Integrate Skype with IP PBX

              Skype’s VoIP service its best chance ever of getting a strong foothold in the business environment. As a popular no-cost or low-cost way to make IP-based phone calls, Skype has appealed to consumers for a long time.

The company recently reached out to businesses with new business-oriented features in its latest client software. However, organizations remained wary of allowing employees to use the service on their company networks for a number of reasons.

SkyStone just may change all that. It integrates Skype calls with a company’s IP PBX system — as long as you use Cisco CallManager. (The company plans to release other versions that will support other PBX systems.)

From the user end, this means employees can use the same desk phones for Skype calls that they use to place other phone calls. From the administrator’s point of view, it’s easy to download and install on a server, and you can evaluate the trial version to decide whether it’s right for your company.

Poe’s article whetted my curiosity, so I decided to look a little deeper. Here’s what I found out.

Where SkyStone comes from

SkyStone is a product of Stonevoice, an Italian software company that develops applications for Cisco VoIP and unified messaging systems. Established in 2001, Stonevoice applications include IVR management, fax server, voice mail, call distribution, and call billing solutions. It also offers some free open source tools such as Stonevoice Translator, which you can use to translate its application suite to other languages.

How SkyStone works

SkyStone is a gateway product that can connect IP and traditional PBX systems to the Skype network so users can take advantage of Skype’s cost and features through the same physical interface they use for other calls. That means they can use their desk phones to call outside the office to people’s Skype accounts. Customers using Skype can call into the company via the Click2Call Web interface; and they can use the IVR, queuing, and other services used by regular PSTN callers.

Using Skype with a PBX system has been problematic in the past — Skype uses a proprietary protocol. But SkyStone supports standard VoIP protocols — SIP and H.323 — thus overcoming this obstacle.

While there are other Skype gateway solutions, many of them involve hardware-based solutions. SkyStone is a software module installed on a Windows computer. All that’s required is a network adapter and an Internet connection (unless you’re connecting to a traditional non-IP PBX, in which case you may also need a voice board).

Another cost-saving feature is the ability to configure an IP PBX to route international calls to SkypeOut in order to take advantage of its low calling rates. Skype becomes a “virtual carrier” for outgoing calls and saves the company money. Likewise, the SkypeIn service allows you to have a phone number for your Skype account that PSTN users can dial into, and SkyStone integrates both services into your PBX system.

SkyStone is appropriate for both the small and midsize business (SMB) market and the enterprise market.