Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service these days is a service with no shortage of options. From the tools included in a package to the companies that offer the packages in question, there's likely a choice out there for just about every firm that's interested in getting in. Swisscom (News - Alert) is one such choice, offering up a variety of options for its user base. But when Swisscom needed a way to better bring out its VoIP offering, it looked to Patton (News - Alert) Electronics and the SmartNode 5300 as the means to better get the service into use for customers.
Swisscom's Business Connect service offers up the ability to not only use a customer's current IP public branch exchange (PBX (News - Alert)) system, but at the same time deliver the same class of cost savings as a straight session initiation protocol (SIP) trunking service might. To accomplish this kind of service, as noted by Swisscom Business Connect product manager Daniel Suter, the company turns to a SmartNode enterprise session border router (ESBR) to provide the necessary connectivity to provide that Business Connect SIP trunk.
With Patton's SmartNode Redirection Service—a cloud-based tool that can not only request but download and install configuration files as needed—the SmartNode 5300 can essentially be active just as soon as the customer starts the system. Meanwhile, installation wizards included with the system make it easy to integrate the tool with current systems, and the DownStreamQoS system means that voice quality is at its effective best. Interoperability tools keep SmartNode devices working well with currently-installed systems, and the SmartNode 5300 even boasts Patton's own Gold Standard Free Support, which comes with all Patton releases, though the option to upgrade to Platinum Plus Premium 24/7 support is also on hand. Once in place, the SmartNode 5300 allows companies to handle between four and 256 concurrent calls at once, making it an excellent fit for most small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). We have video on this and a variety of other subjects available at this link.
Basically, companies like Swisscom are discovering that Patton hardware not only fits easily into current operations — making it a powerful tool to fit into place without having to heavily customize the system in order to fit it in — but also delivers plenty of power while it's in place. That combination of high ease of use coupled with high power makes it the go-to system for a wide variety of applications, and makes the Patton SmartNode a major force in the field. It's hard to justify any purchase, particularly these days, that requires the system to be taken offline for any length of time while a new tool is installed, but with Patton's lineup, it fits smoothly into the current system and provides that much more capability. Better yet, in Patton's case, the included SmartNode Split Management Domain system keeps subscribers from getting involved in configuration too much, which helps ensures no accidental errors that might keep another product from functioning. Patton's offerings help companies not only offer more, but do so without having to shut things down, tear things out, or start over, and that's a valuable proposition for a wide variety of firms.
There are simply too many positives not to consider tools like the Patton SmartNode 5300, and Swisscom has illustrated that value nicely. While Patton tools may not be for every enterprise, those that consider Patton tools are likely to come out with good results in the end.
Edited by Rory J. Thompson