By Tom S. Noda
Computerworld Philippines
February 13, 2009

Aiming to deliver a unified communications (UC) service that is affordable for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), Cisco Philippines and Infocom Technologies Inc. have partnered to provide the “first ever” managed UC solution service in the Philippines.

Dubbed as “Office-in-a-Box,” the package includes outbound VolP (Voice over IP), high-speed Internet (DSL), SIP (Session Initiated Protocol)-based IP-PBX (IP-based private branch exchange, which is the brains of a telephony system), e-mail hosting, Web hosting, video conferencing, firewall and anti-virus.

“We took advantage of industry-leading and proven unified communications technology from Cisco to create the first managed solution with flexible payment schemes,” said Edgardo Bautista, president and CEO of Infocom, a wholly-owned subsidiary of ePLDT. It is a former Internet service provider that recently turned into an Internet Solutions Provider.

Stephen “Tep” Misa, newly-appointed country manager of Cisco Systems Philippines, said the company is aggressively marketing the technology being part of the $100 million investment project of Cisco for SMEs worldwide.

“The No. 1 priority for SME owners is growing their companies, not becoming technology experts,” Misa said. “This solution offering from Infocom takes away all the headache and upfront costs of acquiring next-generation technologies and enables them to focus on their business.”

And as an added solution in taking away the IT hurdles for SMEs, Infocom included in its service package an assigned IT specialist who will provide up to four hours of on-site support per week.

Bautista said Infocom prepared for the product since September of 2008, noting the company not only has a lot of Cisco certified professionals but also technically-inclined customer support agents.

“It is converged data and voice network, connectivity, online presence, and friendly and responsive customer service all in one package,” he added.

According to Bautista, at the heart of the solution is the Cisco Unified Communications Call Manager Express which handles call processing and easy deployment of Cisco Unified IP phones; the Cisco Unity@ Express for voice messaging (voice mail) and Automated Attendant which replaces an operator and helps companies save on manpower; an integrated 8-Port Power over Ethernet (PoE) local-area network (LAN) switch which helps reduces energy costs; and network security functions including the Cisco 10S firewall which protects the wide-area network (WAN) entry point and virtual private
network (VPN).

“A good business needs a stable and resilient infrastructure in order to thrive in this fast-paced, competitive environment—and Office-in-a-Box offers that,” Bautista said. “The service can effortlessly enable integration of commonly-used desktop applications such as Microsoft Outlook and Outlook Express, Lotus Notes, and a host of customer relationship management (CRM) software applications. With these features, Office-in-a-Box aims to help SMEs increase productivity, improve cost management, enhance customer service, and open new markets for the client.”

Yet Misa said a wide array of Cisco Unified IP phones is supported through the PoE ports. “The Office-in-a-Box also allows business owners and employees to securely connect to their office network even while they are traveling or working from home through the virtual private network (VPN).”

Both executives claimed the economic advantage of the service is that it does not require a big cash outlay. The clients instead will be billed monthly over a 36-month period. It also lets companies save up to 85% on overseas phone bills via VolP.

Bautista said with the ongoing global financial crisis, the Office-in-a-Box would serve as a tool for companies to save money, wherein one doesn’t need to be an IT expert or a giant firm to avail of a seamless communication infrastructure.

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