Elastix as a Communication Platform for people with disabilities

in emerging countries

Achieving functionality, quality and reliability whilst maintaining low costs is challenging aspect of any small to medium business (SMB). Many companies throughout the world face the same dilemma in implement ingleading technological solutions to enhance & grow their businesses, but within tight budget constraints. The following Case Studies demonstrate how Elastix can provide a leading edge solution to scenarios where functionality and quality are very important but keeping in mind that the project budget is restricted. We searched for several case studies with these characteristics to show how to solve this equation. After examining many interesting cases, we chose a group that caught our attention; predominately

because they show how Elastix is being used as a solution in social projects, whether theyre private or governmental. It is rewarding and interesting to develop these solutions that can be used to implement communication projects that integrate people with disabilities into society. It is interesting not only from a technological point of view but also on the budgetary side as well. In this document we will present three projects implemented in three different Latin American cities. In one projectwe will see the use of Elastix as an entertainment solution for blind people, whilst in the other two we will see how Elastix helped create effective platforms that made it possible to reintegrate people with disabilities into working environments.

Elastix

Elastix is an Open Source Unified Communications solution. The licensing model, which promotes the free use and distribution of software, allows lower costs and focus on the budget, which can make the difference between success or failure of a technology platform, such as services . One of the reasons why Elastix has become very popular in many countries is the ease in implementing telephony configurations that can extend to advanced configurations and the integration of advanced customized tools. The reason for this ease of integration is the free access to the software code. In this document it will look at how Elastix integrates with other software tools such as JAWS (for voice synthesis), Asternic Call Center Stats or even custom development.to the software code. In this document will look how Elastix integrates with other software tools such as JAWS (for voice synthesis), Asternic Call Center Stats or even custom development..

Cases description

The selected deployments for this case study have been made by leading companies in the telecommunications field. These companies made a considered decision to utilize Elastix to implement their respective projects. Companies such as Atech Comunicaciones and IPtegra, from Colombia, developed their solutions with the goal of integrating handicapped people into a working environment, whilst Proximus from Chile offers an entertainment service based on social networks with the purpose of integrating blind people.

Atech Comunicaciones Medellin on roads

The subject of this case was the ADA Foundation in Medellin - Colombia. The main objective of the case was to establish a call center platform in which agents were people with some type of mobility difficulties. An essential requirement was the inclusion of a remote working solution, as people with movement limitations often have difficulty travelling to the office. For this reason the whole implementation of this project was made so the agents could operate from home. The main components in this solution was the utilization of Elastix 2.0 and its Call Center add-on, both components being of free distribution. At the commencement of the project, 30 agents were included, all working remotely on regular computers. Previous existing equipment and infrastructure was used. To facilitate and simplify the access of remote agents to the main server, IAX2 extensions were utilized. The

implementation of these extensions included the use of the ZoIPer softphone which supports IAX extensions. An advantage of this choice was the low investment in telephones (the chosen softphone is also freeware), while another advantage was the possibility to maximize the uptime of each agent due to the stability of Elastix. For reporting, a custom development was performed according to the customers requirements. This development was done using Java Standard Edition using the iReport-Designer plug-in. After configuring the system, the agents were trained in the use of the console and test campaigns were implemented. From the moment the Elastix solution became operational, the tests demonstrated an increase in the number of received calls. It should be noted that the remote monitoring provided a steep learning curve, but nevertheless all agents were in constant operation.

IPTegra Call Center with blind agents

The subject of this case study was Sistem Contact Center - SCC, which specializes in the collections area performing an outbound call center operation. As part of their upgrade project, a social component was included; the integration of multiple agents with disabilities. Blind or partially sighted people, along with non-handicapped people, operated as agents . SCC was already utilizing an existing communications platform before deciding to migrate to Elastix to meet two key objectives: facilitate administration and support tasks, and the ability to use the Elastixs Call Center add-on, which offers predictive dialing. In the management and support area, Elastix streamlines the administrators daily tasks. Thus, they could use the time not spent on unnecessarily difficult administration tasks on other important core business activities. The installation and set up was the only meticulous and detailed task throughout the implementation process making the resource monitoring and daily management of the communications much more efficient. Elastixs Call Center add-on, provided predictive dialing facilities and further facilitates the integration of other tools such as advanced reporting and external

consoles. Asternic Call Center Stats was integrated to provide call metrics. The project included the use of JAWS software to convert the form text displayed on the screen to audio. For this specific case, the information from the campaigns forms is displayed on the screen and JAWS translates it to voice, making listenable by the blind agent. The improvement of the infrastructure and the application of new tools allowed for a base of 80 agents with the possibility of raising the number to 130 when the call centers activity demands. The customer service rate increased by 300%, determined with real metrics. This vast improvement was due to the original infrastructure not having a solution capable of organizing campaigns efficiently. Out of the base set of agents, 16 blind people were included with a permanent base of 4 supervisors for the area. For agents without disability, the use and management of the forms in Elastixs Call Center was straightforward and for blind agents the adaptation of these forms allowed them to operate the system effortlessly. These two points were important in the growth performance. The number of concurrent calls is now about 80 and is expected to continue growing.

Proximus Social networks for blind people

In 2007 Proximus started a project to establish a social network for blind people oriented around a digital voice platform with a capacity of 4 E1 interfaces. In 2009 they decided to internationalize that social network through a solution capable of developing the application into a platform that is economic, robust and 100% compatible with VoIP. Elastixs functionality and flexibility was the main reason for their choice. Among the requirements, it was established that the implementation should use Open Source software and would be able to handle a total of 2 million of minutes per month across the 120 IVR channels. Another major requirement was to support both the digital (PSTN) and IP traffic simultaneously. Due to the capabilities of users, the audio must maintain a high level of quality.

The implemented platform allows blind people to have conferences, which also includes a personal voicemail, which empowers the user experience. The administrators of the platform are blind people too, so there was some customized development work made to allow the management of the voice communications network based on caller IDs. This provided the ability to identify, add, block or remove users. The current number of concurrent calls is about 100, but it is projected to reach 200 by the end of this year, with approximately 4500 registered users! As a result from the implementation, the satisfaction level achieved was very high, allowing a significant growth of this social network. Technically the solution maintains an impressive stability with nearly 100% uptime, processing 2 million minutes of calls per month.

Conclusions

The common factor in all of these cases was the difficulty in obtaining funding of social projects. Establishing an investor or customers base based on work done by people with special needs is complicated because of the lack of real statistics. Another common factor is the adaptation of any platform to the requirements of people with special needs to be integrated to a stable working environment, or to maximize the confidence (such as in the Proximus case).

In all these cases, Elastix was able to provide a solution to these challenges for several reasons:

Able to achieve a low-cost implementation

Flexibility to adapt to the requirements of end users

Access to the source code to allow changes and custom development

Reliability of the Elastix Platform

Access to Third-Party applications developed for use with Elastix Among the main achievements that were obtained are the following:

Suitable Budget

The selection of Elastix met the initial goal of the three cases, which was the development of a pilot project that ended in a real solution that could be implemented according to the cost and technical feasibility. Implementing a proprietary solution instead of Elastix, it is estimated the costs related to communications, would have been much larger, at least twice if not more.

Easily integrated Elastix was established as an ideal platform for the design & implementation of these functionalities, including specific development and integration of new tools, all aimed to make the technological solutions adapt to the end user and not vice versa. The following table shows some details of the integration that was performed on the projects described above with other tools or with custom programs developed.

Atech IPTegra Proximus

Custom development Yes No Yes

Programming language used for custom

development

Java + Ireport-Designer

N.A. PHP

External tools integration 1 No Yes No

Integrated external tools N.A. Asternic Call Center Stats,

JAWS N.A.

For Proximus, the project involved new features, many of them adapted to the recurrent needs of users.

1 Excluding softphones, Elastix Call Center add-on or small tools which do not represent a large technological challenge

Growth capacity For IPTegra, it reported a 300% growth from its initial implementation. The growth was dealt with simply by increasing the hardware capacity of the server. This is an important consideration, as many projects fail to consider future growth, which oddly enough is one of the prime reasons for considering such a project. Elastixs licensing removes obstacles to growth, leaving you with the simple equation of hardware improvements.

Atech IPTegra Proximus

Growth Rate N.A. 300% growth 200% growth till

the end of the year

Social objectives obtained through the projects studied

Beyond the intrinsic advantages of the product, Elastix was the primary tool that allowed the projects examined here to reach their social goals, which were specifically: Improvement in the quality of life.- In both Call Center projects and in the Social Network project, the quality of life for users and agents really improved. Especially in the case for the integration into the working environment of people with difficult access to employment and the integration of people who have been previously segregated from society. Inclusion of persons with disabilities in the work environment.- The Medellin on Roads and SCC projects created the establishment of a team environment with motivated and qualified people. High performance at work.- The inclusion of Elastix and its tools into the working environment was a motivating factor to establish or increase performance in the Call Center, where the end customer perception depends on high standards of service. In both cases the ease of use of the call center application has been crucial for quick learning and correct use. Portfolio Growth.- In the Medellin on Roads case, the high efficiency level allowed the establishment of new portfolios and new clients for the Call Center.

Comments from the companies studied

Our social network is having the desired effect, with a sustained growth in both the user database and the monthly minutes processed. Technically, the solution demonstrated a dramatic stability at almost 100% of activity time and 2 million minutes processed per month without any problems. The solution provided by PaloSanto Solutions is constantly adapting to newer and more difficult user requirements, such as blind people who are guided only by sounds.

Leopold de Bonhome, Proximus S.A. Manager

The most beautiful aspect of this project is the satisfaction of using technology to help a group neglected by our society. To see a person who is happy because he feels useful, and he can be part of a working environment, that is priceless. This project gives hope to those who have never had an opportunity.

Ludwig Ramirez, systems and network consultant, who was in charge of the technical implementation of this project through the company IPTegra

We have found a qualified workforce, professionalism, commitment and enthusiasm to deliver a good job, through technology that gives us a distribution like Elastix, which allowed us to complete this project with full satisfaction

Atech Comunicaciones, integrator

Reference Information

Video showing the Elastix and JAWS integration: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4eX94NoXoM

Medellin on roads project website: http://www.medellinsobreruedas.co