• Contents:
• Networking
• Telephony
• Web Application Development
• UNIX / Linux Sysadmin
• Databases / MySQL

In today's world of custom database and web site development, businesses no longer believe and in fact tire of hearing that their expensive telephone systems can't do the things they want or need to add value to their business.

Open Solutions uses a software-based PBX system called Asterisk which directly addresses all of the problems with proprietary PBX systems and scratches that itch that your existing PBX cannot.

PBX Systems

We don't mean to start this section on a negative, but it's important to state from the outset that we do not supply standard PBX systems to small businesses. Open Solutions uses a software based PBX system called Asterisk to provide a fully featured PBX for to medium, large and specialised telephony businesses (from fifty to thousands of users).

Our PBX has all of the features of any and all commercial hardware PBX systems put together and more to boot. More importantly, our PBX systems are customised, extensible and programmable so we can add any feature your business might need now or in the future. Also, because it's software based, it's also future proof.

We're particular interested in solving complex telephony problems such as large scale, multi site robust deployments with mixes of standard and new technologies. Please contact us to discuss your requirements.

Large Scale and Custom Solutions

Open Solutions have implemented a number of large scale and custom telephony solutions for our customers using Asterisk-based systems as well as other open source applications (including MySQL databases and Apache/PHP web applications servers).

We provide some basic details of those here without naming the specific clients.

100+ Seat Call Centre

We worked with one Dublin based customer of ours to help them set-up a call centre in Northern Ireland to help support and grow their business. The call centre is 100% VoIP using soft clients. At the peak of its use, it had 120 staff but currently rests at about 100.

As most of their calls are to numbers in the Republic or Ireland, all calls are VoIP'd to servers in Dublin and they then break out to the PSTN network saving on international call charges as well as allowing them to leverage their existing investment in their Dublin call centre.

Using the same high-bandwidth line, Open Solutions helped this customer configure a VPN network allowing secure access to their CRM systems based in Dublin from Armagh.

This system has been live since June 2006.

Computer-Telephony Integration

We were approached by a company offering services in the financial services sector to help them build an inbound call centre which would allow data capture and insertion into their CRM systems.

We used Asterisk as a peripheral application server sitting between their existing PBX and PRI lines which captures calls that map to their 1800/1850 numbers.

These calls are placed in a queue and passed in round-robin fashion to internal operators. The operators use a custom web application which displays details of the call (such as date, time, ad source based on the number dialled, etc) and allows additional capture of information. This information is then passed onto their CRM system (Salesforce in this case) for later call backs or actioning by financial planning consultants.

The system additionally allows for call recording and monitoring for training purposes and there are a number of reporting features built in. This system has been live since early 2007.

Legacy PBX Migration Gateways

Asterisk can be used as a fantastic bridge between an old PBX and the future. The gateway PBX can be placed in front of your existing PBX as a gateway to new services and features. Old users can be migrated off the old PBX as needs dictate and new users can be added to either.

An Asterisk based PBX can also be put behind your existing PBX as a peripheral application server. You can even do both at the same time! An example is depicted below:

Using Asterisk is this manner allows you to continue to leverage your investment in your existing PBX system while offering a low-cost entry into VoIP telephony as well as the many additional features of Asterisk