Today's event is led by Georgy Sanadze, Technical Director, Ruvaya. He began his speech with a story about the history of RuVaya.
At that time, I was part of a group of people setting tasks for Avaya developers, and our sales department employees constantly set us the task that Avaya needed a console. We had good sales in the energy sector, in the oil industry, but there was always a dispatcher present, and Avaya didn't have its own console. We repeatedly set this task for the developers, but it always came down to a lack of funding, organizational complexity, and the vendor turned out to be not very agile. In general, we had to go to other suppliers with this solution. It worked out well, but something was always missing. We were looking for an opportunity to do something ourselves. In 2018, a partnership began between Avaya and NPF "Multiprocessing." Moreover, it is important to note that because the project was very significant for Avaya, Avaya engineers took direct part in the development of the product for dispatchers. A team was given, resources were allocated, and the development was carried out by engineers from two teams. Specialists from "Multiprocessing" knew the dispatching world perfectly, understood well what was needed there, it was their native environment. And Avaya engineers, who, for their part, knew what and how could be done.
As a result, in 2019, a joint dispatching telephony solution – "Dispatching Switch" – was successfully launched on the market. The name Ruvaya was not yet heard then. And this was a serious solution, and we realized that we had an alternative solution for those projects where it was necessary to implement dispatching communication. The first implementations followed. In 2020, real returns appeared, sales, and successful installation of systems at energy facilities of "Rosseti," TGC-2, and "Siberian Generating Company." In 2021, a universal solution for dispatching telephony was launched on the market. It became clear that we have a very nice solution, universal, where there is actually both unified communications and mobile client functionality, and a mini-PBX, and even with dispatching functionality.
In 2022, the efforts of specialists from two companies were combined, and a unified communications solution compatible with Avaya installations was launched on the market.
In 2022, when Avaya left the Russian market, the team was formed, and its name Ruvaya appeared, and the name Ruvaya Communicator.
Ruvaya Communicator communicator, what is it? There are two entities. There is a software client and there is a communication core. In essence, it is a mini-PBX. We will not go into technical details. But I will say that the product is powerful and quite complex.
Ruvaya Communicator is included in the Register of Domestic Software. There is a declaration from the Ministry of Digital Development on compliance with a small PBX. In essence, there is a communication core, there is a software client that registers in this core. But the system is designed to implement mainly dispatching operational voice communication tasks. That is, it is not a general-purpose mini-PBX. It will be difficult to compete with large, well- known operators. This is a specialized mini-PBX for dispatching communication. The solution based on Ruvaya Communicator is designed for building operational and corporate communication systems in the fields of electric power, finance, industrial enterprises. In conjunction with an open VOIP platform for switching, this software package serves to provide operational voice communication for dispatching service personnel. This solution is compatible with various PBXs, including extended compatibility with solutions based on Avaya Aura.
Here is the software client itself. Everything is done smartly here. The task was to reflect the needs of the dispatcher. These are very difficult people. They, as a rule, do not like novelty, they are used to certain work schemes. They set complex tasks for the console. And so, we managed to largely realize their needs at the software level. From technological features: there are practically no simple calls here. Any connection is immediately the start of a conference. Thus, the need to switch from a regular two-way conversation to a multi-point one disappears. Time is not lost, resources are not re-reserved. In general, everything is done competently. Any action of the dispatcher immediately starts a conference, even if there are only two participants.
Very nice interface, different colorful groups, different users, different conferences, personal lists, general list. A solution that is well understood and accepted by this difficult world of dispatchers.
Next is a slide on the functional capabilities of Ruvaya Communicator.
All VOIP telephony is implemented. Both codes and standards. All the things that are necessary for such a complex subscriber have been done. Programmed and dynamic conference groups. Any indications on incoming calls, different ring tones. There is a short and full call history, filtering. Sometimes the dispatcher can determine by the sound which call is coming from which group. There is a central and own directory. Sometimes an operator uses up to 5000 speed dial buttons. This is like a console. I wondered how one person can spread across 2000 subscribers, but here - 5000! But there was such a requirement, and we implemented it. Incomprehensible overseas names. All this is done very competently, as required. All the things necessary for a modern communication solution are there. There is remote access via SSH protocol for administration, web interfaces etc. In general, a powerful solution.
The next slide shows the architecture of Ruvaya Communicator.
Specific implementation of dispatching. There are two options, actually two solutions: central and small dispatching. They do not intersect, they are independent, but on the market they are positioned for different types of dispatching. In central dispatching a large screen or touch screen is installed, Ruvaya Communicator is installed, and a special telephone, it can be with a handset, or it can be without it. It can be seen in the picture. And there is a mini-dispatching console, it is much simpler. Naturally, the price range here is completely different. And it is well suited for small dispatching, where the tasks are very similar, also complex call processing, but it is necessary that everything is beautiful, while there is no need to install a large console.
This slide explains the extended compatibility with Avaya. The Ruvaya Communicator solution is excellent for systems where extended, complex dispatching communication is required, it provides the ability to protect investments previously made by customers. This means that by purchasing a Ruvaya license, you can expand the capacity of Avaya. That is, the Ruvaya Communicator license allows you to connect both the Ruvaya Communicator itself and a terminal from almost any other vendor, as well as an Avaya terminal. The Ruvaya group, formed partly from Avaya employees, "Multiprocessing" employees, is ready to provide technical support. This equipment can be put into service. We can also offer an upgrade. We come with this message to those who have Avaya today, and customers who have Avaya are faced with the choice of which way to go. Whether to completely abandon this equipment, or to keep it and continue to develop it.
Subscriber terminals. It is clear that Ruvaya Communicator is a software solution. We do not have our own telephone production. This is pure soft, software. So software and services. As for subscriber terminals. Here is the approach. We are talking about the fact that we are as omnivorous as possible, we want everyone to connect to us: Avaya, Ruvaya, other players. We have two laboratories, in which from time to time certain terminals appear, with which we conduct compatibility testing. As a result, we get a small internal list that we have checked, and we tell the customer that, please, we have already checked these and these models, they work, and if you like these, we will take them for testing. We test not only IP phones, but also DECT bases. Such solutions are in good shape and continue to be in demand. We have an understanding that DECT has not gone anywhere and is not going to. And to say that this technology is outdated is wrong. It is in great demand.
If there is a terminal that we have not yet seen, all that is needed is for it to get to our laboratory. After some time, we will give a conclusion. As a rule, 99.9% of them work. But, there are exotic cases. We check the sound quality, codec compatibility, ease and reliability of registration, cross calls with all types of terminals. That is, we conduct a full check.
We have assembled a good team. We can offer to implement a pilot project at the customer's site. If necessary, we can install the system before the project, before entering into financial relations, to see how it will all work in a real network. And then give recommendations on the development of the system. If necessary, offer migration, if necessary, offer an upgrade, etc. We can take the installed system for technical support. It is important to note here that the scheme that was implemented by the departed vendor has been preserved and works perfectly. That is, we act as TR-3, TR-4 for specialists who have been at this site for many years. This is not some mysterious term. This is just a higher level of support. We left the first and second levels to our partners. That is, everything remained as it was.
A training center is working. It is virtual. We had a huge hall on Paveletskaya. But then it decreased in size, shrinking to one room. But, nevertheless, we had both virtual and physical. Now we can, in principle, organize face-to-face training as well. But, mainly, training is virtual. There is a schedule of courses, a list of courses, there is registration for these courses. You can contact us, register, listen to the courses. This also takes place on a daily basis these courses are held. And literally next week two courses start at once. Administration, maintenance, installation. The courses are working, they are in demand.
Any of our specialists is available, communication is informal, there are no prohibitions. Call, ask. I am now addressing more to a potential customer. You can call us, get help with installation, configuration, and deal with problems.
Advantages of Ruvaya. I emphasize that you are purchasing software that is included in the Register. And then we retained all the advantages that were in the previous period. We have strong engineers who understand modern technologies well. The solution can be both on your hardware and on virtual machines. All this is also supported. The solution was developed by order of energy companies of the Russian Federation. It has wide functionality . Possibility of working with the inclusion of an Avaya license.
Questions.
Does RuVaya work with customers directly or as an integrator?
RuVaya does not work with customers directly, we fundamentally retained the same scheme that the vendor had before he left Russia. That is, we work only through system integrators, through distributors. If you need to meet and discuss something, work face-to-face, meet generals, then we are ready to participate. And you will need to resolve all financial issues through partners. We understand what a partner network is, how valuable it is, everything remained as it was before.
Who provides technical support to partners?
Technical support to partners is provided by RuVaya and me, including. Previously, I performed functions between the seller and the technician, and now I have become the technical director of RuVaya. We provide 3rd level support, and sometimes 4th level support. By the way, those cases that were pending back when our company was called Avaya were cured.
Please tell me more about the scheme for purchasing your products and expanding existing Avaya stations?
For this you just need to contact the distributor. You will need to take reports from the station, send them to us through the distributor, we will analyze them, understand what is happening, act as experts of the installed base, say that this is already outdated, nothing can be done here, this can be replaced, this can be left. We also say what licenses are already available and what needs to be purchased. Then you want to expand your infrastructure by 100 ports, we issue licenses for RuVaya and it is pasted with the Avaya license. No contradictions, no difficulties.
If Avaya returns to the Russian market in 2 years, will it recognize the expansion you sold?
The first thing I want to say is that Avaya knows about us. But I can't say anything else useful. Avaya left us without any official announcements, and in this situation, the customer will probably make the decision. He will be able to keep our licenses, he can disable them. There are no problems with returning to the original state, i.e. the transition to a total integrated RuVaya – Avaya license is completely reversible. How this will happen is impossible to predict yet.