Kerio Operator 1.1 software IP PABX ready for prime time

Stephen Withers
Tuesday, 19 July 2011 22:05

Business IT - Technology

Kerio reckons it has the VoIP PABX 'for the rest of us' - at least for those of us who are SMEs. Kerio Operator 1.1 is intended to be managed by people without telephony expertise.

Following a relatively quiet debut for the 1.0 release, Kerio is pulling out the stops to promote Kerio Operator 1.1, the company's IP PABX system for SME customers.

Available as an appliance (the Kerio Operator Box, available in selected markets) or software only, Operator 1.1 is designed to provide smaller organisations with a VoIP PABX that can be set up and managed by IT or network administrators with no telephony experience.

The Asterisk-based software includes Kerio's user interface, and support from the company's network of over 5000 partners is another selling point. Operator works with SIP connections and - with appropriate interface cards - ISDN, E1 or T1 lines.

New features in version 1.1 include protection against SIP password guessing (by limiting the number of unsuccessful login attempts in a given period) and anomalous use (eg, too many calls by accumulated time or absolute number in a specified period). Operator 1.1 can also be set to apply rules to block certain types of call, eg to international or premium numbers. To provide some flexibility - perhaps for employees that occasionally need to make overseas calls - the software can be set so that it reports such calls via email instead of blocking them completely.

Other changes include linking multiple devices (IP phones, or softphones running on smartphones or computers) with a single extension, and expanded auto-provisioning (various Polycom phones are now supported in addition to Cisco and Snom models). Phones that are not directly supported can be configured manually, said Kerio's vice president of business development James Gudeli.

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