Toshiba’s IPedge® business communication system has been certified with AT&T IP Flexible Reach SIP Trunking.  AT&T offers SIP trunking on its Managed Internet Service (MIS) and virtual private network (VPN) service, which run over AT&T’s global IP network. The IPedge IP server has built-in support for SIP, so you don’t need a gateway device to connect to AT&T’s SIP trunks.

This news might sound like acronym soup, but it’s great news for any organization that has more than one location.  SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) is the key that enables VoIP services to work across locations, even worldwide, over a service provider’s managed IP network, such as AT&T’s.

SIP is an industry standard intentionally designed to be flexible and adaptable, but there are many flavors as a result of the standard’s inherent flexibility.  As a result, not every SIP trunking provider interworks seamlessly with every IP PBX.  In the haste to get to market early, some IP PBX vendors delivered SIP solutions that had interoperability snafus, requiring lots of troubleshooting and custom configuration — and causing lots of frustration for customers.

Certified interoperability between Toshiba’s IPedge platform and AT&T SIP trunking means you have assured interworking and new options for extending the phone system outside company walls.  Consider the possibilities:

• A call to your office number could ring at your desk phone, then your cell phone, then remote office, etc., until it finds you wherever you are, at home or on the road.
• From an airport, a hotel room, a Wi-Fi hot spot or anywhere, you could change these forwarding instructions as you change locations or form temporary project teams.
• You could collaborate with distant colleagues, customers or suppliers using shared Web browsing, desktop collaboration and Web conferencing, all linked to your email and voice mail.
• You could log in to use your personal communications features, message stores, contact lists, preferences, etc. from any desktop or mobile IP phone, which doesn’t even have to be a telephone.
• Your company could publish local telephone numbers (virtual telephone numbers, or VTNs) for the various geographic locations it serves yet handle all those calls in one preferred location.

At the same time, SIP trunking reduces communications cost by extending the value of what you already have.  For instance:

• A single IPedge server can support users in multiple sites across town or across the country.
• Calls between locations can run over your existing IP intranet, reducing long-distance costs.
• Converging voice and data on the network reduces infrastructure costs.
• SIP trunks use trunk bandwidth very efficiently, so you can run more traffic on the same T1.

What’s not to like?  Think globally, act locally. 
You can with Toshiba, AT&T and SIP trunking —
and you know it will work.

The same system can also be used as a wireless monitoring system that notifies real estate investors and building owners of fire, flood or equipment malfunctions, such as failed sump pumps, water heaters and furnaces. These monitoring systems can track and record door entry data and can be used as a notification system for tenant safety concerns.

Other practical applications include but are not limited to use in refrigerated warehouses as a wireless temperature monitoring alert system, thereby reducing the need for a 24-hour maintenance staff. This type of system can prevent a company from losing frozen or refrigerated product due to unreported equipment malfunctions.

This type of monitoring solution can also include call reporting software, which allows supervisors to monitor employees’ response times for improved operational efficiency. As an added benefit, wireless e-call systems can send notifications via pager, text, email and call alerts.

Today, the panic button isn’t just about responding to emergencies; it lets companies be more profitable, efficient and successful.  Whether it’s lives, sump pumps, frozen foods or employee efficiencies, fast notification can mean the difference between success and disaster.

This post is courtesy of Cornell Communications. Located in Milwaukee, WI, Cornell provides a complete range of Alert Systems, each specifically designed for its unique application including: hospitals & medical clinics, senior living (skilled care, assisted & independent), commercial office buildings, and school systems.

Just inland from the Atlantic surf on Maryland’s Eastern Shore sits the historic town of Berlin – gateway to the arcades and amusements of Ocean City or the wild oats and wild ponies of Assateague.  Farmland stretches in all directions from the quaint downtown, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

However, miles of bucolic and historic scenery are no advantage when you need medical care.  Until the early ‘90s, the closest hospital for Worcester County residents was at least 30 minutes away.

A concerted effort by local physicians and concerned citizens – backed by funding from the county, state and Ocean City – led to the opening of Atlantic General Hospital in Berlin in 1993.  The founders’ vision was validated; during its first year of operation, the hospital saw 10 percent more emergency room visits and 23 percent more outpatient revenue than expected.

Today, Atlantic General is an award-winning, 62-bed, not-for-profit hospital with a network of more than 15 outpatient physician offices and walk-in clinics in the region – with nearly 750+ employees and 211 physicians.

As the hospital grew and its communications system was tasked to handle more than 200,000 calls a month, Glenn Lebedz, the hospital’s Director of Support Services, asked some important questions:

• Was the hospital’s aging communications system up to this call volume?
• What would happen to communications services if the power went out during an Atlantic squall?
• Was there a way to have the hospital’s multiple locations look and feel more like one?
• Was there a way to manage it all at less cost?

Atlantic Technology Services Inc. of Salisbury, Md., provided the answer with Toshiba Strata CIX IP business communications systems, ranging from Strata CIX40 systems at smaller sites to a Strata CIX1200 system at the main hospital, and others scaled for locations in between.  The cutover from the old system to the new was accomplished with zero downtime.

With the new system, digital and IP phones work side by side.  Users who don’t need the power of IP telephony use rugged and economical digital phones – 550 of them.  Power users, such as contact center agents and remote users at four off-site locations, were issued IP phones – 200 of them.  The user interface is comfortably familiar across digital and IP, but users and departments have the freedom to customize for their unique needs.

For business communication systems, environmental impact tends to be concentrated at the level of resources and raw materials, followed by use by consumers and production.  So the familiar mantra of “reduce, reuse and recycle” is a hallmark of product and process design for Toshiba’s Telecommunication Systems Division.

Reduce.  By meeting or exceeding high environmental standards, we’ve kept tons of toxic chemicals and other substances out of the ecosystem.  Toshiba’s Strata^® CIX™ and IPedge^®systems and 5000-series IP and digital phones are RoHS compliant. In addition, our new communication systems comply with environmental guidelines such as those defined in the Joint Industry Guide (JIG) issued by the Electronics Industry Alliance (EIA).

That means we eliminated all chemicals targeted in JIG Section 15 from our manufactured parts.  We eliminated PVC (polyvinyl chloride) and BFR (brominated flame retardants) from surface plastics in the 5000-Series IP and digital telephones.  We eliminated PVC from phone cords.  As a result of innovative molding techniques, we eliminated the need to apply paint or surface coatings to IP and digital phones.

Improvements in material selection, parts procurement and manufacturing processes earned the Telecommunication Systems Division’s product lines an eco-efficiency rating well ahead of the corporation’s targets for FY2012 (a 3.91 on our assessment scale compared to a goal of 2.3 for Toshiba Group as a whole).

On the use side, we have also reduced the energy consumption of Toshiba business communication systems.  For example, our 5000-series digital phones use up to 10 percent less energy than earlier series.  Select models offer even more efficiency with a “sleep” mode that automatically turns off the LCD backlight.  Reducing energy usage is not only good for the environment; it reduces cost of ownership for our customers.

Reuse.  For nearly 20 years, we have designed our telecommunications products with smart migration in mind.  When upgrading and expanding their systems, customers can retain many components they already have, which avoids needless e-waste. For example, upgrading from a Strata CIX670 system to CIX1200 can be as simple as replacing a processor card and reusing the current cabinets, interface cards and endpoints.

Recycle.  To minimize the amount of waste going into landfills, we eliminated foam polystyrene materials from interior packaging materials and replaced them with eco-friendly, recyclable materials that provide equivalent protection.

We also participate in a number of recycling programs, such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Plug-In to eCycling program and eBay’s Rethink Initiative.  We also recycle equipment traded in through our dealer network and host a special Earth Day recycling event.

* * * *

Let’s not forget one of the biggest ways Toshiba business communication systems reduce environmental impact.  By seamlessly connecting distant locations, making telecommuting easy, and providing richly multimedia ways for people to collaborate remotely, our products help people bridge the earth’s distances without having to fuel cars or airplanes.  That’s a positive lifecycle impact for the earth and the working humans who inhabit it.

To find out more information about Toshiba’s environmental initiatives:

http://www.toshiba.co.jp/ecostyle/en/

http://www.toshiba.co.jp/env/en/management/vision2050.htm

As a diversified manufacturing company, Toshiba is in a unique position to improve environmental outcomes in three ways:  through better manufacturing process and facilities, through more eco-friendly products, and by promoting more socially responsible technologies for the global stage.

Here’s a quick look at some key ways Toshiba is carrying out its “eco style” mission.

Greening of process.  Highly efficient manufacturing facilities and processes reduce energy requirements and CO₂ emissions.  For example, various company sites use high-efficiency chillers and AC systems, LED lighting and systems that capture and reuse waste heat.

We’re also reducing CO₂ emissions by moving to renewable energy sources.  For example, the Toshiba Television Central Europe plant in Poland reduced CO₂ emissions by 1,850 tons a year by optimizing the power system and getting electricity from hydroelectric power plants.  The Fuchu Complex in Japan reduced CO₂ emissions in its lab by 400 tons a year by adopting the latest energy-saving equipment and switching to photovoltaic power generation.

Greening of products.  We’re aiming for the world’s highest levels of environmental performance, considering the complete product lifecycle from supply chain to manufacturing, shipping and use to disposal and recycling.  We are continuously expanding our portfolio of products that meet the standards to be deemed environmentally conscious products (ECPs).

Toshiba Group also actively works to reduce the impact of our products in the field.  For example:

• We partner with public- and private-sector organizations to make it easier for our customers to recycle and donate used electronics.
• In collaboration with Close the Loop Inc., toner cartridges, consumables and replacement parts collected through our Zero Waste to Landfill program are recycled into materials and products such as “e-lumber” park benches.
• Customers can trade in their used PCs of any make when they upgrade to a new Toshiba PC.  Used equipment collected through this program is responsibly recycled.

Greening of technology.  Toshiba develops low-carbon power generation technologies to mitigate global warming while providing a stable power supply for a growing world.  Our solar photovoltaic systems, smart grids, innovative rechargeable batteries, and carbon dioxide capture and storage technologies all contribute to a greener planet.

In addition to supporting a shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy, Toshiba technologies reduce environmental footprint in other significant ways — in some cases, literally.  For example, Toshiba gas-insulated switchgears require only 1/30^th of the installation area as the old air-insulated switchgears, reducing the impact on biodiversity by 90 percent and overall environmental impact by 20 percent.

Toshiba also contributes to the earth in more personal ways, such as implementing a 1.5 Million Tree Planting Project and joining the “Earth Hour 2012” event on March 31, switching off neon signs and billboards in major cities around the world, including the landmark billboard in New York’s Times Square.

Founded in 1945, Purvis Industries is a leading national distributor of industrial products for a variety of industries, including automotive, oil/petroleum, manufacturing, materials handling, mechanical power systems, energy and more.

As such, its customers and suppliers could be anywhere, potentially hundreds or thousands of miles apart.  Purvis Industries needed a way to bridge the miles and make every location feel local to callers, providing the best possible convenience and customer service.

Working with Radcom Technologies Inc., Purvis chose an innovative approach.  Its new Strata® CIX™1200 business communication system isn’t anywhere on company grounds.  It actually sits in an AT&T data center in Dallas.  SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) trunks enable this one Toshiba server to provide communications for Purvis headquarters and all 53 branch locations nationwide.

With SIP trunking to connect all locations, Purvis customers can use local numbers to call their local branch offices.  Calls ring into the Strata CIX1200 system in Dallas and then are routed to the appropriate locations.  All branches operate on one virtual telephone system with calls routed through AT&T’s “Flexible Reach” managed IP network.  Diverse routing ensures that even if one line goes down, the system stays up.

With this arrangement, Purvis trimmed long-distance charges by 80 percent while improving the ease of communications.  Users can direct-dial extensions at any location, transfer calls between locations and leave voice mails — all without long-distance charges.  In addition, regional managers can log into their extensions from any branch location to take advantage of their personal phone features and profiles.

SIP trunks are setting the stage for an all-IP environment in which business communications can be dynamic, blended, multimedia, mobile, efficient, and intuitive, reflecting the changing nature of the business stage itself.

Geographic limitations dissolve.  Teams collaborate across counties or continents.  Connectivity follows people instead of tethering them.  And as prices for just about everything are spiraling up, network and communications bills can go down.

What would you do if you lost your family, friends, house and the entire city in seconds, all washed away by the ocean?  On March 11, 2011, a 9.0 earthquake, followed by a 43-foot tsunami, struck northern Japan.  More than 20,000 people perished.  Thousands more were left homeless and orphaned.

Within days, Rinko Yuki, a Japanese-born high school student in Irvine, Calif., founded The Thousand Cranes Project to support the relief effort.  The project is a collaboration between her school’s Japanese Culture Club, student volunteers and parents from the Orange County community – with PR and production support from her parents’ branding/creative agency, Ys and Partners.

“Among the victims of this tragic event, children are the most affected,” said 17-year-old Yuki, a junior at Irvine’s University High School.  “They suffer from trauma and exposure to nuclear radiation.  They have to deal with so many changes:  a new house, a new school, a new town, and maybe even a new family for the orphaned children.  It’s so much for a little soul to go through.

“Our mission is to support the children who are still living in a temporary household, some without a family, some without sufficient education, and some without a stable environment.  As a student, I raise money and awareness through school fundraisers, and visited two of the most damaged cities in Japan this summer.  I want to share my experience with everyone and create awareness that there are still people out there in need of help.”

At fundraising events in the past year, student volunteers washed hundreds of cars, sold baked goods and raised almost $10,000 for orphaned children’s programs in the cities of Ofunato and Ishinomaki.  A May 2011 flip-flop drive produced 240 pairs of the sandals for children needing summer footwear.  A December 2011 coat drive yielded cartons and suitcases of winter coats for the children weathering Japan’s snowy winter.  On Christmas eve, children in Ishinomaki city received 100 coats and 48 University High School sweatshirts with “Dream Big” and the school’s Trojan mascot on the front.

A car wash and bake sale on March 25 raised the profile of The Thousand Cranes Project even more, and attracted corporate sponsorship, including Toshiba.  Community members brought their cars to be washed to support the cause, even in the rain.  Volunteers sold baked goods, Japanese food and T‑shirts, raising more than $2,200 for the effort and getting television coverage on the local ABC Eyewitness News.

“Thousand cranes” is a reference to an ancient Japanese legend that promises that anyone who folds 1000 origami cranes – strung together in a senbazuru – will be granted a wish by a crane, such as a long life or recovery from hardship.

Each origami figure is just a small bit of folded paper, but together in numbers, they are believed to summon great things.  The name aptly reflects the mission of The Thousand Cranes Project, which mobilizes resources at a grassroots level for a large-scale mission a world away.  Pocket change in donation jars, cookies and cakes for a bake sale, volunteers washing cars in the rain, a pair of flip flops or a gently used coat… with small gestures such as these, University High School students and their community are proving Mother Teresa right.

“Please make a donation to the children, and give hope to their bright future,” said Yuki.  “Even the loose change in your pocket – one penny, one dollar, any amount of money will make a difference if everybody in the community contributes.”

For more information about the Thousand Cranes Project and how you can help:

Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/thethousandcranesproject

Website:  www.the1000cranesproject.com

Video:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7asAtYmrbI

Project contact:  TTCP311@gmail.com

Imagine you’re a tech support expert, contact center agent, sales rep, or an analyst, journalist or executive whose work entails serious, all-day interactions via multiple channels.  You’re on dozens or maybe hundreds of calls a day, constantly referencing internal or external Web sites while juggling chat, tweets, texts, voice mail and email. If that’s your day, you need simple, one-touch access to features on both the phone and PC.              

The phone and PC are sitting right there, side by side on the desk.  Wouldn’t it be nice if they could cooperate to make your day easier?  They can.

With Toshiba’s Call Manager on your IPedge® or Strata® CIX™ or business communications system, your Windows laptop or desktop PC becomes a powerful tool for managing telephone calls, voice mail, Web, email and more, all from a single screen, using your mouse, without ever picking up the telephone.

Call Manager is easy to use because it is based on the familiar interface conventions of Microsoft Office®.  Click a tab to access related features.  Drag and drop to answer calls or send them to voice mail or to someone else.  Right-click to display options for a feature.  Fill in dialog boxes to program your own custom buttons without help from an administrator.

Pretty cool, eh?  INTERNET TELEPHONY Magazine thought so and honored Call Manager with a 2011 Unified Communications Product of the Year Award.  (Call Manager had already received a 2011 TMC Labs Innovation Award from Customer Interaction Solutions magazine.)

We love it when “the IP Communications Authority since 1998™” affirms our development directions — and when they tell 225,000 of their closest friends.

“The editors of INTERNET TELEPHONY have verified that Toshiba’s Call Manager for IPedge displays quality and innovation plus meets real needs in the marketplace,” said Rich Tehrani, CEO of the magazine’s parent company, TMC.  “I would like to congratulate the entire team at Toshiba for their commitment to advancing IP communication technologies.”

The 2011 Product of the Year winners are published in the March 2012 issue of INTERNET TELEPHONY magazine (www.itmag.com).

• Maximized performance and increased reliability
• Dramatically reduced service calls and down time
• Dramatically reduced ‘No Trouble Found’ reports
• Significantly increased equipment life
• Peace of mind
• Increased employee productivity
• Higher customer satisfaction

Increased Reliability and System Performance

Only 0.5 percent of power disturbances are caused by power outages. Other power disturbances aren’t as obvious and can be very difficult to identify. Because of this, you may be blaming some performance issues on the equipment when they could be caused by poor power quality, transients received on the telephone company cable, or inter-building cables that extend to off-premise locations. When disturbances interfere with equipment, they can cause an array of service disruptions and trouble reports. When power and line protection issues are resolved by using a power-conditioned solution (low impedance power conditioner or power conditioned sine wave UPS) and secondary T-1, trunk or line protection, your system’s performance and reliability increases dramatically. Here’s what you gain: increased productivity, immediate ROI, and lower operating costs.

Decreased Downtime

Even small amounts of transient energy that enter your system will damage delicate components. Over time, small amounts of transient energy disrupt, degrade and eventually destroy sensitive microprocessors leading to a printed circuit card and can result in complete system failure. Protecting equipment from day-to-day transients allows your system not only to run as it was designed, but also for as long as it was intended. With less equipment failures and fewer service calls, those savings go straight to the bottom line.

Maximum Results

When selecting power protection, be sure that the solution addresses all power and transient issues and that it includes low-impedance isolation transformer technology that eliminates transients at the chip component operating level (0.5 Volts of Common Mode and less than 10 Volts of Normal Mode noise).  In addition, be sure to include Secondary Trunk, T-1 and line protection to create a “total protection” solution for your system. This combination will provide the highest level of protection available and safeguard your system.

So, what frustrations are you currently having with your communications or IT system that could be solved by installing a premium power protection solution?

By Claire Formilan, Marketing Communications Manager, POWERVAR

Working with POWERVAR Corporationin Marketing Communications, Claire Formilan provides key tools for communicating the need for power protection and raising awareness of its benefits. Claire has over 15 years experience in the electronics industry, the last 12 years focusing on power protection.

 “Technical contributions from Tim Maghan, POWERVAR Telecom Sales Manager.” 

About POWERVAR

Headquartered in Waukegan, Illinois, POWERVAR also has international sales and distribution offices in the United Kingdom, Germany, Brazil, Mexico, and Canada. Now including ONEAC products, POWERVAR is strongly positioned to meet the power quality and protection needs of industry leaders, offering premium power protection solutions: transformer-based power conditioners, uninterruptible power supplies (UPS), communication line protectors, and UPS management and messaging software.

Until recently, the role of phone systems in business settings was secure, and typically served as the communications hub for everyday work. Things began to change with email, and following that, the advent of the Internet. Aside from email, the PC is home to other communications modes that have become integral to our workflows, namely chat, IM, VoIP and video. As a result, the focus of communications has been shifting from the desk phone to the desktop.

This trend is undeniable, but does not tell the full story. Along with a shift to the desktop, smartphones and mobile broadband have opened up a new avenue, not just for voice, but pretty much all other modes we use on our PCs. Higher end smartphones and tablets are more akin to being portable computers than telephones, and are increasingly becoming the business tool of choice.

The very definition of work has changed with these innovations, and for many businesses, employees can be equally productive in or out of the office, whether traveling on the road or working from home. As a result, businesses no longer make capital investments in legacy PBX systems, and have migrated to more affordable and more versatile IP PBXs or SIP-based phone systems. There is still a great deal of utility with phone systems, but they are no longer the centerpiece of communications.

So, what does this mean for phone system vendors? Clearly, they must adapt to these changes, and this means recognizing that phone systems are no longer an island unto themselves. Any business that embraces IP – Internet Protocol – will use the phone system as a complement to everything else in the mix. Some businesses integrate these pieces into a Unified Communications architecture, while others will simply use a patchwork approach to tie things together as best they can.

In either case, vendors must adapt to the new landscape and be as flexible as possible to either integrate with or support other communications modes. The good news is that voice will remain the preferred mode, but we’ll be doing less of it over conventional phone systems. So long as vendors get that point across, they will remain in the mix, especially if the phones remain easy to use and reliable. Both of these qualities are still challenges for Web-based communications applications, so there is still a strong underlying value proposition.

Remember, fax machines have been obsolete for years, but they remain widely used. The desk phone will also be with us for the foreseeable future, but only the ones that get with the program. Phone vendors who insist on being the hub will not survive, but those who adapt to the trends and reinvent their value proposition should do just fine.

 Jon Arnold – Biography

Jon Arnold is Principal of J Arnold & Associates, an independent telecom analyst and strategy consultancy based in Toronto, Ontario. The consultancy’s primary focus is providing thought leadership and go-to-market counsel regarding IP communications and disruptive technologies, such as VoIP, mobile broadband, contact centers, telepresence/video, unified communications, SIP trunking, cloud communications, social media and Web 2.0.

He has been consulting about these technologies since 2001, and can be followed on his widely-read Analyst 2.0 Blog, along regular commentary on Twitter and Linked in.

Jon also contributes to other publishers and portals, such as UCStrategies, ADTRAN, Exony, and Focus.com; speaks regularly at industry events, and is frequently cited in both the trade press and mainstream business press.