November 2000

COM2001.com
Del Mar, CA
P: 858-314-2001
F: 858-314-2002

Price: 300 port system with 192 stations, 12 analog lines, and 2 PRI, $118,000 (or $394 per port); 120 port system with 88 stations, 8 analog lines, and 1 PRI, $50,000 (or $417 per port)

RATINGS (0-5)
Installation: 5
Documentation: 4.75
Features: 5
GUI: 5
Overall: A

INSTALLATION
Two representatives from COM2001.com installed the system in our labs, replicating a process normally performed by a VAR (or "Certified InternetPBX Installer"). This process can include tasks such as installing telephony boards, terminating jumpers, and connecting both lines and trunks. The core software and modules for features like Web access were installed on a Dell PowerEdge 2400 also running NT and Exchange, as well as a client toolbar component that is installed on each workstation (remote users would need to install this on their laptops as well).

Administrative setup, which is more likely to be performed by someone within the user's organization, is accomplished through MS Management Console (MMC), a relatively simple, icon-driven interface that will be familiar to many network administrators and other MIS staff. Basic place settings for lines and extensions are pre-populated within the MMC based upon the telephony board. From there, administrators go on to assign default settings for each user, largely through actions as simple as selecting radio buttons and check boxes. For example, administrators can choose to enable text-to-speech (TTS), automated speech recognition (ASR), and general messaging options for each user's personal assistant.

Another administrative step includes setting up virtual conference rooms for different departments within a company. Overall, initial and ongoing administration appears to be exceptionally simple. While the manual indicates assumed knowledge of NT, networks, and network protocols, even a novice user could probably configure a majority of the system's essential settings.

DOCUMENTATION
It's probably safe to say that few people read printed documentation anymore, so one of the things we evaluate most closely is online help. In particular we look at the index, as it's unlikely that most users will click on those little "book" icons and search through Help topic headings. InternetPBX doesn't have the best index in the world. In terms of breadth, it's small enough so that all of the listed entries can be seen when the window is maximized.

As for content, it yielded no result for some very basic queries like "park" or "parking," in spite of the fact that "Parking and Unparking" is a major Help topic heading. No big deal though -- the "Search" tab more than makes up for it. A search on "park" not only displayed links to all of the Help pages containing the word, but also highlighted it wherever it appeared within those pages. One very small suggestion for COM2001: in addition to populating your index with more entries, you might put an actual "Help" button on the InternetPBX toolbar (currently users have to right-click on the toolbar and then choose a "Help" option from there -- it took us a few minutes to figure this out).

The printed manual we were left with has a slightly homemade look, but the content is just fine, and the smaller "pocket guides" (which indicate personal assistant DTMF and voice commands) were quite helpful.

Overall, the most important quality in evaluating Help files is obviously, well, helpfulness. We found the content to be just fine, with both online and printed documentation providing relatively clear and well-written instructions as to how to best use the system.

FEATURES
The feature list offers everything you would expect from a sufficiently contemporary PC-PBX system: automated personal attendant with e-mail reading capabilities, "find me/follow me," and unified messaging. There are also features that go above and beyond the call (excuse the bad pun), such as the InternetPBX toolbar, Web access, and a user call profile system.

Working in tandem with MS Outlook, the toolbar comprises the system's main PC interface. This simple, icon-driven device allows you to call Outlook contacts quickly and without risking misdial by dragging their names onto a "Dial" button. A similar button allows you to easily pull someone into a conference, park a call, send a voice mail, etc. This simplicity helps reassure managers that their employees will most likely use the system once it's been purchased and installed in the office. While office use is of course important, much of modern business is conducted on the road, from home, or other remote locations. The InternetPBX Web Access component allows remote users to access the same toolbar from a laptop or home office PC. Further, IPBX lets you establish a "profile" which will forward calls to any external phone in a way that is completely transparent to the caller. Resultantly, through the Web Access toolbar and a forwarding number, IPBX offers one of the most seamless methods available for remote usage.

You can change profiles as well as a host of other configurations via the system's second user interface: "Alexis." This is the IPBX virtual personal assistant, which can respond to specified speech commands and translate text into speech.

One final feature among many worth mentioning is the screen pop, a notification window which identifies callers (if their information has already been entered into Outlook) or opens a blank Contact window for new callers, depending upon the user's chosen configuration. These screen pops also appear under the Web Access setup, bringing yet another office feature onto the laptops or desktops of remote workers.

OPERATIONAL TESTING
Representatives from COM2001.com set up a mini-LAN consisting of two laptops and the Dell server mentioned above (see "Installation"), as well as two standard telephones. The laptops were configured to represent two fictional InternetPBX users. This scenario allowed us to test features such as automated speech recognition (ASR), text to speech (TTS), unified messaging, Web access, find me/follow me, and user contact/messaging profiles.

The speech recognition is imperfect, but when isn't it? Few systems understand what you're trying to say 100 percent of the time. As for TTS, even the very best synthetic voice technology can resemble a slightly more advanced version of the "Speak And Spell" many of us used as children. In any case, our experience with COM2001.com's speech technology was fairly split between that which can or cannot be feasibly improved given the current state of the technology. An example of the latter: sometimes we had to repeat commands for "Alexis" in order for them to be recognized. This was within a relatively quiet, controlled environment -- as opposed to a crowded airport, noisy car, or other real-world scenario where the potential for background noise and bad cellular signals is much greater. While this is a drawback, it's one you're probably going to find within most systems of this kind.

Something that can be remedied, on the other hand, was Alexis' inability to respond to anything other than exact, predetermined speech commands, unlike other systems we've encountered that understand a range (albeit small) of variables. Moreover, there is no barge-in capability. So, if you find yourself listening to an old e-mail that you've already heard or read, there's no way to stop it in the middle. All commands need to be entered after an established prompt.

Overall, the system performed extremely well on a run through all of its basic features and capabilities, including profiles, screen pops, drag-and-drop dialing, conference set-up, etc. One scenario we found particularly impressive was when we had InternetPBX call a cell phone and read new messages whenever e-mail arrived for one particular fictional user. We were able to reply to those messages with a voice mail (by saying "Reply" or by hitting the "6" button on the phone's keypad), which would then be mailed back to the original sender as a .wav file attachment.

ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT
As we mentioned, the ability to interrupt Alexis would be useful, especially when being forced to listen to a lengthy e-mail. More intuitiveness regarding the speech commands would also make the system more flexible. One primary value of speech recognition is the increased flexibility it offers over DTMF commands. If the system only recognizes specific speech commands, that purpose is defeated. Another improvement would be expanding support to include systems other than Outlook; it is not, contrary to appearances, the only available messaging system. Within Outlook, the toolbar's capabilities could be expanded even more so that contacts contained within shared network folders can be dragged into the "dial" and "conference" fields. Oh, and one other thing: Why not allow users to choose between a male or female personal assistant, as other systems allow you to do? Cygnion's CyberGenie, for example, allows you to select a male or female voice for it's androgynous VPA. A world advanced enough to produce virtual personal assistants need not further the assumption that those assistants should necessarily be female.

CONCLUSION
Overall, the chief merits of this product can be summed up under the headings "simplicity" and "familiarity." By the former we refer to the remarkable ease with which users can interface with this system -- either by dragging and dropping screen icons or speaking into the headset. As for the latter, familiarity, there is no better way to ensure employees will be productive (or at least reachable) out in the field than to offer them the same means of doing their work that they've grown comfortable with in the office. While many of the features COM2001.com is offering through this product can be found in other PC-PBXs (to which IPBX may even have a little catching up to do, i.e. speech recognition) the means by which those features are accessed are some of the most unique and innovative on the market. We look forward to future releases of this product, which we understand through enhancements such as increased voice support, will address some of the few areas of improvement mentioned in this review.

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