Business

Belfast tech company wins £3.5m in deals for innovative new phone platform

 Dr Vicky Kell (left), innovation director at Invest NI with David Whelan, founder and managing director, Voxbit
Dr Vicky Kell (left), innovation director at Invest NI with David Whelan, founder and managing director, Voxbit Dr Vicky Kell (left), innovation director at Invest NI with David Whelan, founder and managing director, Voxbit

A BELFAST tech company has won business worth £3.5 million in Britain for a new internet-based phone platform launched last year.

Voxbit, a subsidiary of Clarity Telecom, introduced Byphone, a voice over internet protocol (VoIP) platform for businesses in 2018, with a £622,000 research and development grant from Invest NI.

Designed and built in Belfast, the company says its product cuts costs for firms and improves inbound and outbound call handling.

The company now has 50 partners selling the platform to customers in Britain. In the last 18 months, Voxbit says it has sealed deals worth £3.5m.

Voxbit’s founder and managing director David Whelan said: “Byphone is an end-to-end managed service that uses an innovative drag and drop system.”

He said the set-up it allows users to essentially develop their own phone system without involving their phone company, enabling organisations, often for the first time, to see who is using the phones, when people are calling, and if any calls are unanswered.

“Voxbit developed the VoIP technology over many years and benefitted from financial support from Invest NI.

“The company now has more product development in the pipeline, with the potential to disrupt the industry through intelligent, easy-to-use products that simplify telecommunications for businesses. Our aim is to reinvent the business phone by merging the worlds of cloud computing, web services and telecommunications.”

Invest NI’s innovation director Dr Vicky Kell said: “Voxbit is a highly innovative company that has identified areas within the communications field that are ripe for development and exploitation. The success of the Byphone product in its first year in the market reflects the quality of the technology and that Voxbit clearly understands what businesses want.”

She added: “Voxbit is an example of a company that is focused on commercial growth and technology development and has proven that, through investing in research and development, small local companies can challenge established global enterprises.”