of the overall equipment list price). SIP Trunks do not require any further hardware.
• Increased resilience with built-in disaster recovery. Although a robust business grade internet service should be every bit as reliable as traditional telephone lines, having the ability to route calls over alternative paths is provided by reputable SIP Trunk providers with automatic mobile phone inbound call failover.
• Increased connectivity capacity. In the past, businesses have rented the number of ISDN lines depending on how many concurrent calls they expect to make during a peak time. SIP Trunks allow a data type network to carry voice calls. Often by combining voice and data networks (ensuring that QoS is in place such that voice has priority over data) businesses are able to increase the number of potential concurrent calls.

Should your business be without SIP Trunking?

Still not sure? Some businesses start with a hybrid solution: this means continuing to place incoming calls on the existing traditional ISDN lines whilst concurrently reducing, but not eliminating, the number of ISDN channels. This removes the need to port the telephone numbers from ISDN to SIP at this stage and all outgoing calls can be routed through the new SIP Trunk. This then gives immediate line and call charge savings. Though this model does not remove all ISDN rental charges it is a quick and simple way to test and have confidence in SIP Trunks.

How do I get a SIP trunk for my business?

Changing to a SIP Trunk service is a straightforward task: if your existing data network has the capacity to carry calls and can offer QoS then it could be used, otherwise we can provide a range of delivery networks ranging from high quality business grade dual DSL services to leased lines. As we also offer SIP Trunking and telephony services, we act as a single port of call.

Please call us on 0845 0000 500, or alternatively fill in our Contact Form. We can discuss your options and potentially activate a SIP Trunk service within days so that your business can benefit from reduced costs as soon as possible.

An express delivery of a presentation plaque in this morning’s post from Zultys head office in Silicon Valley granted 500 Limited Zultys Premier Reseller status!

Steve Rothenberg, CEO of Zultys Inc. acknowledged the commitment 500 has made in expanding the presence of Zultys solutions in the market and for bringing the benefits of Open Standards SIP-based Unified Communications to businesses.  He went on to say:

“On behalf of Zultys, please accept this token of recognition to 500 Limited for having earned Premier Reseller status.  Not only have you shown commitment in working to expand your business base, but you have proven your expertise in Zultys Unified Communications solutions and IP PBX and SIP phone products, and have demonstrated your ability to implement effective Zultys solutions for your customers.”

500 is committed to providing ‘best of breed’ premises-based IP PBX systems.  We believe that Zultys is currently the best open standards SIP PBX solutions provider available, having a proven track record and a committment to on-going product development such as ‘find me, follow me’, integrated web conferencing and later this year telepresence (video conferencing), ensuring the ongoing benefits of VoIP – and all at price point typically 25%-45% less than other offerings.

If you have any queries or questions then please call us on 0845 0000 500.

500 Limited was mentioned along site SA Law, a Hertfordshire law firm, in the March ’09 newsletter

“Hertfordshire law firm SA Law has deployed a Zultys MX250 IP PBX unified comms/VoiP system.  The system includes support for telephony, voicemail, fax viewing, call recording, instant messaging, Microsoft Exchange, plus Outlook contacts and email.  The system implementation, including swapping out a legacy PBX and upgrading a BT ISDN service, was carried out over a weekend, so as to minimise disruption within the firm.  The project was handled for SA Law by two companies new to the Insider.  They were 500 Ltd (0845 0000 500) and Zultys’ UK distributor Siracom.”

If you would like any further information then please contact us on 0845 0000 500.

Case studies are useful and necessary but sometimes it is refreshing when a client refers to you directly.

The Law Society Gazette recently published a piece on ‘Why aren’t your computers talking with your phone system?’.

Peter Goodman, a partner at SA Law in Hertfordshire, met with Rupert White, from The Law Society Gazette, to discuss how they were using computer-telephony integration, including VoIP, within the company.

“SA Law brought in a local IT/telephony company called 500 to tear out the ageing (and cranky, he told me) phones and exchange and wire everything up together.”

“The savings that could be made sound dramatic, and the capabilities that have become available to the firm since tying these areas together make a lot of sense. The phones are a lot cheaper, they can start recording calls easily, all voice work can be tied into case management, and their teleconferencing sounds vastly improved.”

Peter commented on the article written by Rupert, highlighting the flexibility of VoIP and Unified Communications.  “We’re well pleased.” he quotes.  He concludes, saying companies should consider a “supplier whose products are compatible with the open standards”.

The full article is available at ‘Why aren’t your computers talking with your phone system?’, Thursday 09 April 2009 by Rupert White.

MX250 IP PBX Recognized for Outstanding Innovation

Zultys, the premier developer and manufacturer of pure SIP-based Unified Communication solutions for businesses and enterprises, today announced that the company has been recognized with the 2008 Product of the Year Award from Unified Communications magazine (Technology Marketing Corporation–TMC®) for innovations to its family of advanced IP PBX products (such as the MX250 and MX30) and Unified Communications solutions.

“It’s very gratifying to be recognized by Unified Communications magazine with the 2008 Product of the Year Award for the difference we’re making in the global Unified Communication Marketplace,” said Steve Rothenberg, CEO of Zultys. “We’ve seen a warm reception by the market to the innovations we’ve made to our all-in-one IP PBX products, and the new features and capabilities we’ve been introducing that make it easier than ever to deploy and maintain organization-wide UC services that really impact a company’s bottom line. We’re continuing the momentum with our upcoming Release 5.0 with features such as “Find Me, Follow Me,” and MXconnect™ -the ability to make any phone, anywhere, your personal business phone, and much more.”

“Zultys has proven they are committed to quality and excellence while addressing real needs in the marketplace. Unified Communications is pleased to grant a 2008 Product of the Year Award to their MX250 IP PBX and the innovations in their Release 4.0 series of enhancements,” said Rich Tehrani, TMC President and Editor-in-Chief of Unified Communications magazine. “We’re pleased to honor their hard work and accomplishments, and look forward to more innovative solutions from Zultys in the future.”

A full list of Product of the Year winners will be published in the March/April, 2009 issue of Unified Communications magazine, www.uc-mag.com.

As a mission critical service, 500 advocates that any IP telephony solution should be secure. As the take up and roll out of IP telephony increases in businesses, the issues of IP security will become increasingly important.

A recent article published in www.voipplanet.com, discussed the versatility and vulnerability of SIP technologies.

Although there are inherent vulnerabilities with standard PSTN and IP networks in general, this article concentrated on the inherent vulnerabilities of SIP technologies. These were:

• Network-borne attacks
• New SIP products code attacks
• Secure network & system configuration

Below are pertinent extracts. Regarding, network-borne attacks:

“existing network security measures can be used to help mitigate them. For example, firewalls can protect SIP servers and applications from Denial of Service floods, while LAN authentication methods like 802.1X can deter impersonation. Extensions are often necessary to satisfy VoIP-specific demands—for example, firewalls must process RTP without undue latency or jitter, while intrusion prevention systems need SIP attack signatures.”

Regarding, new SIP products code attacks (i.e.: attacks can be introduced during product development):

“…when the Oulu University Secure Programming Group (OUSPG) tested INVITE message processing by SIP agents and proxies, just one of nine implementations survived this relatively basic exercise.”

“Although the affected implementations have since been patched, this test demonstrates the likelihood of code flaws in newly released VoIP products and the importance of applying available patches.”

“SIP registrar/proxy servers are not the only devices that should be tested for security bugs. Applications and handsets/phones also deserve plenty of scrutiny.”

Regarding, secure network & system configuration:

“…security advisories recommend the use of ingress, egress, and broadcast traffic filters to block SIP messages sent to/from systems that should not do so. In networks that use VLANs to compartmentalize VoIP traffic, switches and access points should be configured to avoid VoIP hopping. The premise here is simple: the fewer systems that are exposed to SIP, the lower the risk of falling victim to SIP-based attacks.”

“Many VoIP servers and user agents are easily compromised as the result of basic configuration mistakes like failure to disable risky services or change default passwords. VoIP phones tend to be particularly vulnerable to mis-configuration because (a) they aren’t managed like ordinary desktop computers and (b) their debug and admin interfaces are frequently hidden or not well advertised to end users.”

In conclusion,

“The trick is to proactively identify and eliminate security holes before hackers get a chance to exploit them. Start your vulnerability assessment with conventional network security tools like port scanners and application banner grabs. But don’t stop there—pursue SIP-specific tests that can uncover the vulnerabilities described here and many others.”

It can be a challenge to find an IP telephony service provider that adequately considers security within their provisioning. However, here at 500 we take security seriously. Businesses can be rest assured that when assessing network capabilities and recommending an IP telephony solution, the issues raised in this article have been considered and addressed: from SIP endpoint encryption to ISP provisioning for voice-only calls that do not ‘touch’ the public internet.

Article courtesy of www.voipplanet.com, 15/05/08.