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Selecting a VoIP Business Solution
The rules for selecting a VoIP business solution are quite different from those used to select the traditional hard wired business phone system. In the past it was a simple feature - function - cost comparison. The PBX was a stand alone point solution supporting voice communication via dedicated wiring. It was expected to have a life 8-10 years, which was generally the case unless a business had an unexpected growth spurt. Some Ground Rules for Selecting a VoIP Business Solution
VoIP phone systems are now a mature "voice" communication technology. A VoIP business phone system can provide more features than a TDM based phone system, but in other ways the technology is very young. There is far more to a VoIP solution than the ability to make a "free" VoIP phone call.Over the next ten years the face of IP telephony will become unrecognizable as billions of dollars are invested in product development to realize the potential of convergent communications. There are too many vendors in the current VoIP market. Those that will not survive are readily identified. They have taken a short term opportunistic view on product development and are selling sizzle rather than business solutions that address real business problems. The increasing acceptance of VoIP as a viable business solution has given encouragement to new players. They are not competing in the enterprise market, which is dominated by established VoIP companies, but in the small business phone system space. There are more opportunities, but competition is far more intense. The cost of VoIP business phones is a useful gauge of increasing price competition. For years they have been priced at a level far above that of regular digital handsets, but now there is a correction in process that is being driven by the entry of new brands and also more sophisticated softphone options. SMBs have also discovered the benefits of using a VoIP business phone service. It is a very attractive option for SMBs as it means they do not need to become involved in maintaining technology and they are free to react to changing circumstances. The vendors that survive the shakeout of the VoIP PBX market will be those that are now investing heavily in software development and services associated with:
These vendors include: Avaya, Cisco and the Nortel / Microsoft alliance ICA. They are in a race to establish their respective proprietary solutions as de facto industry standards. Oracle, Microsoft and SAP demonstrated the importance of mastering the sale of software and services in achieving domination of the IT market. With the exception of IBM the other hardware focused computer manufacturers rapidly exited the field. The heavy weight contenders for the business telephony market all offer VoIP based solutions and hence they no longer highlight the term VoIP. Instead they are positioned behind the brand names of their respective communication management offerings:
In the meantime there is an increasing demand for professional services associated with the deployment of VoIP business solutions and the associated requirement for business process re-engineering. By way of a foot note these developments will be responsible for an ever increasing demand for bandwidth. VoIP and convergent applications are bandwidth hogs and their demands are insatiable. See also: VoIP Pros and Cons. |
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