Engin on trial as accountancy minnow goes VoIP

The move follows Champion's successful rollout of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) hardware mid-last year.

Engin's network allows customers to place calls over the Internet that only run across the public switched telephony network (PSTN) towards the end of their journey, generating potentially significant savings.

Champion's test of the network started in December and follows the firm's move to dump its old NEC phone system and install new VoIP hardware from vendor Zultys to deliver functionality such as call logging and PC integration.

That rollout -- covering around 20 seats -- was implemented by Zultys partner Fast Track Communications. Hardware from NEC and Avaya was also in contention for the deal.

The firm's managing director Stephen Champion said a dedicated ADSL broadband link had been installed to handle outgoing voice traffic, in the process clearing up some quality issues.

"The first few times we had quite a few calls that were perfect and then they would drop out -- they were a bit wonky," he told ZDNet Australia.

"But it doesn't seem to be anywhere near as much like that any more. We've got a dedicated ADSL link, so we're not sharing it with our Internet traffic -- that seems to make a big difference."

"I think we didn't have a big enough pipe," he added.

"At the moment most calls are 98 percent OK, but we're only trialling them, we're not using it for our main stream."

Champion said he wasn't sure "if it would be Engin or if it would be someone else" that his firm would eventually end up using for all its telephony, but he was broadly confident about the technology's reliability. "I haven't got any problems with it so far," he said.

Regarding the Zultys hardware, Champion admitted his firm had been "a bit daunted" when they first started looking at a VoIP solution, but the system has since proved its worth.

"We haven't had any problems with the hardware itself," he said. "It takes a little bit more getting used to than a standard phone. I think it did take everyone a couple of weeks to get used to it because it's just different."

"For us the good part's having it linked into the computer, and being able to log calls. Being time-based and trying to remember what I did at the end of the day, being able to look at all my calls that I've logged is handy, and it's also handy for when I've called someone and they say: 'Oh no you never did.'"

The managing director also enthused about the headset capability that came with the phones, as well as Zultys' instant messaging features. Champion's has several Bluetooth headsets in addition to normal wired sets.

"With the Bluetooth headset, I can walk anywhere around the office," he said. "For us to get headsets on our NEC phones would have cost AU$300-AU$400 a phone -- because you have to get this little box to connect them to it."

Avaya and NEC were also in contention for the hardware rollout. Although Champion admitted his IT staff had mainly been in charge of evaluating the different vendors, he noted Zultys had a slight price advantage, although he stressed that wasn't the main reason the vendor was chosen.

Champion's was established in 1987 and focuses on accountancy and management advisory services to small to medium enterprises.