International Health Organization has utilized IndustryDynamics VoiceGear gateways for Skype to help improve communication and aid Haiti relief efforts

About the Customer

International Health Organization is one of the largest public health organizations worldwide with presence in over 100 countries and a team of over 5,000 people. Throughout the decades, the organization has been on the forefront of helping its member countries improve quality of life. From dealing with diseases such as Malaria and H1N1 to helping coordinate relief efforts in countries around the world, the organization has been working towards the goal of enabling everyone around the world to have access to quality medical care.

The Challenge

International Health Organization needed to enable individuals in its member countries to reach their regional offices using a phone service that is openly accessible and completely free. After careful consideration of various technologies, International Health Organization decided to focus on Skype due to the fact that Skype is widely popular and Skype-to-Skype calls are absolutely free.

Consequently, International Health Organization needed to accept large volume of calls from Skype users in its member countries around the world in a centralized manner. A large number of concurrent Skype users would need to be able to access the organization’s vast internal communication infrastructure and get routed to a number of PBX systems from different vendors utilizing different communication interfaces. In addition, the solution needed to have a minimal impact on the existing communication infrastructure of the organization already in place around the world.

The Solution

International Health Organization deployed IndustryDynamics VoiceGear gateways to help enable their key locations around the world for Skype communication. The project came under tight deadlines in wake of the Haiti disaster as the organization rushed to assist with relief efforts. Ease of deployment and quick integration with various PBX systems, inherent to all VoiceGear gateways, has helped IndustryDynamics to accomplish the integration project ahead of schedule and enabled International Health Organization to accept free Skype calls from parties affected by the disaster. VoiceGear gateways helped thousands of people to connect with the organization’s key offices including the headquarters in Washington, DC for free using Skype. The key to success was ease of deployment and on-demand scalability for increased call volume as VoiceGear gateways were able to meet and exceed the capacity requirements for incoming calls especially in the wake of the Haiti disaster.

Considering the diversity of existing telephony infrastructure in different locations around the world, International Health Organization was deeply impressed with the ability of VoiceGear gateways to accommodate integration with various PBX systems using different industry standards. Specifically, various editions of VoiceGear Connect gateways with Analog, SIP, ISDN PRI, and mixed connectivity have been used to integrate with on-premise PBX equipment. By utilizing Sangoma telephony interface hardware, VoiceGear gateways were able to seamlessly integrate with various PBX systems, meet the capacity requirements, and deliver a superior voice quality.

In addition to accepting incoming Skype calls from external Skype users, International Health Organization also took advantage of free Skype-to-Skype calls between all VoiceGear enabled offices to slash their own telecom expenses.

“Due to their highest per-gateway concurrent call capacity in the industry, VoiceGear Connect gateways from IndustryDynamics were the clear choice for this project”, said Peter Litovsky, director of sales and marketing at IndustryDynamics. “With the support for up to 60 concurrent calls, VoiceGear gateways have allowed the organization to effectively handle the required call volume with enough reserve left to handle increased usage scenarios and future expansion”, added Litovsky.

About IndustryDynamics

IndustryDynamics is a leading North American Skype gateway manufacturer that offers a complete line of award winning Skype solutions for SMB and enterprise markets. IndustryDynamics’ enterprise line of Skype gateways, VoiceGear Connect, is targeted towards larger businesses and multi office global organizations such as International Health Organization, requiring high call volume Skype enabled telephony environments. VoiceGear Connect supports Analog FXS/ FXO (and mixed), ISDN PRI E1/T1 and SIP connectivity to the PBX. It can support up to 60 concurrent Skype conversations per gateway and the gateways are stackable to support unlimited call volumes if needed. VoiceGear Connect won "Best Large Enterprise Solution" award at ITExpo East 2009. VoiceGear Connect gateways utilize Sangoma A200, A400 and A10x telephony interface hardware to achieve integration with virtually all phone systems on the market today without sacrificing voice quality.