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VoIP: What About Apple?

Apple users may be wondering about how to integrate or include their Apple wares with business communications applications and services. The folks at Apple seemingly ignore the VoIP/SIP business world, and they have certainly ignored my repeated requests to discuss this topic. Recently I started seeing the Apple icon show up unexpectedly on websites.

My shop is all Apple except for the laptops for field use and the CFO's PC. There’s no way I'm placing prized Macbooks in the field and that lone PC won’t last too much longer. We use Toughbooks for reasons of durability so whenever we roll the truck our laptops keep working in tough environments. Had Apple made Tough-Macs, we'd buy them instead.

Our dealer software doesn’t run natively on Macs so the Macs are virtualized. Apple users with Parallels can use virtualized PCs. We run numerous dealer tools and programming interfaces to packet sniffers. All of our client side software for the ACD, VPNs, UC and telephony apps also work smoothly on the virtualized PCs. I also discovered that VMWare Fusion also creates virtualized PCs on Macs and new users seem to stick with BootCamp. We did upgrade to Snow Leopard and had to re-install a new driver for a newer printer and upgrade Parallels to release 4. Nothing was lost and the upgrade process took a few hours overall and was worth the time.

Now it's pretty cool to be able to run Windows applications on virtual machines, which we do out of necessity to take care of customers. After reading about 4SNewcom a couple of years ago and then seeing the Apple OS icon show up on websites, I’ve been pondering, "What about running IP-PBXs on native Apple OS?"

Here’s a sampling of what I’ve found:

4SNewcom--Blue4S: advertises: “turns the Mac mini into the world’s slickest IP-PBX”

Asterisk Click2Dial--an Asterisk softphone for the iPhone

Communigate Systems--Unified Communications suite for Windows and Mac

Equinux VPN Tracker--a VPN client for Mac

Fonality PBXtra--IP-PBX with HUD a Unified Communications platform for Mac

hoiio Mobility--an iPhone softphone application

iSoftphone--a SIP softphone for Mac

Media5 Corporation--SIP softphone application for the iPhone

MobileMax--a middle ware application for softphone on the iPhone

pbxnsip--IP-PBX for Windows, Linux and Mac

Zoiper--SIP softphone application for Macs

Zultys--Unified Communications suite runs natively for Windows, Mac & Linux

Now 4SNewcom, I've known about and watching for almost two years--I've repeatedly hit them with email requests to test drive their IP-PBX since I could try and confiscate my daughter's Mac-mini. I received a reply and here’s the status:

The product is currently undergoing a complete rewrite, at the end of which it will be delivered on a live image (HDD, USB or .iso) and administered and controlled by a central (and external to the PBX itself) database.

Our product re-launch is scheduled for December 1st and the main front end will also change heavily as we have added quite a number of features:

* Magic numbers (local numbers linking your CLI to a given remote destination; address-book compatible)
* API
* Voice menus written in that API
* Call-through
* Call-back
* Magic callback (you call your "magic number" address book entry, our system calls you back and then calls the remote party.

Our product re-launch is scheduled for December 1st and the main front end will also change heavily as we have added quite a number of features:

* Magic numbers (local numbers linking your CLI to a given remote destination; address-book compatible)
* API
* Voice menus written in that API
* Call-through
* Call-back
* Magic callback (you call your "magic number" address book entry, our system calls you back and then calls the remote party.

I also found The Roasting Plant Coffee Company that is shown on Apple’s website as a business case study to use Apple technology to automate processes. They briefly discuss their telephony solution using Zoiper.

In the Mac world, if it can be done, someone will find a way. I leaned on pbxnsip and bombarded them with emails like I did to 4SNewcom. Paul Jamieson is Director of Sales and Marketing over at pbxnsip and he did several follow up calls with me. Paul discussed what they are doing for Linux, Windows and Apple OS and agreed to provide me with a couple of real world Apple OS IP-PBXs.

I called on Road Kill Creative, and their company provides really cool customized audio imaging for News/Talk and Sports radio programming. I spoke at length with co-founder Chris Pendl, who told me, "I knew nothing about PBXs." Chris went on to tell me that his previous hosted solution, "just couldn't do what I wanted it to do." Chris first ran the pbxnsip solution on a Mac-mini and later moved the "PBX" over to their new Apple Xserve. They are using SNOM 820 and M3 telephones. Initially when I called Chris, I noted the cool sounding Auto Attendant greeting and music-on-hold. Being in the voice talent business, Chris and company made their custom recordings easily for the pbxnsip solution. He went on to add that they are also using eyeBeam for their softphones on their Macbook Pros. I asked Chris what he could tell other users about his experience: "Versatility at the end of the day is what sold me on the pbxnsip solution," he replied. Before ending our I call, I asked Chris, "do you think that Apple should make this an offering?" Definitely, especially by adding the usual Apple user friendliness to the GUI, Chris replied.

Next I called on Christof Haemmerle of Nex9, LLC. Nex9 provides IT services to high-end creative companies involved in photography, fashion and advertising agencies that seek experienced information architects to communicate a strong brand presence. Christof explained to me what they really needed was a single number for business that follows the employees wherever they are--France, Italy, Germany or back in the U.S. offices.

Next9 employees use iSoftphone on their Macbooks and SNOM 320, 360 and 370 desk phones on three systems deployed on Mac-minis. For their SIP trunks, they are using CallCentric and according to Christof, these folks provide excellent tech support.

Nex9 had other reasons to deploy their own IP-PBX too. The features they wanted were conference calling, call recording and voice mail integrated with email. Christof also said that, "pbxnsip is very well developed as a PBX solution." I asked Christof how he would feel were Apple to offer pbxnsip as an application. He said, "Getting that Apple experience would be very cool."

Apple, it seems, is letting the developer community do what it does best, and that is to create solutions that follow the old business adage of "find a need and fill it." For Apple, which does offer robust server (Xserve) solutions and Macs that deliver on exceptional user experience, I can’t help but wonder why they don't offer Asterisk, pbxnxip or other IP-PBX software with professional services--Pbxnsip does offer professional services and with Apple taking an active part in business communications.

I think more Apple customers would do exactly what Chris and Christof discovered on their own. Why doesn't Apple just stuff pbxnsip or other IP-PBX software in the application folder like Christof suggested? It’s likely a numbers game but I still think there's that old issue of Apple control.

While the Apple logos maybe showing up on vendors' websites, I think "use" of VoIP hinges on including Apple OS in Unified Communications. The other gem I discovered is what Zultys is doing and why, and I’ll address this in a future No Jitter item. My final thought is that as a MAC user, I’m already using resources in the "cloud" that Apple provides. Will an Apple IP-PBX CPE or hosted, connect to the Apple cloud and then interact with what we need to unify our communications? Maybe Apple is further ahead than what folks think and their focus hasn’t been misdirected. Their use of "the cloud" has been exemplary, profitable and disruptive--notably for iTunes. I think it's also fair to also say that Apple put the cloud ahead of the Apple cart but are they leaving business voice communications behind?

So in closing, I'm learning another lesson about telephones. Previously it was a lesson from Apple when they introduced the iPhone, which doesn't look like a phone at all. They helped redefine phones. Now, more than ever, PBXs aren't looking like PBXs anymore. It certainly gives credit to that IT aphorism that "voice is just another application," but whether or not we migrate to servers or hosted models, will voice be "the application" that commands attention and delivers on better, faster, cheaper and easier to use than TDM? This question remains the benchmark that everyone needs to target, and you still can't forget service.