Addressing service providers’ need to deliver new VoIP-related services quickly and affordably, and with the ability to tweak services as needed, LignUp Corp. on Monday unveiled release 4.0 of the LignUp Communications Application Server.

LignUp 4.0 features 125 new VoIP Web services, implemented by the release’s new J2EE-compliant LignUp Communications Integration Server and support for such standard protocols as SIP, RTP, HTTP, SOAP and WSDL2.

The Integration Server is a new component within the LignUp 4.0 Communications Application Server architecture that streamlines application creation by providing a framework for using, creating, exposing and managing VoIP-based Web services, which serve as reusable software blocks for building communications-enabled applications. It is first available on Apache Tomcat and the IBM Websphere Application Server for easy deployment within existing enterprise SOA infrastructures.

“What’s amazing is people can build applications in days,” or even in one day, said Monica Pal, co-founder and lead in product development at LignUp. “And that’s lightening fast.” This also allows services to be altered after they’re activated “so service providers can try an application for a week, see how it sticks, and evolve it,” she added.

Another benefit of this kind of application creation is it allows service providers and developers to justify the cost of application development for smaller groups of users, since the investment to create each application is significantly lower due to the ease-of-use and reusable components of the solution, Pal added.

LignUp Web services extend across seven major categories including call control, media control, screen pop, call state and presence notifications, personalization, provisioning and VoIPlets. They can be quickly consumed within developers’ preferred environments, such as Eclipse/Java, Microsoft Visual Studio, Microsoft .Net Framework and business process engineering language (BPEL) engines. That means developers can use their favorite programming languages and development environments to incorporate VoIP-based communications – including telephony, interactive voice response (IVR), voice mail, unified messaging and presence capabilities – into Web applications, Web portals, business processes, mashups and wikis.

Examples of the rich business and consumer experiences that can be created with LignUp VoIP Web services include:

• Personalized communications portal: Specify where you want incoming calls to go based on day and time, area codes or the caller’s phone number. Set-up rules to ensure that “VIP” callers will be forwarded to a number where you can be reached. Create your personal IVR menu, complete with customized messages for specific callers, such as directions to your office or updated travel itinerary.
• Real-time bank approvals: When a bank transaction exceeds a threshold that you’ve set, the banking application will automatically call you, prompt you for your secure PIN, and then let you verify the transaction, cancel it or connect to the first available customer service representative.
• Voice annotation: Call into one of your company’s project portals, and record your thoughts about the project. Let authorized project team members go to the project portal to hear your ideas and feedback while viewing diagrams, plans, contracts or other content.

Link to NewTelephony article

Link to xchange online article

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