Sipuni: a development path from a virtual PBX to a SaaS service for receiving phone calls

    Hello, Habr! For eight years now I have been doing IP telephony. And over these eight years, it has not been sufficiently promoted, despite its limitless possibilities.

    Despite the widespread development of instant messengers, chats, emails, not a single business can do without the most humane, quick and understandable way of communicating with customers - voice communication. Prices, quality, equipment changed, but one thing has not changed since 2007: complex settings of the software part and even more complex settings of equipment. Well, as before, IP-telephony did not find its market, with the exception of niche solutions, except that recently more and more integrations with CRM-systems began to appear. The complexity of IP telephony for the end client literally deprived me of sleep, I decided to create my Sipuni service



    - Easy to configure, easily scalable and combines all the advantages of a cloud service and a virtual PBX.

    We move the chips: the logic of the call in 10 minutes


    So, I am developing the Sipuni service for Internet telephony. Using the service, you can rent a multi-channel telephone number and receive calls directly to your computer. Without buying equipment and without complicated settings - right in the browser. But the Sipuni service came to this later - it all started with the idea of ​​simplifying the configuration of the call logic. We came up with a graphical designer that helps to create an incoming or outgoing call diagram. The user thinks through the script and simply collects a visual algorithm, simultaneously registering the working hours, speech modules, messages for the client. For example, in just 10 minutes, simply dragging and dropping icons can configure several important things for office telephony.

    • Write an IVR to respond to the client after hours or to redirect to the necessary service

    • Ask the need to load information from the integrated with Sipuni CRM - the manager knows in advance what the name of the caller is and can contact him by name.

    • Prescribe speech modules for automatic responses to clients. You can download a pre-recorded audio file, or you can type text in a special window, select a voice and the Sipuni system will read the text in a few seconds.

    • Set the rules for processing an incoming call if the client called after hours and needs to be redirected to a round-the-clock service, fax or voice menu.



    I am sure it was a lot of work in order to provide companies, as it seemed to me then, with the main thing. By simplifying the configuration of the scenarios, we allowed customers to design interesting processing options, in every possible way to keep the client and transfer it inside the company.

    Difficulty setting


    However, at the start of using the program, I noticed a difficult thing - the employee must answer the call using some kind of virtual or real terminal (phone). It turned out that each installation had to be accompanied by a visit of our specialist to configure the equipment or by the presence of a technical specialist from the client. These guys had to configure the router, stretch all the necessary wires, configure the phones via the web interface (even if using Autoprovision). Of course, this is not difficult for a professional, but for a small business up to 10 people this is an additional cost for paying for the services of a specialist plus for each installed phone (and this is from 3000 rubles). Using softphones did not solve the problem - setting up even the simplest softphone is still a test for an inexperienced manager.


    Real Internet Telephony


    Both hardware and software devices for modern IP-telephony provide impressive functionality and allow you to solve problems with the organization of additional services and services, provide high quality voice transmission. Every year, new phones and softphones appear on the market, however, the principle of their operation remains unchanged: complicated setup, complicated maintenance, and expenses for specialists. Is it really impossible to get around at least part of these costs?

    The term "Internet telephony" continued to concern me. Yes, the connection is via the IP protocol, but nevertheless, the settings are made on the server, we call through the softphone, application, equipment. But what if you take and call directly from the browser? This is very convenient for the quick start of a small company for which business processes are closely related to telephony - cold calling, technical support, telemarketing and more. All logic and all our voice processing programs are located on servers that are connected to the Internet. If our servers are on the Internet, why not try to stay there? Let's take calls where end users use the Internet - in the browser. We will not install programs, configure them, update, etc., let’s cast a voice right into the browser! I took up a serious study of the problem and went to WebRTC - an open source project designed to organize the transfer of streaming data between browsers and other applications. Thanks to him, he managed to realize the idea of ​​real Internet telephony.

    The possibilities offered by the use of telephony in a browser give serious advantages from the point of view of the end user.

    • We were able to create an employee workplace that is accessible and works immediately after a simple registration. Now this workplace looks ascetic and performs the minimum necessary tasks. Ahead is the call history, listening, and other necessary functions, which are often lacking on an IP phone, softphone, or mobile phone.

    • All settings are logical and simple - each manager can configure the logic of his call in a familiar browser window.

    • In the browser, on a separate tab of the application, reports on calls that occurred during the period are available. The manager can make any selection using filters.



    • By using the browser, we remove the need for training a virtual PBX user: how to transfer a call, how to make a conference, how to make a call to a city. I am sure some of the readers remember the rules: “dial * 202 # to transfer the call” or “# * Caller ID # to add to the conference”. The employee working with the phone has to memorize and record many codes and combinations of characters. In our case, everything is clear on the web page, each virtual button is called as it should be called and offers to enter only what you need to enter! You can hire a specialist and spend time only on specialized training, and not on the development of telephony.

    • From a technical point of view, working in the browser allows you to quickly respond to poor call quality or call failures in the selected direction.

    The combination of these features provides the company with a reliable and convenient IP-telephony system, which is easy to implement, quickly starts, flexibly changes and at the same time does not require a highly paid specialist to service.

    From our business to yours


    We launched sales of the Sipuni service in 2013 and during this time about 800 customers have joined us. Every month we miss 1.5 million minutes of traffic and we have 2500 active users. Of course, this allows us to earn income, which gives us the opportunity to continue development and conduct experiments. But, in addition, it is the experience of communicating with customers and attracting them, numerous cases that help to understand what customers need and in what they see the advantage of our service over other popular competitors. I will tell you about some of my conclusions.

    • Typically, the implementation of CRM, ERP, the corporate system of IP-telephony requires training - and there is an inevitable technological gap that affects the productivity of the company. So, most often the decisive factor in choosing Sipuni is the guarantee of a quick start.

    • The second advantage is the simplicity of working with the system: after connecting, it is enough to send out links to employees sitting on calls. The remaining entities in a game form are created during work with the system.

    • Sipuni is a great tool if the company has branches or geographically remote offices. If necessary, offices can copy the entire call scenario or individual blocks of the scheme.

    • All scripts are customizable in minutes. The entire interface is aimed at assisting the client in adapting Internet telephony to the company's business processes.

    • Finally, Sipuni is a huge savings. The purchase of expensive telecommunications equipment is at a cost of capital, which is especially undesirable for companies during economic stagnation, and IP-telephony alone can save. In turn, Sipuni service in small companies does not need special equipment at all - customers pay only for communication.

    We know how important IP-telephony is in business and we are addressing our service to those who are at the start or are ready to expand, who need to be in touch with the client, and the mobile and landline phones are few. We are at the beginning of the journey from a virtual telephone exchange to a SaaS-service for receiving phone calls. In the future, the service will develop, and we will be able to offer our customers the full range of services related to Internet telephony - simply, quickly and in the cloud.

    I will not dissemble - Sipuni will not serve as the root cause of additional sales, but you will get many advantages and comfortable working conditions. This ensures that managers can effectively work with customers without losing any of them.

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