Technical ConsultingCase Study
Implemented company: Tobira Systems Co., Ltd. (TSE Prime)
Tobira Systems Co., Ltd. is a company that aims to solve social issues with technology, with the philosophy of "becoming a door that connects our lives and our world to a better future." Utilizing the know-how cultivated through the development of the nuisance call filter "Tobiraphone", we are currently working on providing telephone services for corporations.
Example points
ageet provided technical consulting for Tobira Systems Co., Ltd. Ageet was recognized for its voice quality problem-solving capabilities in IP network communications, IP-PBX tuning expertise, and rapid development capabilities for ever-evolving smartphone platforms.
Through consulting, it developed into a capital and business alliance, and the two companies formed mutual networks.It is expected to expand business opportunities by utilizing and utilizing resources. This case is a typical example of an IT venture company leveraging its technical expertise and organizational flexibility to provide value to a major IT company.
We interviewed them about their thoughts behind this, how they solved problems through technical consulting, and how they led up to the capital and business alliance.
Interviewees: (From the left in the photo) Mr. Matsubara, Mr. Fujii, and Mr. Setoguchi from the Engineering Department of Tobira Systems Co., Ltd.
Please tell us about your business
Mr. Matsubara:
Tobira Systems is mainly engaged in blocking services for nuisance calls and special fraudulent calls for landlines and mobile phones. Block spam calls and alert users when they come in using our proprietary database. We also offer phishing scams and spam SMS blocking services. Our services are provided to customers through major telecommunications carriers and have over 15 million users overall.
Utilizing the expertise in telephony that we have accumulated so far, we are currently developing telephony services for corporations. In the corporate product "Tobiraphone Biz", a device is installed between the PBX and the business phone, and it is used for blocking nuisance calls received by companies, call recording, centralized control of calls, etc. In addition, since 2020, we have been providing the cloud PBX service "Tobiraphone Cloud". As a result, you can install a dedicated app on your smartphone and use it as a corporate mobile phone.
In-house first cloud PBX development, voice quality issues
What kind of challenges did you face at the time?
Mr. Matsubara:
I had a problem with the cloud PBX service "Tobiraphone Cloud". At that time, it was our first attempt to develop a cloud PBX service, so many issues arose during the daily trial and error process. For example, there was a problem that there was a big difference in voice quality when compared with the call quality of mobile phones. In addition, when making a call in a specific environment, there was a problem of "one-way communication", in which the call was interrupted or the call could not be heard on one side.
Since we do not have much know-how about cloud PBX development, we were initially skeptical as we proceeded with development. During the development process, we were worried about whether the codec we were using was appropriate, whether the call packets were handled properly, and so on.
Is the issue resolved?
Mr. Setoguchi:
A diagnostic sheet was prepared during the consultation. Using the diagnosis sheet, we were able to isolate the environment in which the problem occurred. We actually got the log, analyzed it, and pursued the cause.
Regarding one-way audio, I received a suggestion that using STUN might solve the problem. When I actually tried it, I was able to successfully solve the one-way call problem.
In addition, regarding voice quality, we received various proposals on what parameters should be tuned from the perspective of both the application side and the IP-PBX side. It was difficult to improve it with a call engine made by another company, but the development of ageet's AGEphoneCloud-based call engine greatly improved voice quality.
Commitment to domestic manufacturers and satisfaction with professional consulting
Why did you choose ageet? Also, could you tell us the reason why you started with technical consulting at the beginning and then reached the capital and business alliance?
Mr. Matsubara:
When we had problems with voice quality when we released "Tobiraphone Cloud", we decided that it would be better to get the cooperation of a more specialized company to improve the quality, rather than trying to improve it on our own. In order to ensure a certain level of service quality, our company is particular about domestically produced services, so we thought that we would like to cooperate with domestic companies as much as possible for consulting.
Among them, the name of ageet, a domestic company, was mentioned. I have long known that the company has a strong track record in the IP telephony industry, so I would like to take this opportunity to work with them.
I was very satisfied with the actual consulting and cooperation in solving various problems. We were able to understand that they have accumulated know-how in the field of IP telephony over many years and that they can provide specialized consulting services. We have decided to form a capital and business alliance with you, hoping that you will continue to support our services technically in the future.
As a company, we are happy to continue to have a deep relationship with you. thank you.
Breaking through barriers to high-quality mobile phone services
What are your future prospects?
Mr. Fujii:
Globally, the trend is for telephones to move to the cloud. The share of cloud PBX is larger than that of landline phones, but I think that the introduction of cloud PBX is not progressing well in Japan. I feel that this is due to the lack of awareness of cloud PBX in the market and the difficulty in using 0ABJ numbers for cloud PBX in Japan.
Furthermore, I think that the tendency of Japanese people to prefer stable quality is also a barrier to the spread of cloud PBX. In the case of cloud PBX, as long as it goes through the Internet network, I feel that there are still issues with quality and reliability compared to general mobile phones.
With ageet's technical support for Tobiraphone Cloud, we would like to aim to realize a high-quality mobile phone service that we can be proud of as "Japanese quality".
We would like to provide better service, so please continue to support us. thank you very much.