VoIP Small Business Solution
What are the Pros and Cons of VoIP?
Is now the right time to invest in a VoIP small business solution? On the subject of Timing there are two major considerations:
(1) The urgency that the business feels to resolve its phone system issues.
(2) The "Time" on the VoIP product life cycle clock.
Many small business have specific circumstances that justify an immediate investment in a VoIP small business solution. Other businesses may be better advised to hold off for a year or two longer.
Reasons to Invest in a VoIP Small Business Solution Immediately
(1) SMBs with distributed operations can obtain an immediate benefit from a VoIP PBX solution. Calls to regional, inter-state and international branch offices can be made free of charge. Irrespective of where these offices are located in the world a VoIP PBX phone system will treat them as extension to extension internal calls.
See also: What are SIP Trunks?
Access to cheaper communications between remote offices will typically result in increased communication between offices. The resulting benefits that may accrue include improved morale, increased sales, fewer errors, less time spent writing emails and reports.
(2) An existing TDM PBX has reached the end of its life or run out of expansion capacity. It will probably be cheaper to replace it with a
VoIP PBX rather than buy a TDM replacement. There will however be additional costs associated with running CAT-5 cable and
VoIP business phones.
(3) Changing premises - its when most businesses review their PBX systems. In the case of migrating to a VoIP PBX it's a golden opportunity to get rid of all those wires around the office and have just one data cable running to all work stations.
Reasons to Defer Buying VoIP Small Business Solution
For most of us it's not difficult to think of reasons to defer decisions, especially if they involve spending hard earned money. There are additional issues in the case of investing in a
small business phone system. The investment may not only reduce running costs, but also facilitate customer retention, increased sales and so on. Unfortunately there is a catch. This may not be the best time to invest in a small business phone system.
Small business VoIP solutions are relatively new to the market. The cost of these systems is rapidly declining and they are becoming progressively more robust. If possible, technology purchases should be timed so as to avoid periods when there are impending catatonic changes. In the case of small business phone systems there is reason to believe that we are at the cusp of a major shift that will also see a shakeout amongst the players.
(1) By 2010 it's estimated that 75% of all business phone systems will be VoIP phone systems. The technology is about to be commoditized, which means it will become a lot cheaper in the near future.
Anyone in doubt as to whether the SMB VoIP PBX market is about to be commoditized should consider the impact of Open source products and the launch of the Microsoft's SMB solution Response Point. Inevitably there is a SOHO version on the product road map and probably even a version for the home.
(2) A VoIP small business solution is a business software application similar to other office automation products including: email, spreadsheets and word processing. There are business benefits to be achieved from these applications operating in a collaborative and converged environment. Currently such integration requires dedicated IT skills as found in large enterprise environments. Over the next few years we can expect pre-configured VoIP PBX software to be bundled with other office automation software that will self install with just a few mouse clicks and hence be far more accessible to small businesses.
(3)The enterprise VoIP PBX market is crowded with competing companies chasing sales opportunities with solutions that on the surface have considerable similarities. They include:
- 3COM
- Altigen
- Avaya
- Cisco
- Mitel
- NEC
- Nortel
- PingTel
- ShoreTel
- Siemens
While the market for enterprise VoIP business solutions is still growing it can sustain ten to twenty competing brands. In the medium term there will be consolidation. It's impossible to pick winners at this stage, but there is a downside to picking a loser. It may include replacing a system at an earlier date than originally anticipated.
(4) VoIP handsets are much more expensive than the analog devices they replace. On average they represent 40% to 50% of the total cost of a VoIP implementation. Third party manufacturers of handsets based on Open source SIP protocols are now cranking up production and putting pressure on the cost of proprietary options.
The early technical issues with VoIP such as voice quality have now been largely overcome. In a few years all businesses will be using VoIP telephone systems, but for small business there is still a question about the best time to make the commitment. There is also another question and that is whether to consider using an external VoIP business phone service.
The option of using a small business phone service is increasingly popular with SMBs. They provide the maximum flexibility and are generally cost competitive with a premise based systems.
See also: Buying a Used Phone System - the Pros and Cons
See also: Skype for Business
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From VoIP Small Business Solution to Business Phone Tools
