Is This The World's Easiest VoIP Installation Print E-mail
Written by Adam Gosling   
Thursday, 13 September 2007
15 minutes to get setup. auto-discovery phones and a monthly lease option are all part of a new solution for small business IP Telephony from Simicomm.

Announcing the final version of its EasySpeak PBX, Simicomm has also said the system can now auto-provision snom IP phones adding to the Polycom and Linksys devices already on their plug and play list.

The EasySpeak is a software based PBX requiring a 230MB download which can be bought outright or leased over two years for US$50 a month after a 14-day trial which we announced a while back. The system will work with analog phones if you use a line card from Digium or Sangoma.

Provisioning IP phones has its challenges, points out the developer. A channel must be created for the phone and numerous files such as extensions and voicemail have to be configured. Then there are many steps are necessary to set up the phone, involving the IP address, web interface, server name and auto settings. Simicomm estimates this takes about half an hour per phone to set up manually.

"Adding an IP phone leader like snom will increase handset options for resellers and their customers," said Ron Miller VP sales at Simicomm. "We expect the move to increase our visibility, especially throughout Europe where Berlin-based snom is a dominant presence."

The EasySpeak PBX is based on the open source PBX system Asterisk and is designed for easy download and fast implementation. Simicomm says your phone system can be up and running in only 15 minutes.

Targeted at small businesses and resellers the software self installs on a dedicated server once you have downloaded and burnt a CD image. Then plug your phones into the Ethernet ports and they are automatically given an extension number based on the order they are connected (1st plugged in is extension 101, 2nd is 102, etc.).

Simicomm says the leasing option eliminates the large upfront costs that deterred many small businesses from migrating to VoIP-based phone systems.

"Even though other Asterisk-based systems may cost less initially, they require extensive knowledge of Asterisk. These Asterisk specialists are not readily available to small businesses, and the high cost expertise necessary to set up and support a base Asterisk system results in increased costs," noted Dennis Barnum, CEO of Simicomm. "Customers need to be aware of these hidden costs, as well as additional proprietary hardware costs.

www.simicomm.com
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