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IP Centrex

Centrex
Centrex is a business telephony service whereby the customer does not have his own telephone switch (PBX), but instead uses the PBX of a Telecom operator. These hosting services have been available since the seventies.

 
For Centrex services, a user group with special privileges is defined within the PBX. This makes it possible for users to call each other using speed dialing and to define hunt groups. Landline as well as mobile solutions are feasible.
 
A few examples of Centrex services are:

  • Hunt Group
  • Speed dialing
  • Receptionist switchboard
  • Interactive Voice Response (IVR)
  • Call Center 
  • Tele-conferencing 

Centrex allows the customer to control his connections. The benefit to the customer is that it is not necessary to acquire and maintain a PBX. The drawback is that the company is dependent on the service provider for its internal telephony as well.   
 
IP-Centrex en VoIP
With the emergence of Voice over IP (VoIP) and the large-scale use of IP data networks, the IP Centrex service is now available as well. IP Centrex has similarities to traditional Centrex, with the key difference being that a specific telephony infrastructure is no longer required. Telephony is now transported across the IP data network using SIP signaling. A separate telephony network is no longer required within the company either.  
  

The major strength of IP Centrex and VoIP is however their ability to link systems and services. This combination supplemented with office services provides a wide range of possibilities for business use.
 
One practical service is based on a link between telephony and the MS Outlook application. This makes it possible to place a call from the Outlook address book or from an e-mail received in the inbox. In addition, a telephone call can be combined with an online presentation, Telephone-based meetings can be initiated from the agenda and everyone is called on time. Combining it with telecommuting provides IP Centrex with added value..
 
 IP-Centrex and Landline-Mobile Integration
  A special form of IP Centrex is its combination with mobile telephony. This makes it possible for employees to use the same services available at the office anywhere else. It then no longer matters whether the employee places or receives a call via his/her landline or mobile telephone.  

VDVL expertise  
VDVL has contributed to the introduction of IP Centrex services for various Telecom Operators. This involved the preparation of functional requirements and detailed designs for IP Centrex service delivery and provisioning systems (OSS). The application servers, the underlying IMS infrastructure and the SBC (Session Border Controllers) involved are configured via entirely automated workflows. VDVL in this respect successfully applied its IT-OSS, as well as its network provisioning expertise.