International Children's Charity Cuts Costs and Enhances Communications With VoSKY and Skype

SUNNYVALE, Calif., Nov. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Children International, a global charity helping children living in extreme poverty, has deployed VoSKY's PBX-to-Skype Gateway to enable free Skype calling for employees, cutting the cost of long distance and international calls and improving collaboration and communication.

Based in the US, Children International, which operates 17 sponsorship agencies in Central and South America, Asia, Africa and the United States, deployed a VoSKY Exchange VIS8 at its head office in Kansas City to enable the organisation's employees to make high-quality free Internet-based Skype calls to partners and agencies in different cities and different countries. The VoSKY Exchange replaced an older H.323 VoIP gateway which was no longer supported and provided limited functionality.

As well as allowing the charity's 200 in-office employees to call offices in other cities and countries for free, the gateways also enable the company's 200 remote and mobile workers to make free inbound office calls from any location via Skype to their Avaya PBX, delivering savings of around $2000 per month to the charity.

Brian Majors, network engineer for Children International, said: "With our previous VoIP product no longer being supported, we looked for an alternative solution which could be seamlessly integrated into our current infrastructure. The VoSKY Exchange has provided us with an easy and cost-effective way to integrate Skype into our communications network, and we were able to install and set it up very quickly.

"We have really noticed a significant cost saving on our long-distance calls as the majority of all calls made are to our remote international offices. As well as saving us thousands on our monthly phone bills the VoSKY Exchange gateway provides us with a simpler method of communication with other companies. The international direct dial function, which uses a simple access code plus extension, gives employees an easier way to communicate with partner agencies in other cities and countries."

"VoSKY is pleased to deliver a cost-effective solution to enable global charity organizations like Children International to leverage the ubiquitous Skype network to enhance their business communications with employees, partners and donors," said David Tang, Global VP of Marketing for VoSKY. "Our VoSKY Exchange gateways enabled the organization to benefit from significant cost savings of Skype, letting them redirect funds into other areas of the business, without the hassle of a complex or expensive infrastructure upgrade."

The VoSKY Exchange Pro VIS8 is a stand alone, rack-mountable FXS PBX gateway that does not require a PC. This plug&play appliance seamlessly integrates with any existing PBX through the analog trunk ports to add up to 8 lines to Skype. Multiple Exchange Pro gateways in different office locations can be interconnected together to enable free calls between colleagues. Calls to other Skype users are free, while calls to non-Skype users are charged at low-cost SkypeOut rates.

About VoSKY
Based in the heart of Silicon Valley, VoSKY is the global leader in empowering businesses to leverage Skype, the world's largest VoIP community. The company's proven, enterprise-grade solutions create new opportunities for small-to-medium size businesses (SMBs) and enterprises to reduce communications costs and improve productivity. VoSKY Exchange, the company's flagship product, is an award-winning PBX-to-Skype application gateway that seamlessly integrates a company's phone system with Skype. This plug-and-play platform is compatible with any existing TDM or IP PBX phone system.

VoSKY is a wholly owned subsidiary of Actiontec Electronics. In addition to its headquarters in Sunnyvale, CA, VoSKY maintains branch offices in Colorado Springs, CO; Basingstoke, United Kingdom; Beijing, China; Bogota, Colombia; Shanghai, China; and Taipei, Taiwan. For more information please visit the VoSKY website at www.vosky.com.

About Children International:
Established in 1936, Children International is a nonprofit organization with its headquarters in Kansas City, Missouri. Children International's programs benefit over 300,000 poor children and their families in 11 countries around the world, including Chile, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Mexico, the Philippines, Zambia and the United States. If you would like to help, Sponsor a Child today at www.children.org.