BroadSoft Inc. wants to make life as painless as possible for businesses opting for hosted VoIP. To that end, it has enhanced its BroadWorks VoIP application platform to support on-site provisioning of CPE, and to allow phone-based login capability for Polycom IP phones.
The new device management functionality lets service providers pre-configure access devices to simplify the provisioning process.
For service providers, the provisioning of end devices in the past was always one of the most complex and time-consuming phases of delivering VoIP services. Traditionally, providers need to either pre-provision devices before shipment, or rely on standalone FTP servers to store files or provision each phone at the customer site – all of which takes time and requires experienced technicians.
Now, Broadworks supports on-site provisioning of analog terminal adapters, IP phones, integrated access devices and IP PBX equipment – any access device that uses XML/HTTP for profile management. A login process is used to retrieve the appropriate user-specific files directly from BroadWorks, and providers manage and control all aspects of device configuration centrally in the network, eliminating the need for a technician visit.
“BroadSoft has eliminated the complex staging and configuration process for service providers,” said Scott Hoffpauir, co-founder and CTO of BroadSoft, in a statement. “‘Plug-and-play activation’ over a secure interface was important to our customers, so we took action.”
The company also has worked with Polycom to use BroadSoft’s Xtended Services platform for the development of a “Quick Setup” key on Polycom phones that’s activated when the phone is powered up. Users can press the key to directly retrieve their phone’s configuration files from the BroadWorks platform via a one-time secure phone login.
The upshot? It’s no longer necessary to individually match physical Polycom phones to users, saving time and expenses for service providers and providing flexibility to end users.
