Organizations' needs to contain costs, increase organizational agility and maximize existing infrastructures. To help them in this effort, Datacraft has introduced its managed service for Internet Protocol telephony (IPT). Datacraft managed IPT service is designed to provide businesses with the experienced, specialized resources needed to manage and maintain a robust, IP-based voice platform. By outsourcing the end-to-end management and support of their complex IPT system to Datacraft completely, business can cut down on operating cost and refocus their resources on core business goals.

Datacraft says that globally, managed services are gaining popularity for various reasons. The need to manage the increasing complexity of a converged communications environment, contain and control costs, maximize the use of existing technology infrastructure as well as the need for 24/7 service availability are factors that are motivating organizations to move away from a traditional technology outsourcing approach. Gartner predicts that, by 2009, 90% of all telephone lines shipped will be IP-based.

Datacraft has experience in the planning, building and support of converged communications infrastructures, having deployed and currently managing over 2,000 IP networks and more than 60,000 IP handsets for clients around the region. It also has relationships with converged communications providers, including Cisco, Tandberg, Genesys and Microsoft.

Datacraft's managed service for IPT includes maintenance, monitoring and reporting, a monitoring portal, 24x7 Online support, backup and anti-virus assurance, patch and release management, and monthly care reporting. Optional modules include administration of moves, adds, changes and deletions, secure IP telephony assurance, billing management, carrier management, onsite support and enhanced monitoring.

The structure of Datacraft's Managed Service for IP Telephony, with its standard service and optional add-ons, enables clients to customize the service according to their specific requirements. Datacraft employs the ITIL (Information Technology Information Library) framework to implement the service and manages clients' IPT infrastructure to strict service level agreements and client requirements.

In common with all Datacraft's managed services, clients using Managed Service for IPT have access to a web-based, real-time view of service delivery. Secure online access to clients' IPT environments from Datacraft's Global Service Centre help desk lets skilled IPT engineers resolve problems.