European consulting firm called Quantum technologies did a case study recently on the capabilities of the Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007. They put together the Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 and the Quintum Tenor VoIP MultiPath Switches and Gateways for this case study.

The main aim behind using them together was to analyze how quickly it can enhance communication with anyone at any point in time. Revenue generation and customer satisfaction depend completely on communication and that also with the right person and at the right time. Communication is not just important but it is a necessity in today’s age. It can define the existence of an organization in a highly competitive market environment.

To get the best results, Quintum Technologies combined Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 with the Quintum Technologies’ Tenor VoIP gateway. They helped a group of German IT consultants to overcome the various constraints of time and space. This was called the Plan-B and its state-of-the-art communication environment significantly boosted the overall productivity of the staff and simultaneously helped the organization or consultancy to save considerable amount of money that would have gone down into the financial books as telecommunication costs.

Plan-B consultants as they were being known were running Office Communicator as well as Outlook on their desktop PC’s, PDA’s and laptops. The Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 was installed on their server and run from the main office of the company. The next step was to install a Quintum Tenor BX gateway between the server and the PBX system of the company.

This setup will allow the consultants to use their own computing devices as telephones. To get audio input or output, they used Bluetooth headsets, speakers and USB headsets. Those with laptops were using the speakers and built-in microphones to enhance communication. The Communicator would act as the VoIP client and allow all voice traffic to travel through the LAN or via the Internet and reach the Office Communications Server 2007. 

The Office Communications Server 2007 was connected to the Quintum gateway, which was further connected to the PBX. Although this looks like a complex connection on the outside but it is a quite simple and effective combination that has the capability of enabling a wider range of communication. This process will ensure that Plan-B is able to perform with high efficiency. The capabilities include:

‘A follow me phone service’: The Plan-B consultants will be able to answer their office phones while sitting in any country or anywhere in the world. All they need is just an Internet connection. Any call coming through the PSTN will pass through the existing PBX and then through the Quintum gateway to the Office Communicator server.

THE CASE STUDY

Global Presence Awareness: The Plan-B consultants will be able to see if any of their colleagues or other contacts is in an online, busy or offline mode. One of the options they have is of communicating with their colleagues or other contacts using email, voice, or chat. This considerably reduces the delays caused in performing different business tasks, which may be interrupted otherwise due to communication problems caused by technical or physical faults.

Hands-Free Everything: The productivity of Plan-B consultants can increase considerably even when they are driving. This can be made possible by the use of the Communicator’s voice interface, which will enable them to listen to their voice-mail or email. With the help of the communicator, they will be able to make as well as receive phone calls, which are routed through the Quintum gateway to the PBX and finally to the PSTN.

Low Cost Routing: The cost decreases considerably because the Plan-B consultants don’t have to be physically present in their offices or travel to other locations. They can reach any of their local or regional offices from anywhere in the world through the Internet. They can now call different locations within Germany from any other location in the world and all this can be achieved by paying the country rate.

According to the head of Plan-B consultants, “They are able to work better, smarter and faster by using this communication technology and have also been able to reduce the overall telecommunication costs.”