edgeBOX enables Altitude Software to market  an all-in-one IP contact centre solution.

London, UK, May 15th, 2006 – Critical Links, an international networking technology company, today introduced the award-winning edgeBOX 4.0, at VON Europe, (16-18 May, Stockholm). edgeBOX is an innovative and cost-effective networking device providing complete converged voice and data network services for SMEs and Branch Offices.

At booth 442, Critical Links will be exhibiting an “all in one” intelligent networking device allowing SMEs and remote branch offices to benefit from the latest converged networking technologies without the need for specialist in-house IT knowledge. When deployed at the edge of a customer’s network, edgeBOX allows a Managed Service Provider to remotely provision, support and maintain voice and data services such as a fully featured IP-PBX and VoIP gateway, security, QoS, collaboration, WiFi, router and file storage.

edgeBOX addresses a growing market opportunity for Telco’s and ISPs to deliver value-added managed services to their business broadband customers, increasing per subscriber revenues and providing customer retention. A new report from consultancy BroadGroup forecasts that revenue from Managed Services in Europe will almost triple by 2011 to EUR 6.2 billion. In 2005, edgeBOX won the Infovision Best Broadband Appliance award presented by the IEC.

At Altitude Software, edgeBOX proved to be an ideal solution for a VOIP server based on standard hardware and software.

The flexible and open architecture of edgeBOX enabled Critical Links and Altitude Software to integrate the technologies of the two companies to provide a customer interaction mangement solution with the combined benefits of both. edgeBOX supplies a full range of voice and data services covering networking, security, internet access and VoIP, providing a suitable platform for Altitude’s uCI software suite which offers a complete multimedia contact centre solution including inbound and outbound dialling algorithms, call classification, unified supervision, universal queue and intelligent routing.

 “The Altitude vBox is a VOIP server that supports IP Contact Centers and takes advanteage of open standards to create an innovative, cost-effective solution . This joint development with Critical Software showed the versatility of edgeBOX as a powerful single box communications appliance, which criticaly reduced our time to market” stated Miguel Lopes; Vice President Product Marketing at Altitude Software

Altitude Software is a leading independent contact centre vendor, serving around 650 customers (with more than 150.000 licenses) of all sizes in 50 countries worldwide, both directly and through a wide network of partners. Altitude Software has 10 offices on four continents.

edgeBOX Version 4.0 available incorporating fully featured IP-PBX and VoIP gateway

edgeBOX provides an affordable, secure and QoS assured platform for VoIP deployment in small and medium sized businesses. It includes a feature rich IP-PBX based on Asterisk and a VoIP gateway using Digium's analogue and digital interface cards, also supporting Digium's latest echo cancellation cards (the TE411P).

Configuration of the IP-PBX, based on Asterisk, is performed through the same easy-to-use web based interface that is used to control all the services on edgeBOX. Features include IVR, ACD, Least cost routing, ENUM, call forwarding (optionally to email), call conferencing and queuing, DID, digital receptionist, incoming call routing and user management with call permissions. The PSTN gateway supports PRI and BRI for connecting digital lines and FXO/FXS for connecting analogue.

Other new features provide additional user management and security facilities such as the ability to use edgeBOX as a Primary Domain Controller or Workgroup server with the possibilities of local or remote authentication and authorisation; one-stop user setup with all login, email and VoIP details configured in one go; a DMZ incorporated in the firewall; support for new IPSec VPN encryption and authentication (AES/ SHA1 / SHA2) and new WPA and 802.1x authentication for wireless networking. The user interface has also been upgraded, online help has been added and overall performance has been improved.