In this news article, we have the privilege of hearing from a true industry veteran, Bruce Smith, who recently joined the ranks of BNS Group after an illustrious 27-year career at Microsoft as a Technology Advisor. Bruce recently sat down with BNS Group marketing partner, David Thomas, to discuss taking on the pivotal role of leading the BNS Enterprise SMS Server product integration project to Microsoft Azure.

David Thomas: Bruce, can you tell us a bit about why you’ve decided to join BNS Group?

Bruce Smith: Absolutely. I’ve been in the technology industry for over 30 years, and I’ve worked with a lot of different companies and products in that time. But when I came across the BNS Enterprise SMS Server, I was really impressed. I’ve rarely seen a product that can add as much value to an organisation as this one can. And when I learned more about BNS Group as a company, I was convinced that this was the right place for me. BNS is an industry leader in their category, and I’m excited to be a part of the team.

David Thomas: Can you tell us more about the BNS Enterprise SMS Server product integration project to Microsoft Azure?

Bruce Smith: Sure. The BNS Enterprise SMS Server is a powerful tool for managing SMS messaging across an organisation. And with the integration to Microsoft Azure, it becomes even more powerful. Azure is a cloud computing platform that provides a wide range of services, including analytics, storage, and networking. By integrating the BNS Enterprise SMS Server with Azure, we’re able to provide even more value to our customers, giving them a comprehensive solution for managing their SMS messaging needs.

David Thomas: What sets BNS Group apart from other companies you’ve worked with in the past?

Bruce Smith: As I mentioned earlier, I think BNS Group is really an industry leader. The BNS Enterprise SMS Server is a prime example of the kind of innovative products that they develop. But it’s not just the products that set BNS apart – it’s the people. I’ve been really impressed with the team here. Laurence Buchanan and Clive Pereira, the co-founders, have a wealth of experience in the industry, and they’re both really passionate about what they do. And that passion is infectious – it’s one of the reasons why I wanted to join BNS.

David Thomas: What do you see as the biggest challenge facing the BNS Enterprise SMS Server product integration project to Microsoft Azure?

Bruce Smith: I think the biggest challenge is going to be making sure that we’re able to deliver a seamless integration between the BNS Enterprise SMS Server and Microsoft Azure. We want to make sure that our customers are able to take full advantage of all the features and capabilities of both products, without having to worry about any technical issues or roadblocks. But with the expertise and experience of the team here at BNS, I’m confident that BNS Enterprise SMS Server will provide an excellent solution for its users.

David Thomas: What are your goals for the BNS Enterprise SMS Server product integration project to Microsoft Azure?

Bruce Smith: My main goal is to make sure that we’re delivering the best possible product for our customers. I want to make sure that the integration is seamless, easy to use, and provides real value to organizations that are looking to manage their SMS messaging needs. Ultimately, my goal is to help BNS Group continue to be an industry leader, and to help our customers

1 February 2022, BNS and Switch Connect announce the availability of a cloud-based T.38 fax service to solve the issues customers face when migrating away from legacy telephony to solutions such as Microsoft Teams PSTN Calling.

BNS first identified the problem customers were facing in 2020 when customers were fast-tracking Microsoft Teams for remote working and collaboration. Some of those customers decided to implement PSTN calling for Teams but found no fax capability and could not completely replace their old PBX systems.

Customers, particularly in: healthcare, finance, banking, insurance, and government, need to ensure that fax data handling complies with privacy and data sovereignty laws in Australia, so outsourcing fax to a provider is not allowed.

The solution was for BNS to find a suitable service provider who could deliver a SIP service to any cloud provider specifically designed for enterprise faxing;  then couple that with the BNS Fax server technology within the customer’s cloud tenancy.

“We selected Switch Connect because they offered a Ribbon Software-based SBC in their cloud, which was co-located at a tier 1 telecommunications provider in Australia,” said Laurence Buchanan, CEO of BNS.

BNS being a Ribbon partner for many years with SBCs, which it had deployed in large accounts over the years, was confident that the solution would work.

The design allows the customer to implement the BNS Fax server in their own cloud tenancy (AWS, Azure, etc) and utilise reliable SIP communications to Switch Connect, who can deliver fax over the service with minimal jitter or latency.

“BNS has been a Teams Calling customer of ours for a while, and we were constantly discussing the issues with fax and Microsoft Teams; we got to a point of saying we just need to build something that works and is reliable for our customers and also for BNS’s legacy on-premise customers,” said Rohan Milne Switch Connect CEO.

The solution allows:

• The customer to maintain complete control and security of their fax images because nothing is stored at Switch Connect (SC).
• SC can host existing 1800\1300 fax numbers
• SC can host existing normal fax numbers subject to porting capabilities at the customer end.

Switch Connect can also provide Teams PSTN calling as a service for customers wanting a PSTN service for their Teams implementation.

Technical information is available at https://msxfaxkb.bnsgroup.com.au/switchconnectt38service

BNS Group website:  www.bnsgroup.com.au

Switch Connect website: www.switchconnect.com.au

August 2021, Sydney Australia.

BNS confirms interoperability between msXfax Enterprise fax server with Ribbon Communications SBC SweLite version 9.0.2 and TPG Telecom SIP voice service.

T.38 fax over IP is used between the fax server and SweLite allowing the fax server to be deployed in Azure\AWS or the customer’s data centre.

SweLite performs transcoding between T.38 and G711a.

Refer to https://msxfaxkb.bnsgroup.com.au/sip-telephony for further information.

For more information on Ribbon Communications Inc refer to: www.ribboncommunications.com

For more information on TPG Telecom refer to: www.tpgtelecom.com.au