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February 26, 2007

BlueNote Networks Launches WebCaller, Enterprise-grade Voice Application Development Solution

By Mae Kowalke, TMCnet Associate Editor


BlueNote Networks (News - Alert), a company that specializes in service oriented architecture (SOA)-based software solutions, announced today the introduction of a new, thin-client application for Web-based voice services: WebCaller.

 
WebCaller is a set of technologies that allows Web designers to quickly and easily add real-time communications capabilities to Web sites--or any browser-based application.
 
Alan Rosenberg, Director of Product Line Development at BlueNote, told TMCnet that WebCaller was developed in response to the need for an enterprise-grade product for developing Web-based voice applications.
 
PC-based calling applications have become very popular in the past few years, he noted. For example, there are now nearly 200 million Skype (News - Alert) users (171 million according to official year-end 2006 numbers). In recent months, many of the popular consumer-grade instant messaging service providers have added voice capabilities to their offerings.
 
As recently as two or three years ago, Rosenberg pointed out, most consumers did not have voice-capable PCs--they lacked the necessary audio devices to make and receive calls via their desktop computers. The popularity of Skype, and voice-enabled IM applications, has changed that.
 
“USB handsets and headsets are becoming commodity items,” he said. On top of that, during the past several months many handset manufacturers started selling WiFi (News - Alert)-enabled handsets.
 
Yet, despite the growing popularity of PC-based voice applications, for the most part this functionality is still used only in the home by consumers who want to communicate inexpensively or for free with friends and family.
 
“Enterprises, generally speaking, have not embraced this technology,” he noted. “Consumers are benefiting a lot from Skype, but enterprises are not.”
 
A key reason for this is that consumer-grade, PC-based voice apps just don't cut it for the business world—both in terms of functionality and customization/appearance.
 
“Most large enterprises are looking for commercial strength solutions,” he said.
 
That’s where WebCaller comes in. Not only does the new product meet the integration and security needs of enterprises, but it is an extension of BlueNote’s SessionSuite product line. That means that, if a company is using SessionSuite, any of the solution's rich features can be utilized by WebCaller.
 
For those not familiar, SessionSuite is a software-based telecommunications solution. It functions like a PBX, but is delivered as a reusable service within a service oriented architecture (SOA).
 
Because WebCaller is part of SessionSuite, Rosenberg said, it makes possible much more than just point-to-point communications. Delivering WebCaller as a resuable service means it exposes high-level Web services built into SessionSuite. This lets developers leverage various APIs, and integrate them into apps easily.
 
For example: “SessionSuite provides the capability to pass session information from a Web user to a call center agency,” Rosenberg said.
 
What does that mean practically? Here’s an example: using WebCaller, an online banking site can be set up with a click-to-call button. When clicked, this button initiates a phone call to a call center agent; information about the customer and the session is sent to the agent's screen along with the call. For the customer, this results in faster, more satisfactory service. For the enterprise, it means that call center resources are used more efficiently.
 
WebCaller isn’t just for Web-based access to call center agents, though. It has very broad potential.
 
Rosenberg noted that , in recent years, many institutions such as hotels, universities and hospitals have seen declining revenues from voice services because of cell phones. University students, for example, no longer typically purchase phone service through their school, but instead use a mobile phone.
 
WebCaller can help such institutions recover part of this lost revenue by, for example, selling ad space to local businesses who want to provide customers with click-to-call service.
 
Rosenberg told TMCnet that WebCaller is also useful for kiosks—any place where voice functionality is needed in a public environment. An example would be an electronics store that sets up kiosks that let customers pick up a handset and call sales personnel who may be elsewhere on the floor.
 
WebCaller also is useful for software-as-a-service (SaaS (News - Alert)) providers, especially SMBs, that want to provide the features and functions of an enterprise-class communications solution without the high cost. Service providers definitely could utilize WebCaller to gain a competitive advantage. Manufacturers could use the software as well to quickly and easily contact suppliers.
 
“WebCaller serves a wide variety of applications and industries,” Rosenberg told TMCnet.
 
Rosenberg stressed that WebCaller is not designed specifically for any particular industry, but instead has a wide range of possible applications. It is designed to make development and deployment of voice applications very easy.
 
“You can be just a regular Web designer,” he said of the skill level needed to develop voice apps using WebCaller. “That's a big difference compared to traditional telephony applications.”
 
Meeting the needs of enterprise developers, Rosenberg told TMCnet, means that WebCaller was designed to be completely customizable—including skinability. The solution is delivered in the form of a toolkit.
 
“This is much more than just a point-to-point chat application,” Rosenberg stressed. “It’s an extension of SessionSuite.”
 
Why is that important? Here’s an example: Although USB handsets and headsets are becoming more popular, not everyone has a voice-enabled PC. Using the capabilities of SessionSuite, click-for-callback functionality can be offered as well as click-to-talk (user indicates his or her phone number and receives a call back).
 
To sum all this up, Rosenberg reiterated that WebCaller is designed for any company that want to add voice functionality to Web-based applications and services, but needs a robust solution that’s both enterprise-grade and affordable.
 
“We’re not going after any particular point application,” he stressed. “This single platform can be used for a wide variety of applications.”
 
As part of the WebCaller roll-out, this week BlueNote also is announcing a partnership with Nexaweb, a company that supplies Web 2.0 applications. Nexaweb is introducing a WebCaller-based, thin client for contact centers. The two companies are jointly hosting a Webinar on Feb.28 to discuss Nexaweb’s new application.
 
To learn more about BlueNote’s SOA-based solutions, including SessionSuite and WebCaller, please visit the company’s TMCnet.com channel, SOA.
 
Related Articles
  • Interactive Voice for Web sites and Browser-based Applications
  • BlueNote and Nexaweb to Host Online Conference About SOA-based Web 2.0 Solutions
  • BlueNote Networks SOA Solution Wins 2006 INTERNET TELEPHONY Product of the Year Award
  • BlueNote Networks SOA Solution Drives Guest Services Portal at Seaport Hotel in Boston
Mae Kowalke previously wrote for Cleveland Magazine in Ohio and The Burlington Free Press in Vermont. To see more of her articles, please visit Mae Kowalke’s columnist page. Also check out her Wireless Mobility blog.

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