What is ECHo CS from Qoncert???

Getting phone service via Voice over IP has many advantages:

• Ability to Deliver Phone Service Anywhere There is Internet Service
  

• Inexpensive Calling
  

• Typically NO Long Distance Charges
  

• No Local Loop Charges
  

• Easy to Add or Subtract Lines
  

• Ability to Pool Lines Across Multiple Sites

To implement any Voice over IP service you must acquire three things:

1. Internet Service (Monthly Recurring Cost)
   

2. Internet Telephony Service (ITSP) (Monthly Recurring Cost)
   

3. Voice over IP Capable Phone System (Upfront Cost with Annual Maintenance)

Once all three items have been acquired, most companies find it hard to manage and optimize this robust and sometimes confusing set up.  Qoncert's experience working with organizations of all size, shape, and configuration allows us to determine the best solution for the first two items and can greatly reduce the upfront cost of the third item.

Internet Service

Qoncert has experience working with all the Internet Service companies in North America and is familiar with all their pricing and capabilities.  Qoncert will work with your existing provider if you already have one, or they will help you find a new one.  One of the many aspects of Qoncert's Hosted VoIP solution is that it is completely independent of your Internet Service Provider (ISP).  Many Hosted Providers and ITSPs will require that you purchase service through their organization at exorbitant fees.  Qoncert will help you find the best value whether that be a cable modem all the way up to a dedicated fiber circuit.  Hosted Providers and ITSPs will often use the "Quality of Service" (QoS) argument as to why you must use their service when in fact, if the proper Internet Service is implemented you will have no problems.  Qoncert has many years experience working with VoIP over the Internet with all the different providers and have had no issues with call quality due to congestion in the Internet.  What these providers don't want you to know is that VoIP is very resilient to the delay encountered on typical Internet connections.  Don't believe us?  Feel free to talk to our references via those same Internet circuits other providers say won't work!

Internet Telephony Service

Qoncert has been implementing SIP service both internally and externally since it's inception.  You are probably familiar with Vonage and an ITSP is simply Vonage for businesses.  ITSPs allow organizations to connect to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) via plain old Internet Service.  Once again, Qoncert is completely independent and does not require a specific ITSP.  Many times an ITSP will be the same company as the ISP, Qoncert can help you determine if this is advantageous, both from an operations and financial position.  Qoncert can help you understand the features and qualities of a good ITSP.  Ultimately, the decision is yours and not the ISP or Hosted Provider!

Phone System

The final piece of implementing Voice over IP is a VoIP capable phone system.  Qoncert's affiliation with Cisco is well documented and our founding engineers have been working with Cisco since 1994.  Cisco's VoIP solutions are the most comprehensive in the industry and regardless of your size and needs, Qoncert can design a system to meet your requirements.  Cisco VoIP systems can be expensive and, depending on the size, can be difficult to implement and maintain.  Qoncert's Hosted/Managed VoIP solves both of these problems.  Qoncert eliminates the large up front cost by hosting the required servers in their Data Centers in Tampa, FL and their backup center in Winter Haven, FL.  The Winter Haven facility is a hardened facility over 100 miles inland and at the highest altitude in Florida.

Qoncert's Solution

Technology

Qoncert is a Cisco Gold Partner and its sister company, CCPrep.com, is a Cisco Learning Partner.  Qoncert's platform is built on Cisco Technology.  More specifically, Qoncert uses Cisco's Unified Communications Manager 8.0 Call Control Software.  Unity 8.0 provides voice mail to our customers in addition to basic Automatic Call Distribution (ACD) support.  Voice mail can be integrated (sending voice mail to your email) a number of ways depending on your email application.  Due to the fact, Qoncert uses standard Cisco product, applications such as Unified Presence, Video Calling, and Mobility solutions can also be configured in the hosted model.  In addition, Qoncert also utilizes Cisco Unified Contact Center Express (UCCX) product allowing for contact centers for up to 300 users.

Call Control/PBX Functionality - Unified Communications Manager (UCM 8.0) - Download PDF
Voice Mail - Cisco Unity 8.0 - Download PDF
Presence - Cisco Unified Presence 8.0 - Download PDF
Video Calling - Cisco Unified Video Advantage - Download PDF
Mobility - Cisco Unified Mobility - Download PDF
Managers Assistant - Cisco Unified Managers Assistant - Download PDF
Contact Center - Cisco Unified Contact Center Express 8.0 - Download PDF

Architecture

Using great technology is worthless unless properly implemented with reliability as a primary concern.  Qoncert's implementation utilizes dual data centers, redundant routers, switches, firewalls, and servers.  Not a single component of our architecture is a single point of failure.  Both Data Centers utilize 6500 Dual Cores, redundant Cisco ASA Security Devices, redundant servers, and Internet connections.  Our primary data center in Winter Haven has connections to most major carriers such as Time/Warner, Level 3, Brighthouse, and T3 Communications.  In addition to using Cisco Catalyst 6500s and Cisco Adaptive Security Appliances (ASAs), Qoncert also utilizes Cisco Unified Computing System (UCS) which is the latest in blade server technology.  Cisco's UCS gives Qoncert true virtualization of their servers, all of which make up the Qoncert Hosted VoIP architecture.

Pricing

To implement Qoncert Hosted/Managed VoIP there are three components:

1. Phones and Infrastructure Purchase or Lease
   

2. License Hosting
   

3. Managed/Monitoring Service

Phones, switches, and gateways must be purchased for each user, however this initial purchase can be leased through Cisco Leasing where qualified buyers enjoy 0% interest or 6 months deferred payments.  If you already use Cisco Power over Ethernet (PoE) switches, you only need to purchase Phones and Gateways.  If you have all three components already, Qoncert will use your existing equipment, provided it is compatible with the latest version of Cisco Software.  If not, Qoncert's experienced staff can walk you through product demos to help you determine the phones that will be best for your environment.