The VoIP PBX System - it's a winner at last

The first commercially available VoIP PBX system came to market in the late 1990's. Compared with other technologies such as the mini-computer, PC and mobile phone the rate of adoption has been slow to glacial. Even now it could well take another decade or even longer before the last TDM PBX is replaced by a VoIP PBX. Does this say something about VoIP, or is it a reflection on our attitudes towards business phone systems?

We certainly have ambiguous attitudes towards phone systems. It is a love-hate relationship, but in the final analysis there is little disagreement about how critical they are to business success, even survival. It is possibly because of this that VoIP phone systems were not embraced with greater enthusiasm in the early days. The Plain Old Telephone System (POTS) was a hard act to follow.

The VoIP PBX solution carries lots of baggage. It is by no means a natural replacement for the plain old telephone system that delivered the goods for over a century.

VoIP PBX System - the Challenge

The evolution of Voice over IP technology has been a protracted struggle. There is nothing natural about translating voice communication from analogue to digital, breaking it into chunks, sending the chunks in packets across a complex web of flaky pathways to destinations where they are reassembled into a coherent real-time conversation. Voice was never intended to be sent across an IP network, but as a result of enormous persistence it has been persuaded to do so.

Such a complex process is sensitive to thousands of variables that can impact on the user experience. Most of us have had first hand experience with these issues. They include poor voice quality, stutter and dropped calls. On the other hand POTS is not without issues, but at least it's a simple, elegant and intuitive solution that consistently delivers 99.99999% reliability under almost any conditions.

The Sales Job

To further handicap the uptake of the VoIP PBX, it was the victim of a poorly considered sales strategy. In fact there probably wasn't much strategy in the early days. The clue is in the abundance of acronyms, including "VoIP." To many business people acronyms are associated with: Geeks, IT, risk and impending disaster. Acronyms do not sell technology. They are used by men in white coats and uniforms who want to conceal inconvenient truths, describe the unpleasant with detachment or just obfuscate.

Business operators in the 70's, 80's and 90's were happily oblivious to the intricacies of Time Division Multiplexing (TDM), when they invested in a phone system. So why would later generations need to understand the nuts and bolts of VoIP? Instead of presenting the VoIP PBX system as a Smart business phone system the message was and continues to be contaminated with geek speak and acronyms.

Business people expect their phone systems to be the distilled essence of intuitive simplicity and reliability. The best phone systems are in fact invisible to their users, but vendors still persist with the acronyms, obscure specifications and juicy technical terms:

The Early Adopters

Not surprisingly the first generation of VoIP PBX systems went into institutions where geeks and technocrats were powerful influencers and decision makers. Universities, colleges and hospitals were at the front of the queue. Meanwhile large and small business operators continued upgrading their old TDM phone systems. The more adventurous dipped a toe in the water and tried out the hybrid VoIP PBX systems that blended elements of both VoIP and TDM technology.

Free VoIP Phone Calls

The next stage in the saga was the Wild West phase, where VoIP was associated with the Free VoIP Phone Call. It was an attention grabbing strategy, but did little to advance the sale of VoIP PBX systems to business users.

Some would argue that we are still in a Wild West phase. There are now hundreds of brands in the VoIP PBX market. It is very easy to become a channel or reseller of VoIP phone systems and thousands have leapt to the challenge.

OS VoIP PBX systems are typically 40% - 50% cheaper than the proprietary options to buy, but as a rule they require a higher level of technical support to maintain.

Unified Communications etc

This is the latest stage in the selling of the VoIP business solution. It reflects a blend of Geek and sales smarts. The acronyms persist "UC", but there is an emphasis now on business solutions as well as sizzle and technology. Unified Communications is still at a fluffy concept stage, but it is catching on and momentum is building. It is a differentiator and a vision that distinguishes VoIP PBX system from its antecedents.

Victory by Default

It has been a marathon, but VoIP is destined to become the winner as the other contestant has all but retired from the field. TDM PBXs are no longer manufactured in significant volume and VoIP is the surviving option , whether as a premise based VoIP PBX system or a hosted VoIP PBX service.

Presumably when the last remaining circuit switched phone system is replaced by a VoIP PBX phone system, we will no longer need to use the acronym VoIP.

See also: Cisco VoIP PBX and

VoIP Pros and Cons - the evolving debate

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