Fonality IP Phones To Land in Philippines

The Philippines has some years been known as an excellent location for offshored contact centers thanks to an affordable high-quality labor force that can relate to Americans, robust voice/data connectivity, and very supportive governments and carriers. The value proposition from this nation’s workforce has enabled U.S. businesses especially to provide live agent services that otherwise may have been cut back or have forced them to raise prices.

 

Now the country’s SMBs especially will benefit from the latest American communications technology. Fonality, which provides open source IP PBX (News - Alert) systems has partnered with iPlus Intelligent Network, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of ePLDT (Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company), to sell its patented hybrid-hosted phone systems.

 

Fonality’s (News - Alert) system via iPlus will save Filipino SMBs of up to 60 percent in voice costs compared to traditional PSTN/TDM systems. iPlus’ partnership with Fonality will allow the company to bundle this solution with their professionally-trained IT support.

 

The market appears to be ready and interested in technologies such as Fonality’s that can provide superior customer service and cut costs. A Dec.5 Manila Times.net story points to comments from a local representative of IT infrastructure firm EMC who reported findings from a IDC (News - Alert) whitepaper that demonstrate that Filipino firms “are taking a more optimistic and proactive view of IT investments despite the current weak economic condition.”

 

The conclusion, said the article, was based on the findings of an EMC-sponsored IDC whitepaper titled, “Is Your Company at Risk? Preparing a Strategy for Information Management.”

“Businesses in the Philippines see these challenging times as an opportunity to focus their priorities on improving customer service levels and employing technology to deliver value to the bottom line,” Ronnie Latinazo, country manager of EMC Philippines, said. “By leveraging and investing in technologies, companies will gain a competitive edge once the economy is on the upswing as they will be ready to manage the surge in customers and better equipped to meet more stringent customer demands.

 

“Technology is no longer meant for such basic operations as streamlining processes or facilitating information management as it has now been elevated to play a critical role in enhancing customer service levels to boost business growth.”

 

Fonality’s phone systems are built on a patented architecture that it says offers the reliability of a traditional on-site phone system and the flexibility of an off-site hosted phone system. Hybrid-hosted phone systems provide support for teleworkers and branch offices, system monitoring, automated configuration backups, and easy management. Also, like premise-based solutions, these systems offer solid connectivity, advanced features and complete data privacy. The Philippines is spread out over many islands, which make such features vital for the country’s businesses.

 

The hybrid-hosted nature of Fonality securely extends the phone system outside the corporate firewall, so an employee’s extension can follow them when they work from home, remotely on a laptop, or even on a mobile phone. As more Filipino homes and individuals become connected expect more to work from anywhere. Fonality features include conference calling, voicemail to e-mail, employee presence management, an embedded corporate chat server and desktop communications program, or “HUD,” advanced contact center features, and the ability to integrate with Microsoft Outlook, Google, and Salesforce.com (News - Alert), among other firms.

 

“iPlus Intelligent Network is well-equipped with its team of engineers to provide expert support to Philippine businesses requiring a new phone system,” Chris Vuillaume (News - Alert), senior vice president of Sales and Business Development at Fonality, said. “Fonality is sending its best trainers to make sure that the sales staff and engineers are certified and knowledgeable on all the product components. As a result, we're delighted to have iPlus as a partner in the Philippines and we look forward to supporting them in their efforts to provide their customers with an advanced, yet affordable business phone system solution.”