As of mid-2007, software manufacturer OXID eSales has been making its calls using Voice-over-IP (VoIP). With one STARFACE telephone system, the company links multiple sites, puts the conference functions through their paces, and even handles WLAN cell phone calls – all with VoIP.

Roland Fesenmayr couldn’t be happier with his new cell phone: a Nokia E61i. Since deciding on the phone, which features integrated WLAN, Fesenmayr, CEO of software manufacturer OXID eSales, places his calls on nothing else. When he’s in his office during the day, the cell phone logs on to the wireless company network – Fesenmayr is free to dial away while at his desk. At the same time, he can open STARFACE software on his desktop browser and tell the phone what to do using his computer. If he’s on the road (often the case with co-founders like himself) or at home, his E61i logs into the WLAN there and picks up calls at his work number. Even better: he pays VoIP – not cell phone – rates. “It’s a difference that goes easy on the wallet – especially when I’m out of the country.”

This bold new world of telecommunications was brought to OXID eSales courtesy of STARFACE. Since mid-2007, a STARFACE APPLIANCE has served as the company’s principal telephone system. But why the shift to VoIP? “We wanted to invest in a standardized network infrastructure,” Fesenmayr explains, “not additional phone lines.”

Being the manufacturer of the e-commerce software OXID eShop, OXID eSales decided in 2007 to apply forward-thinking tactics to its telecommunications. At the company’s founding, OXID eSales purchased a Deutsche Telekom system – but business growth soon pushed its limits. Extra voice channels were unavailable, so the company needed another solution. “Going into it, we just knew that we didn’t want to lay another two kinds of cable at work,” recalls Fesenmayr. In this IT specialist’s eyes, VoIP is a twenty-first century solution and conventional systems have outlived their purpose. Another factor which tipped the scales: the continued growth of OXID eSales. A number of new support teams and one additional sales team in Freiburg and Halle (Eastern Germany) each made a new infrastructure all the more necessary.

OXID eSales thoroughly sized up the market when looking for a VoIP provider. The results were disappointing. “The market’s dynamic, to be sure,” Fesenmayr observes, “but good providers are few and far between.” One manufacturer’s solution – based on Microsoft technology – was completely out of the question. Since OXID eSales strongly advocates a diversified IT landscape, it needed a browser-based VoIP solution which would work with multiple platforms. STARFACE fit the bill perfectly.

What else does Fesenmayr like about STARFACE? It installs with relatively little effort, provides interfaces to several systems, and features an intuitive user interface. A full-blown open source solution was not a viable alternative for OXID eSales, as telephony is a business critical application. Fesenmayr’s search led him to STARFACE – and manufacturer vertico software, where he discovered“ a provider with decent support, distribution, and the drive to keep developing the product.” After exploring vertico’s treasure trove of solutions, OXID eSales chose STARFACE APPL IANCE, a complete VoIP package. “Here, the hardware is synced to the software and we know it works,” Fesenmayr says, explaining his decision.

Today, one STARFACE APPL IANCE situated in OXID eSales’s head office in Freiburg links the company’s sites in Freiburg, Halle, and Lithuania with one another. All sites place calls through this system; all internal calls are free. Every employee also has a STARFACE softphone in their browser with the complete set of functions. For instance, they can see who’s talking at the moment and who isn’t available. WLAN cell phones have also been integrated, along with phones for VoIP and conferences as well as competitively priced US B handhelds purchased from electronics retailers. The outcome: since switching calls to STARFACE, the days of line shortages are finally at an end. The appliance accommodates any number of SIP ports, and OXID eSales’s provider permits the company to connect up to 150 SIP ports for outbound calls. Should the need arise, OXID eSales can rent added capacity (in other words, more outbound lines) in reasonably-priced packages of 10.

OXID eSales chose to get STARFACE APPLIANCE up and running all by itself. One OXID staff member attended a vertico training session, and then it was down to work. “Even if the product’s easy to configure,” remarks Fesenmayr, “a launch like this is not to be taken lightly.“ Companies may need to address other infrastructural issues before using VoIP, as was the case with OXID eSales. Rather than calling in a certified STARFACE partner to solve the problem, the company seized on this learning opportunity and enlarged its network structure on its own. With that in place, VoIP migration worked perfectly.

Today, the 50-strong team in Freiburg delights in “voice quality that’s at least as good as fixed networks provide and enjoys the handy software functions of STARFACE”, reports Fesenmayr. Take LDAP integration: employees can directly look up company contacts stored in their STARFACE softphone. Or teleconferences: previously the domain of a service provider, “now they’re set up in just a couple of clicks,” beams Fesenmayr. Another favorite feature of his is the way VoIP syncs with so many different end devices. For its teleconferences, OXID eSales uses a US B tabletop unit for high quality connections and handsfree conversations. Teleconferences of this nature are paramount to this e-commerce software specialist as its sales model centers on partnerships.

OXID eSales intends to move forward with this new technology. The company plans on exploiting STARFACE interfaces to a greater extent. This will, for instance, integrate telephony functions into the CRM solution at OXID eSales. “At that point,” predicts Fesenmayr, “we’ll take full advantages of VoIP at the next level.”