Cisco Webex Calling is a cloud calling solution that delivers enterprise-grade calling, enabling you to replace your on-premises PBX network with a globally trusted cloud calling solution. Webex Calling easily extends to a complete collaboration experience that includes market-leading calling, meetings, messaging, contact centre and integrated devices for all situations. 

Webex Calling supports “bring your own PSTN” and “enterprise dialling” using what is termed a local gateway that sits at the edge of the customer’s VOIP network. A local gateway is a SIP Session Border Controller (SBC) that interworks with the Webex Calling cloud service in specific ways and this local gateway must operate specified conditions with Webex Calling. The local gateway feature enables Webex Calling customers to continue using their existing PSTN/SIP service provider.

Oracle SBCs are the only third-party SBC products that have now been certified by Cisco to work with Webex calling as a third-party local gateway in a certificate-based trunking model.

The challenge with implementing Webex for end-users is the cost compared to other unified communication solutions. Not only can the Oracle software SBC be deployed in a commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) robust hardware platform (which includes high availability options) to lower costs, but the Oracle licensing model is more attractive as it has a very efficient, practical pool licence model.

The Oracle SBC range offers the lowest cost and the highest calls-per-second capability of any SBC required to implement Webex. Furthermore, Oracle SBCs are certified for direct routing for MS Teams as well as Zoom calling.

The use of Oracle SBCs in Webex solutions will provide a more scalable platform and one that is more cost-effective due to the following:

• The Oracle SBC portfolio starts with two sessions and can scale to tens of thousands of sessions.

• Oracle SBCs overcome the call-per-second constraints of other SBCs currently being used in Webex deployments.

• Oracle SBCs are also certified for Zoom, Google and Microsoft Teams, giving your customers many options if required.

• The Oracle licence model includes the most practical pool licence model, making larger networks, or high availability deployments, as cost-effective as possible.

• Becoming a member of the Oracle Partner Network (OPN) will enable you to train and retrain as many of your technical staff as required, every year, for no extra charge.

• The use of Oracle SBCs allows the functionality of the SBC to be expanded to work with Oracle’s cloud call fraud protection solution – called Security Shield – to enable telephony fraud detection and prevention.

All the above will allow you to deliver Cisco Webex UC solutions more cost-effectively and allow for more scalability.

As an Oracle OEM distributor, Q-KON SA will gladly assist new resellers with Oracle SBC pre-sales and post-sales support as technical staff are gearing up and undergoing the Oracle training.

Q-KON South Africa has released their OR900 and OR2900 SBC appliances that run on Oracle software. Says Tim Pryce, Business Development Executive at Q-KON South Africa: “With session counts that can vary from two to 1 000 sessions, with high availability options, these devices provide a robust and extremely cost-effective SBC solution for a Webex, MS Teams and Zoom direct routing/calling solution.”