It would be nice to have a "dashboard" page, possibly one I could set as my browser start page. Things I envision on this page:
- number of support calls "in work" (if this number suddenly jumps, we know there might be an issue)
- top XX issues ("can't complete calls to 712 area code" "phones aren't ringing" etc.)
- date/time of any planned service interruptions and expected restoration date
- news and service updates ("New Vpanel interface debuts 6/23" "New Beta Feature: Simul-Ring" "URGENT: Please reboot your telephone adapters now!" etc.)
- Last XX call log
- Voicemail
- Frequently used features on/off

Ideally, this would be an AJAX page that could update automatically, and it would have a "stay logged in on this computer" that would store a cookie, so it could be set as a start page for a browser. This wouldn't completely eliminate the VPanel, but it would be a "one stop shop" for 80% of the things that customers would need or want to know about or do with their VOIPo service.

If you REALLY wanted to get fancy, this could be a portal type of environment, with different "widgets" or "portlets" that could be plugged in... i.e. a "call log" portlet, a "support status" portlet, a "voicemail" portlet, that users could snap in the portlets that they think are most important to them.