AMB Sécurité

AMB Sécurité Sàrl places its trust in VoIP solution by innovaphone, the Unified Communications specialist

Founded in May 2008, the security specialist, AMB Sécurité Sàrl, has developed into a major player in the area of security in the French speaking part of Switzerland. In order to meet the new technological requirements due with the end of the analogue era in Switzerland in 2017, AMB Sécurité Sàrl has decided on the standards-based, secure system made by the European IP specialist, innovaphone. A secure corporate communication system based entirely on IP was thus implemented. The VoIP and UC solution from innovaphone was implemented in Geneva and Lonay by the system integrator, IP-PLN.

AMB Sécurité deals with the protection of people and property. It provides extensive alarm systems, video surveillance, access control as well as qualified security guards. The Swiss company has 40 employees in its headquarters in Geneva and in the Lonay branch office. Most Swiss companies, including AMB Sécurité Sàrl, are faced with the challenge of installing a new telephone infrastructure as the Swiss ISDN network will be switched off at the latest in 2017. In addition to this changeover, it proved necessary to modernise the infrastructure as the phone system was technically outdated and not able to manage the daily volume of hundreds of calls in a secure and efficient manner. The wiring network also had to be modernised.

Marcio Allemand, managing director at AMB Sécurité, explains: “We needed to increase our capacities concerning reachability, security and efficient call management - we are talking of some 2,000 calls per day, 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. This volume requires a secure telephone system that offers no or very little opportunity for attacks, is much more powerful and has new functionalities such as CTI, call analysis and recording as well as software phones for telemarketing. We investigated the IP supplier market together with our partner, IT-PLN. Based on its expertise in the fields of secure VoIP and Unified Communications and its price policy, IT-PLN finally recommended the manufacturer innovaphone.” innovaphone carries the quality mark “IT security made in Germany” from TeleTrusT, the German IT security association (Bundesverband ITSicherheit e.V.). The innovaphone PBX runs on a very lean and fast operating system that has been developed especially. There are no known viruses, worms or Trojans for this operating system. The DTLS-SRTP protocol allows device-to-device encryption. This high degree of security is available for all innovaphone PBX connections, if necessary. The system specification stipulated a cut in communication costs (by 50%) as well as an increase in productivity and quality of the call centre.

A complex, bespoke installation

The head office in Geneva was equipped with an innovaphone PBX based on an innovaphone PBX IP810 gateway. This is perfect for smooth migration to IP because it opens up the possibility of using both ISDN and SIP in parallel without disturbing the ongoing operation. The staff members were equipped with new end devices: 23 innovaphone IP222 designer phones for the management team, 6 innovaphone IP110 phones for admin staff and the commercial team, 30 headsets for all users and 10 softphones for the telemarketing team in the call centre. Reporting, Voice Recording and Call Intrusion completed the installation. A NAS server handles voice recording and a protected VPN tunnel with an integrated firewall was set up between the two branch offices. Furthermore, the fibre optic cabling was installed for the internet connection and SIP trunks were integrated from several providers.
Vincent Volpato, project manager at IT-PLN, summarises the situation: “We had to overcome some challenges, starting with connecting rather sensitive fibre optic cables and the integration of the Swisscom IP Plus cable. We also had to reinstate existing messages, migrate some 50 numbers (ISDN; SIP and analogue) and set up an IVR system (Interactive Voice Response). The various call scenarios were very complex with a multitude of extension numbers and the call flow.”
The installation period amounted to about ten days, from laying the fibre optic cable to the complete installation in Lonay and in the company headquarters in Geneva. We experienced operational difficulties with the newest software after installing updates. “The innovaphone support reacted very quickly, and it was possible to repair the error, which led to the system failing, just one hour later,” explains Vincent Volpato and continues: “The collaboration with innovaphone went really well, especially concerning the project management by innovaphone Presales. They were very vigilant when dealing with security and especially piracy. A firewall was installed as was a QoS application (Quality of Service) in order to prioritise voice and thus guarantee perfect voice quality.”

Improved call management in the call centre

innovaphone’s Reporting application enables calls to be recorded and saved securely and to be managed using the integrated player. A wide range of filters allow the information to be archived by date, time and person called or caller, also the call direction and call chronology, whether inbound or outbound can be recorded - no matter what kind of end device is used. The Reporting application by innovaphone is the perfect call analysis solution as it gives valuable information on calling behaviour within a company in real time. Individual programmable filters allow flexible queries per hour, per pre-defined time period, by country, service or person with the aim of anticipating call peaks and avoiding bottlenecks without hindering the telephony performance of a company. Marcio Allemand expresses his high satisfaction: “Without a doubt, Recording and Reporting are two plus points for the management team. These functionalities have brought the solution for many smaller problems in record time. They are also indispensable for looking after the call centre, training, legal matters and improving customer care.

Unified Communications serving security

The system now also includes Unified Communications applications in order to improve availability, speed up work processes and increase efficiency. AMB Sécurité now benefits from the innovaphone UC client, myPBX, the mobile myPBX application and softphones. The myPBX Unified Communications solution unifies various Unified Communications applications on its user-friendly user interface: traditional IP telephony, audio conferences, company directories, call history, application sharing, instant messaging, collaboration as well as video telephony and video conferencing. myPBX brings unlimited flexibility, access to all company contacts and to all PBX functionalities, the integration of smartphones as professional end devices and thus all the benefits that mobile telephone brings.
Marcio Allemand adds: “myPBX really facilitates daily business. One click on the screen is all it takes to dial any telephone number. We can also integrate our customer phone numbers really easily into the central innovaphone PBX. IT-PLN also integrated the Click-to-Call solution on Apple computers via a certain connector.”
Some call centre staff use the innovaphone softphone interface to AMB Sécurité’s CRM system. This solution has improved convenience for call centre staff. They are equipped with Jabra headsets and Intel NUC terminals that are integrated in their large screens. The call intrusion function means that call centre managers can join any staff members’ call live to check the quality of the call.

Necessity has brought a very profitable changeover

“The fact that Switzerland is completely changing over to All IP by 2017 has actually worked out for us: All requirements in the system specification have been fulfilled. Both management and staff members are very satisfied with the new solution that has reduced calling costs by 50% - thanks to the multi-provider SIP trunk management. This means that calls that come from abroad can be dealt with transparently using an alternative provider. IT-PLN has created different scenarios based on the different countries’ prefixes in order to automatically select the cheapest provider. Administration and maintenance are now more unified, easier and less expensive. Marcio Allemand summarises: “We have shifted strongly towards Unified Communications and are available around the clock seven days a week with maximum security.”