October 1999

A (PC-BASED) PBX WITH A TWIST

BY CHRISTINE HOLLEY

While the traditional PBX may not be extinct, it's certainly evolving into a different beast. New business requirements and technology trends are significantly impacting what was once little more than a small central office switch sitting at a customer site. These new business requirements, including the need for greater flexibility and functionality, coupled with technology trends such as voice and data convergence and the increasing importance of the Internet, are requiring more than just the same old, same old. Everyone is still interested in a PBX, but now they want it with a bit of a twist.

In response to these changed requirements, many PBX vendors are migrating from a purely proprietary software and hardware architecture to an open-server platform. This strategy is positive as it facilitates user access from a variety of workstations. However, it still operates within the context of a multi-system approach. Acting as the interface between voice communications and computer application systems, CTI middleware is required to allow information to pass between separate domains.

CTI middleware seemed promising at first, but today only one in five formal enterprise-level call centers have actually deployed it. This is because integration is so complex and CTI standards remain immature. Configuration and maintenance of multi-vendor CTI solutions have also proven difficult.

Another trend among PBX vendors has been to use the LAN to deliver voice to the desktop. This is referred to as an IP-PBX, which requires only a single wire to the desktop and can leverage the existing data network with little additional infrastructure. This marks the evolution from traditional trunk cards on a circuit-switched system to a network gateway component that gives enterprises the benefit of connecting to the PSTN or an IP or ATM network. Despite these advantages, however, the IP-PBX requires expensive routers and pricey IP phones and does not yet offer guaranteed Quality of Service (QoS).

ENTER THE PC-PBX
Some PBX vendors, as well as non-traditional vendors, are banking on yet another solution to help them either adapt to or take advantage of a market that currently is very much up for grabs. These vendors are offering what’s commonly referred to as a PC-PBX. As its name implies, the PC-PBX was architected to function as a PC-based PBX, only with added peripheral capabilities such as IVR, auto attendant, and voice mail.

What different vendors call a PC-PBX can vary dramatically. There is the typical PC-PBX, which focuses on the standards-based units with voice system functionality alone. There is also what some are calling the Business Communications Server (BCS), which is a server-based voice unit either co-located or housed in the same “box” with an NT server for office functionality. For small operations with simple telephony needs, these solutions are a good fit, but for larger operations with more sophisticated application requirements, they will not fulfill customer expectations.

THE COMM SERVER: PC-PBX With A Twist
Often categorized as a PC-PBX, another solution offered by a different breed of vendor marks not really an outgrowth of the PBX, but a new communications architecture. This architecture is known as the communications server (comm server), and it differs from the PC-PBX in many ways.

First, the comm server was not architected as a PBX. Similar to a database engine providing a centralized point of control for the productive use of information, the comm server is built around an interaction engine or processor. This interaction engine brings the same kind of control to business interactions as a database engine brings to the storage of information. As a self-managing system, processing all interactions from a central point, the comm server offers seamless integration, a common interface for easy access to information repositories, and end-to-end reporting across media types. In addition, a single GUI-based interface can be used for all administration and customization.

Flexible Architecture
The comm server is an open, software-based solution. Implemented as a distributed client-server application, the comm server automates virtually every aspect of business communications. Given this architecture, the server is the PBX or digital telephone system, complete with features like ANI, DNIS, and T1 support. The server also provides the functionality of a flexible ACD, a programmable IVR, a voice mail system with unified messaging, and a fax server. Due to its unique architecture, the comm server can easily incorporate new media types, including those that exist today such as the Web, and those that have yet to be realized.

Scalability
The comm server typically scales higher than most PC-PBXs. Today, it can accommodate up to about 250 users at a given site. The software portion of a comm server actually does not limit scalability. Limitations are a result of passive backplane servers that can only accommodate a certain number of voice processing boards. Some of these must be used for CO lines (e.g., analog, T1, ISDN PRI, or E1) and others for station-side connections. Technologies such as VoIP and ATM, allowing multiple servers to be connected over an ATM network, will provide much greater scalability in the future.

Reliability
Next to scalability, reliability is probably the biggest drawback of the PC-PBX. The comm server addresses this issue in two ways. First, industrial grade servers are used to run the software, featuring error-correcting memory, duplicate power supplies, redundant disk drives, and additional features designed for mission-critical applications such as telephony. Second, the comm server provides two-node cluster support which makes use of an electronic relay device that can, on a given signal, automatically switch trunk and end-user telephone connections from the primary server to the standby.

The comm server, with its comprehensive feature set, software-based architecture, flexible programmability, and increasing scalability and reliability, sets itself apart from most PC-PBX systems. It also offers unique advantages over CTI solutions.

The comm server also utilizes a multi-application architecture, unlike CTI solutions, which are based on a multi-system architecture. In practice, this means that comm server solutions usually require only one-third the number of boxes that CTI solutions require. Taking a “media service gateway-style approach,” comm server solutions also offer the advantage of building more flexible processes, reducing technological complexity, and increasing information sharing.

Comm server architecture also addresses the development of newer technologies, such as the IP-PBX. Unlike traditional systems that require a gateway for IP-PBX deployment, the comm server, utilizing common industry standards, functions as the gateway itself. There is no need to add software since this is inherent in the comm server’s open architecture.

The difference between an IP-PBX and a comm server illustrates an important distinction between not just vendor approaches but what really is important to the customer. The IP-PBX focuses on the switching fabric of a communications solution. The comm server focuses on a multi-application solution using an architecture designed to accommodate new technologies such as VoIP, ATM, and others. Businesses today are looking first and foremost at communication technologies that leverage customer service. Leveraging customer service must go beyond simply linking people together; it must also build efficient communication processes. A single-application solution will be hard to justify — no matter how great the technology — in today’s world of shrinking budgets and global competition.

Christine J. Holley is the market communications specialist for Inter-active Intelligence, an Indianapolis-based firm specializing in “all-in-one” communications server solutions. Ms. Holley can be reached for comment at [email protected]. For more information about communications server solutions, please contact Interactive Intelligence at 317-872-3000, or visit their Web site at www.inter-intelli.com.

Company: TECHMAR Communications, Inc.
Web: www.techmar.com
Vendor: Interactive Intelligence, Inc.
Solution: Enterprise Interaction Center (EIC)

TECHMAR is a call center and service provider offering integrated global response management services to business-to-business technology customers like Cisco Systems, Nortel Networks, and Xerox. The company was using a Lucent G3 PBX for its switching capabilities, but found that functionality was limited. “As a high tech response management call center in the heart of Silicon Valley, we needed a powerful and technologically advanced communications solution that would meet the needs of our high tech clients,” said Justin McClure, IT Manager for TECHMAR. “We were also looking for a financially viable solution since we planned on implementing it in all of our locations if it turned out to be a success here in San Jose.”

TECHMAR’s old PBX required a lot of proprietary equipment that was not only very expensive but also demanded huge storage space. The company debated whether or not to upgrade the old system, but determined that a unified, software-based solution was the wave of the future.

The company ultimately chose an “all-in-one” communications server called Enterprise Interaction Center (EIC) by Interactive Intelligence. “Now, we can incorporate what used to be a separate PBX, ACD, CTI server, and custom TAPI interface into a single NT server,” said Justin. “In addition, our new comm server has even more functionality than all of our old proprietary devices put together.”

Due to EIC’s simplified architecture, TECHMAR was able to install the new comm server in a single weekend, with all lines and stations ready to go the following Monday. The comm server immediately provided TECHMAR with a comprehensive telephone system, including ANI, DNIS, ISDN, and T1 support.

“Aside from the speed at which we were able to install the system and the short time it took us to learn the familiar NT-based interface, we were also impressed with how easy the comm server was to administer and manage,” said Justin. “One machine is just a whole lot easier to manage than three or four. With our old system, we would sometimes have to bring the entire call center down to fix a problem. Downtime is almost non-existent with the comm server since problems are so easy to locate and fix.”

The comm server has also leveraged TECHMAR’s response management database, KARMA, resulting in a 12 percent increase in productivity, and inbound call time has been reduced by 10 to 20 seconds.

In addition to utilizing basic comm server features, TECHMAR has also incorporated Web services. “Our clients can now link to our Web site directly, allowing their prospects to interact with a live agent, request a call back, or initiate a NetMeeting request,” said Justin. “This kind of high tech service has given us a major advantage over our competitors, and the comm server remains one of our greatest assets as we sell to new clients.”