Intelligent CIO Africa Issue 31 | Page 9

NEWS LanDynamix helps Bigen leverage the power of VoI “For us, a high-quality voice communication platform is part of the overall customer experience and a key success factor.” Oakes says that advances in VoIP technology convinced Bigen that the time was now right to make the switch. When its current PBX supplier was unable to offer a competitive bid, Bigen turned to LanDynamix, which had been supplying security services to the company for six years. “Bigen’s brief was simple but non-negotiable – transfer the current system to a virtual PBX with all features currently used with no interruption either to users or callers,” said Ethan Searle, Technology Advisor at LanDynamix. L anDynamix has implemented a voice-over-Internet-protocol (VoIP) solution for Bigen Group’s Bloemfontein office, which is expected to reduce telephone costs by up to 50%. However, according to Mark Oakes, IT Manager at Bigen, cost savings cannot come at the expense of quality. “They also wanted to see a 50% cost reduction within the first month. Based on our skill set and our good working relationship with the Bigen team, we were confident that we could implement a solution that leveraged VoIP technology to deliver the desired cost savings but without compromising the quality of this important communications channel.” “Bigen believes strongly in the continuing power of personal communication when dealing with clients and suppliers,” he said. Once the concept is proved, the managed VoIP PBX solution will be rolled out to Bigen’s other offices. ///////////////// NEC XON provides Africa’s first AI-driven wireless LAN N EC XON is providing the first AI-powered wireless LAN (WLAN) solution in Africa. The solution is based on technology from Mist Systems, a Juniper Networks company, which has been an NEC XON partner for 15 years. “MIST’s intelligent, cloud-based architecture provides phenomenal opportunities across verticals such as healthcare, enterprise, commercial, and safety and security management,” said Ross Templeton, GM of Networking at NEC XON. Mist also has the networking industry’s only AI-driven virtual assistant, Marvis, which simplifies wireless troubleshooting and gives peerless visibility and insights into client and network behaviour. It employs patented BLE alongside Wi-Fi and IoT for services, such as indoor wayfinding, proximity notifications, traffic analytics and tracking assets. “The cloud delivery model enables rapid scaling, agility, flexibility, performance, and solid ROI. The solution makes Wi-Fi more predictable, reliable and measurable because it is automated and enables location services using Bluetooth LE.” The solution also enables NEC XON to provide automated insights across the network stack, which saves time and costs while simultaneously improving network performance. Mist provides enterprise-grade Wi-Fi, BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy or mesh networking) and IoT for personalised, location-based wireless services that do not need battery-powered beacons. It is a pioneering technology in the field of cloud-managed wireless networks powered by AI. www.intelligentcio.com INTELLIGENTCIO 9