NOVOL

The company NOVOL was established in 1978 and is one of the largest solution suppliers for Poland’s coatings industry. The high product quality is achieved with newest technologies, systematic surveillance of production processes and the usage of high quality resources delivered by established suppliers. After more than thirty years of business experience, products with the NOVOL logo are used in Western, Central and Eastern Europe, in Australia, New Zealand, the Middle East and Africa. Today, NOVOL’s range contains more than 1,300 products which are manufactured on ten production lines.

The high quality of their solutions has been NOVOL’s top priority right from the start, not only with the finished products for the end customer but also with the choice of their own communication solution. This was the reason why NOVOL opted for the communication solution by innovaphone, the German specialist for professional business communication. The innovaphone AG from Sindelfingen has been counting on pure IP solutions for twenty years now and convinced NOVOL with its concept for smooth migration towards All IP technology. Witold Broda, Director of Administration at NOVOL, explains: “Our core goal was the installation of an innovative and modern solution which would enable the transition to VoIP technology step-by-step. Only the innovaphone PBX was capable of meeting our demands concerning the process of smooth migration while preserving the existing DECT infrastructure.”

The Architecture of the New Solution and the Process of Smooth Migration Moving towards a New VoIP Technology

After Ericsson had ceased its support for the Ericsson Business Phone 250, NOVOL decided to modernise its business communication. In close collaboration with innovaphone’s Polish partner Lamar-Telecom, a list of requirements was compiled for the new solution. These requirements were as follows:

• Smooth migration of the communication infrastructure towards an All IP solution based on the already existing wireless telephones
• Gradual transition to the VoIP communication
• Implementation of the new solution in two steps
• Securing ongoing business without impairment of business communication
• A future-oriented and easily scalable solution

The innovaphone range met all the demands posed by the customer. During every installation phase, a smooth transition to the VoIP telecommunications system was ensured without the necessity of exchanging the entire system all at once. Implementation at NOVOL consisted of two phases: DECT migration to IP DECT and migration from the fixed network telephones to the VoIP solution. Technical transition began with the migration from the DECT system to IP DECT. The new platform was based on an innovaphone VoIP gateway IP3010 and an IP DECT gateway by Ascom.

innovaphone’s products and solutions meet all European standards. This guarantees the compatibility with the solutions of other providers. Wireless connections were established with the SIP trunk which replaced the ISDN PRA connection while the central BP250 had initially been used for fixed network telephony. The innovaphone VoIP gateway enables parallel operation of ISDN lines and SIP lines. Therefore, NOVOL employees were not even aware of the transition taking place from DECT to IP DECT.

The second phase of the smooth migration process encompassed the transition from fixed network telephony to VoIP. NOVOL integrated following end devices: innovaphone’s IP111, IP222 and IP232. The latter two models belong to innovaphone’s design line and received the coveted “red dot award: product design”. The IP232 has a touchscreen and the IP222 has freely programmable function keys. The VoIP phone IP111 with its large colour display offers the newest features for Telephony and Unified Communications. In addition to their stunning design, all end devices set new standards in terms of voice quality and energy efficiency. Further, the company also implemented DECT end devices from Ascom. The BP250 was removed after completion of the second phase.

In the following years, the innovaphone VoIP gateway IP3010 was replaced by its successor, model IP3011. innovaphone’s VoIP gateway IP3011 is connected to the public network via PRI interface and has 30 conference channels which are very convenient for the “all in one box” PBX and UC installations. The innovaphone PBX offers a variety of security protocols that optimally fend off threats from the internet. The innovaphone Session Border Controller (SBC) and innovaphone‘s Reverse Proxy are directly integrated into the innovaphone gateway IP3011 so that no further external or third party SBC is necessary. NOVOL also profits from the functions of innovaphone Reporting which delivers valuable information in real time over the phone within the entire company or particular departments thereof.

Smooth migration took a total of two years, due to the different stages of implementation. Installation mainly took place at the weekends outside regular business hours. This ensured a seamless transition to the new system without impairing phone activity. When asked how the installation processes had advanced and whether any issues had arisen, Witold Broda replied: “There were no complications during installation. Everything was readily prepared and tested in advance.” The innovaphone partner Lamar – Telecom ensures stable operation of the entire communication infrastructure, administration and updates of the system.

The economic expectations of the customer were fully met by innovaphone’s solution. Different phases of the migration process were flexibly adjusted to the economic and financial situation of the business. A supervised transition to the new system is more user friendly for the employees since they can gradually get used to new functions and new applications. “Smooth migration gave us the opportunity to distribute the full costs over two years which is very crucial for budget planning. The SSA is renewed every year and enables us to get the newest versions of system updates without having to bear high expenditure,” Witold Broda continued. Customers can update the licenses to the newest software version with the innovaphone Software Service Agreement (SSA).

A Satisfied Customer and Plans for the Future

 An expansion of the communication infrastructure at NOVOL with the installation of innovaphone PBX at a different site is now being considered. One great benefit would be the connection of both systems and their integration into one uniform communication structure. The modular principle of the innovaphone VoIP telephone system with its unlimited scalability and system architecture of the innovaphone PBX allows the realisation of scenarios that fulfil individual customer demands. innovaphone’s IP technology connects different sites while taking into account their various sizes and integrating these sites accordingly.

The final evaluation of the entire project regarding the implementation and realisation is very positive. NOVOL’s employees really value the modern design of the end devices and their functions. Witold Broda, Director of Administration at NOVOL, sums it up: “The new system fulfilled all our requirements. Transition was completed within the appointed time frame and went according to plan. The system is very stable and all components operate flawlessly. A combination between pure IP and the IP DECT technology is the perfect solution for us.”