Change is a constant in the business world, but the pandemic has accelerated that change beyond anyone’s reckoning. Onsim, a PortaOne customer based in the UK, has embraced that dynamic – perhaps like no other CSP before them. Formerly called Deskphone, the company has long provided traditional telephony services to the enterprise market. Recently, however, they became the first to deliver a new kind of cloud PBX solution to the UK, rebranding themselves as Onsim: a company that is leveraging e-SIM technology to enable enterprises to take all of their business telephony completely mobile.
That’s right: Onsim is now providing their customers with a deskphone-free cloud PBX service that allows a distributed workforce to operate exactly as if they were using a traditional PBX installation in a physical office. This evolution has positioned the company to liberate a business community that has been struggling to reconcile work-from-home with the need for seamless, professional customer service, comprehensive team management, and compliance with regulations that often require the logging or even recording of all communications, including SMS. And they were able to do it thanks to the flexibility of PortaOne platforms and the low- and no-code integrations that are available via the Add-on Mart.
Read on to discover how Onsim adapted our technology to create the first-ever e-SIM-based mobile cloud PBX solution for the UK enterprise market.
CSPs must be adaptable to succeed
Like every business pre-2020, Onsim did not have some magic way to foresee the massive shift that was about to come suddenly to the nature of work. But they did understand that a CSP needs to be agile and efficient if it wants to compete in the enterprise market. So, in 2019 – then operating as Deskphone – the company came to PortaOne looking for a voice switch and billing solution they could easily integrate with external platforms to create unique products and to capitalize on new trends as they happen.
Before signing on with us, Onsim had done their homework. But as they researched other potential partners, they decided that while other UCaaS platforms might offer adequate voice switch options, they didn’t measure up on the billing side. Most of the platforms they tested had billing functions that seemed like an afterthought: they were either “black box” and not adaptable in the way they needed them to be, or were not robust enough to handle a large enterprise customer base. Sometimes, they fell short in both ways.
But when they tried PortaSwitch, Onsim found that “sweet spot.” The PortaOne platform delivered everything they needed on the voice front, but it also came with PortaBilling: a flexible billing and charging system that is designed to allow service providers to adapt it to nearly any model – whether that’s unique retail bundles, alternative products like EV power stations or IoT services, or, in Onsim’s case, an idea for a new mobile cloud PBX service for enterprises.
The rest, as they say, is history. Onsim signed on with PortaOne.
A customizable business mobility solution
Then the pandemic hit, revealing the true strengths of our platform’s flexibility. Over the months that followed, Onsim recognized that mobile was reaching a tipping point, and that the pressures of the new remote-work reality would vastly accelerate its growth. And as they worked to adapt PortaSwitch and PortaBilling to be able to deliver (and charge for) the new mobile cloud PBX solution they envisioned, we helped in the best way we could: we got out of their way.
If that sounds odd, consider this: Each PortaOne customer is unique and requires a unique relationship with us – some hands-on, some hands-off. The Onsim team had deep technical experience and a very specific vision for a comprehensive, custom-developed and entirely mobile cloud PBX solution: a converged enterprise service that combines our voice and billing with payment processing via Stripe, AWS Lambda cloud workflows, their in-house CRM, and an outside mobile core. With our flexible API, extensive and accessible documentation, 24/7 help, and open access to our source code, Onsim had everything they needed to create their solution on their terms.
One of Onsim’s first steps was to create a custom integration that connects PortaBilling to the new PaymentMethods API from Stripe. Now, a customer can come to the Onsim site and enter their payment details, and Stripe conducts the transaction and passes the payment reference on to PortaBilling. Within 20 seconds, the user receives a QR code, which they scan to download an e-SIM onto their mobile phone. The e-SIM is wirelessly provisioned through the mobile core, and is then linked to an account in PortaSwitch, allowing calls to take place via PortaSIP. The user is now fully connected to their office PBX telephony service via the native calling app on their mobile phone – with no need to download extra apps, and no need to keep track of log-ins.
From there, the user creates separate “names” for their e-SIM connected work plan and their regular SIM-connected personal plan, allowing them to switch back and forth at will. They can assign a default number to each of their contacts, choose which phone number to use for each outgoing call, and receive incoming calls from both numbers. Even better, they have complete access to extensions and hunt groups just like they would in the office, and all calls and messages can be recorded for compliance purposes.
From there, PortaBilling handles the recurring charging and triggers all future billing automatically via Stripe. The result? Businesses that sign up with Onsim can now enable a globally distributed workforce to communicate exactly as if they were in the office together, and Onsim is ready to take on as many new enterprise customers as they want, at any size.
Mobile cloud PBX today – and whatever comes next tomorrow
As consumer and enterprise demand continues to change, smart businesses like Onsim are recognizing the potential of an adaptable, customizable communication services platform that can change with it. When Onsim saw that the enterprise market they relied on was starting to abandon the old way of working, they knew they were perfectly positioned to change with it – thanks to the control that PortaSwitch had kept in their hands.
Now, Onsim’s groundbreaking mobile cloud PBX solution is bridging the business communications gap for the many UK companies that are permanently making the change to a distributed or hybrid workforce. By combining the convenience of mobile phones with the features and compliance capabilities of a traditional PBX system, Onsim is offering a unique, e-SIM-based mobile service that can be seamlessly integrated with a traditional office phone network, or even run as a completely mobile service for the new breed of office-free companies.
All of these tools can help your communications or IoT business embrace the potential in a mobile-ready world, just like Onsim did. And when the next major shift happens in your market, you will be ready to embrace that, too.
Are you ready to innovate with PortaOne?
The Stripe API integration that Onsim developed is now available to all PortaOne customers via the Add-on Mart, meaning that Onsim is now a PortaOne partner as well as a customer. The company’s entire journey – from traditional telephony provider to innovator and first-of-its-kind advanced mobile enterprise solution – is a perfect example of the transformative potential of our flexible PortaOne platforms. By integrating cloud PBX communications with business mobility, Onsim is empowering companies to ensure compliance, enhance productivity, and adapt to the modern hybrid workforce. In the face of a new kind of workplace, this one-time “deskphone” business isn’t just surviving – they’re thriving.
There’s no question that other business shifts are on the horizon. We can’t know what they will be, but when they arrive you won’t be alone. If you want to make sure you are ready to adapt to the next great change, get in touch with our team. We’re here to help.
