Softvision Explorer can be used to completely manage a Call Shop using VoIP technology.

Using Voice Over IP instead of normal telephone lines offers considerable advantages :

• Saving on the cost of telephone lines : there's no need to install particular telephone lines to open a VoIP Call Shop. All the calls are routed via internet, therefore you only need a good quality ADSL line.

• Saving on the cost of calls : the cost of a VoIP call is generally much lower than those made using a traditional telephone line. Furthermore, there is an additional saving as the program can route the calls using carriers with the lowest rate for the particular prefix called by the user (least cost routing).

• System expansion: to add new telephone settings you only have to connect other telephones to your network.

Now we will look at the necessary steps to create a Call Shop using Softvision Explorer :

• Hardware Configuration : the first step is to configure the devices that compose the system, or rather, the server that executes the Explorer Manager module and SIP telephones. For further information, refer to the Call Shop Configuration page.

• Adding a VoIP carrier : having opened an account with one or more VoIP carriers, you need to enter the account data (username, password, server proxy etc.) in the VoIP section of the Preferences function. If you want to use least cost routing functionalities you have to also enter the telephone rates applied by the carrier for the various prefixes.

• Definition of telephone rate plans : the last configuration step is to specify the call costs, based on the telephone number prefix, which your customers must pay to make their calls. For further information, refer to the Telephone Rate Plans page.

The system is ready to manage the calls made using SIP telephones.

To allow your customers to make calls in your Call Shop, they must be registered in advance and the telephone workstation the user wants to use must be started-up. To make this operation, simply use the Start a New Session function, which is accessible from the Workstations menu or using the convenient button in Workstation Monitor and select the user to associate to the workstation.

From then on the customer can make as many calls as he/she likes until the session ends or, as is the case for pre-paid sessions, until the customer's credit expires.

For post-paid sessions, when the session ends the customer's balance will be negative and appear in red. This balance can be put to zero, using the specific button, when the customer pays the cost of the calls made.

Lastly, in the "Calls" section of the main window, you can view the important data relating to the last calls made by the customer. For a detailed analysis of the calls and for statistical information on telephone traffic, use the Archive Analysis and Statistics function.