SYSCON

Many Companies Consider the Outsourcing of Telephony into the Cloud to Be an “All-Round Carefree Package”

The IT service provider plans, sets up and maintains integrated information and telecommunications systems. In addition to on-premise solutions, SYSCON also offers hosting services from four locations and one high-availability data center based in Germany. These fulfil the growing demands of the cloud concerning software usage, memory capacity and computer performance.

Key component of the SYSCON cloud solution is the innovaphone PBX with its IP telephony and Unified Communications platform.

SYSCON GmbH has a total of 42 employees distributed across the office headquarters in Borgholzhausen and the subsidiaries of the company in Hamburg, Alzenau and Mörfelden (main data centre of SYSCON). About 90% of the German carrier services have settled down in the region around Frankfurt. The worldwide largest internet exchange point is also located here, and the location Frankfurt is ideal specifically for the transmission of voice data since extremely low latency provides for optimal technical conditions. The hosting services of the IT provider address small and mid-sized businesses that “need standardized products, yet in combination with individual solutions,” affirms the Managing Director of SYSCON, Sören Korf.

innovaphone’s PBX Offers the Ideal Solution for Hosting Providers

The SYSCON GmbH Systeme plus Consulting has gained more than 30 years of experience. In addition to the offered on-premise solutions, the company has also achieved a strong reputation as hosting provider over the past years. SYSCON implements the innovaphone PBX as a telephone system. When asked about the motivations for choosing the manufacturer innovaphone, Sören Korf replied as follows: “innovaphone’s solution concept is unparalleled. Following points are exemplary for this:

1. What makes innovaphone so unique on the market is the fact that the entire solution is from one single source. This includes everything: the VoIP gateway, DECT telephony, Unified Communications software and IP end devices.
2. innovaphone is a German manufacturer and the products are likewise manufactured in Germany.
3. Two key features of the innovaphone PBX are its easy maintenance and straightforward operability.
4. The solution is open to 3rd party providers due to its open interfaces.”

Particularly the opportunity to offer equally individual and customized solutions convinced the responsible parties at SYSCON of innovaphone’s product range: “This is exactly what medium-sized companies such as legal offices or crafts businesses expect from a communication solution,” states Sören Korf. SYSCON itself has already collected valuable longterm experience with innovaphone’s PBX: “The innovaphone PBX was implemented over five years ago in our offices, so we can confirm its high performance and reliability first-hand,” emphasizes Sören Korf.

The most “comprehensive” investment for the company SYSCON as a provider is the acquisition of software licenses. The hosting company has “an adequate number of PBX and UC licenses” so that customer needs can be flexibly met by providing additional licenses, also at short notice, adds Sören Korf. A personal virtual telephone system is made available for every customer. Complex connectivity to the data center, for example via VPN, is therefore not necessary. Yet, if the safety requirements demand it, this connectivity can be established. Installation of a new telephone system is rather simple for SYSCON: merely an innovaphone PBX needs to be set up for the customer. The IPVAs (innovaphone Virtual Appliances) of every single customer are securely separated and can easily be administered and billed. Security of the connection is guaranteed through the certificate-based H.323 encryption with the innovaphone Reverse Proxy.

Why Do Customers Opt for a Cloud Solution?

A typical scenario with customers is the need for a new server. A more powerful server would cause costs in the four-digit range. However, it already becomes apparent that such a server would soon reach its limits, too, and an even more expensive server would be needed. This is where the hosting solution comes into play: The customer can subscribe to a hosting package for a predictable sum. In return, the customer will have the certainty of being technologically up-to-date. If new technological aspects and requirements arise, new features can be added to the package at any given time. The package can further be extended or reduced depending on personnel fluctuation within the company. This flexibility could never be achieved with an on-premise solution. Hosting also differs from on-premise telecommunications solutions concerning the company’s accounting. It is not necessary to purchase a new system and therefore, no fixed assets bind company capital. What is more, operation of the telephone system can be considered as running costs. This can be quite an advantage for companies.

The only investment that most hosting customers make is the acquisition of end devices. Especially the demand for the innovaphone IP phones IP222, IP112 and IP241 is high at SYSCON, whereas the IP241 is used primarily in the logistics sector.

The introduction to cloud solutions is often brought up by a particular issue: Sören Korf reports that the topic “e-mail security” really poses a challenge to IT managers at companies. News about spying scandals over the past months have only reinforced these concerns. Outsourcing this topic to the SYSCON cloud ensures maximum data security by means of potent firewalls, most up-to-date anti-virus software and powerful spam filters. “This is altogether the principal benefit of cloud solutions for customers,” states Sören Korf. “The customer can be certain to always get the newest technologies from the data center. Unnecessary investments for the IT infrastructure that would only be outdated soon are a thing of the past. Customers only buy the scope of services needed at a specific date. Maintenance and servicing are carried out in the background. Many companies consider the outsourcing of telephony into the cloud to be an “all-round carefree package”.

“All-round carefree” is also the key word concerning the switch to All IP of the German provider Telekom. All ISDN and analog connections will be switched to All IP by 2018, with the Telekom terminating all old contracts. Due to this fact, many companies opt for an entry into a hosting solution. An innovative telecommunications infrastructure is available immediately without great effort and businesses can proceed as always without any impediment. According to Sören Korf, the demand for cloud telephone systems has increased tremendously: “Meanwhile, many of our customers really value the advantages of a hosted telephone system, such as enormous flexibility, utmost security, a wide range of functions and last but not least oftentimes significant savings.”