What is our primary use case?
AudioCodes Mediant Cloud SBC serves as my primary solution to support SIP trunking for direct routing for Microsoft Teams. We have a SIP trunk from LoopUp, which is connected to AudioCodes Mediant Cloud SBC, and the Cloud SBC, mostly using two SBCs for high availability, connects with direct routing through the Microsoft network to Microsoft Teams.
With AudioCodes Mediant Cloud SBC, we can connect any devices that are not directly supported by Microsoft Teams, such as analog phones on the customer side, door openers, special entries that could not be connected directly to Microsoft Teams, DECT systems, and legacy PBX systems.
What is most valuable?
The best feature of AudioCodes Mediant Cloud SBC is the security part because I can use the internal firewall of AudioCodes Mediant Cloud SBC and easily configure classification to allow only SIP communication from configured providers. Additionally, AudioCodes support is reachable twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week and provides excellent professional services.
The internal firewall and classification features help my organization by allowing only connections from Microsoft to prevent unauthorized access. For instance, we faced an issue where an attacker used an AWS IP range to emulate the Microsoft SBC for PSTN calls, but with classification, we only allowed connections from Microsoft, and the firewall settings enabled us to open media ports dynamically when the SIP connection is authorized.
AudioCodes offers a lot of different hardware and live services for AudioCodes Mediant Cloud SBC, and they also use LifeHub for bot configuration, allowing us to utilize bots for AI. We receive a comprehensive range of voice-related devices with the option to get Teams devices from AudioCodes, ensuring we have a single vendor for Microsoft Teams, which is advantageous given AudioCodes' extensive experience in voice competence and twenty-four hour professional service.
What needs improvement?
It would be nice if we could use AI on AudioCodes Mediant Cloud SBC to automatically configure it. The upcoming firmware version will support replacing the public certificates required for Teams, so I have no further requests.
Regarding AudioCodes Mediant Cloud SBC's AI capabilities, I believe it would be beneficial to use AI for configuration and troubleshooting. I notice that AudioCodes is already incorporating AI services with their live service, ensuring governance and security are well managed.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using AudioCodes Mediant Cloud SBC for around fifteen years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
AudioCodes Mediant Cloud SBC has positively impacted my organization over the last ten years, as it has been reliable without any outages. We use AudioCodes Mediant Cloud SBC with the Microsoft Cloud, which is available twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, and we have not experienced any interruptions of the PSTN service for Teams.
This reliability has significantly impacted our team by reducing downtime costs to zero since we do not encounter downtime costs or high administration costs. Setup for AudioCodes Mediant Cloud SBC is a one-time process, and once configured, it requires no reconfiguration, apart from occasional firmware updates, which can be done easily through the Teams Admin Center, even for individuals less knowledgeable about Teams voice.
The stability of AudioCodes Mediant Cloud SBC is outstanding, with uptime near one hundred percent, and updates only take about five minutes.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability of AudioCodes Mediant Cloud SBC is very easy to manage. As our organization grows, we can enhance the CPU and everything in the cloud, only needing to add additional licenses to AudioCodes Mediant Cloud SBC.
AudioCodes Mediant Cloud SBC's scalability is perfect, with diverse offerings that accommodate small to enterprise businesses, as well as provider businesses.
How are customer service and support?
My experience with AudioCodes customer support has been positive, as they can be available twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week with the right contract, and their service is quick regardless of where AudioCodes Mediant Cloud SBC is installed around the world.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We previously used AudioCodes on-premises installation but switched to AudioCodes Mediant Cloud SBC to achieve high availability and eliminate on-premises hardware and data center issues.
How was the initial setup?
AudioCodes Mediant Cloud SBC integrates perfectly with other tools in our environment because it offers an API for automatic management, allowing integration into the M365 ecosystem.
The setup for AudioCodes Mediant Cloud SBC is a one-time process, and once configured, it requires no reconfiguration, apart from occasional firmware updates, which can be done easily through the Teams Admin Center, even for individuals less knowledgeable about Teams voice.
What was our ROI?
I have not seen a return on investment.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
From my perspective, the pricing, setup costs, and licensing is reasonable considering the service support that AudioCodes delivers.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I did not evaluate other options before choosing AudioCodes Mediant Cloud SBC.
What other advice do I have?
My advice for those looking into using AudioCodes Mediant Cloud SBC is to assess the number of concurrent sessions required, which will guide the decision on the appropriate resources needed on Microsoft Azure for CPU, memory, and installation. I would rate this solution a ten out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
