Pandora Networks announced a new suite of managed services designed to deliver telco-grade VoIP service for its award winning Worksmart unified communications service.

Called the iQ Voice Management Suite, small and mid- size companies can now be assured that their VoIP- enabled voice service will continually operate at the quality expected to conduct business. Designed to assess and monitor services over converged networks or dedicated circuits, the iQ Voice Management Suite delivers higher voice quality and QoS management than ordinary IP Centrex services. Pandora offers three service options to fit the right network and budget: iQ Assess, iQ Manage, and iQ Direct.

iQ Assess is designed for converging VoIP on top of an existing data network. It performs automated network assessments on customer premise networks as well as their Internet service providers to ensure a high-quality available connection direct to Pandora Networks' data center. This assures best practices when coupling Worksmart services to third-party carriers and customer premise equipment. iQ Assess is ideal for small companies that cannot justify the cost of dedicated T1 circuits but want the same quality of service that dedicated circuits offer.

“Unlike typical VoIP assessments, iQ Assess provides insight into both local and wide area networks to ensure end-to-end quality of service all the way to Pandora's data center,” says Will Lombard, of Seventhman, a Pandora reseller. “Since the assessment appliance is always on, additional assessments are available whenever it's needed.”

iQ Manage not only performs on- demand network assessments, but also includes real- time QoS monitoring services and a 24/7 technical support team to offer assistance if a problem is detected. An important advantage since many business networks evolve rapidly and can experience congestion.

“No other hosted VoIP service provider offers this level of QoS management or technical support at any price,” says Walter Snell, CEO of Pandora Networks. “Since today's business networks are so dynamic, iQ Manage is ideal for rapidly recognizing any topology or traffic changes that will have an immediate effect on VoIP service quality.”

iQ Direct goes one step further by providing dedicated T1 circuits specifically for VoIP communications. This private circuit does not route to the public Internet, but instead moves IP traffic directly to Pandora Networks' nearest data center for the highest service level possible. iQ Direct is best suited for larger organizations with fifty or more employees. Powered by XO Communications' network infrastructure, iQ Direct can be delivered in nearly every market in the United States.