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Making the Case for Hosted IP-PBX. It’s the economy…and it’s not stupid. Walter Snell. What is a Hosted PBX?. Misconception A PBX sitting in a data center Vonage or Skype A inbound virtual PBX (e.g. Angel.com). What is a Hosted PBX?. Reality – it’s software
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Making the Case for Hosted IP-PBX It’s the economy…and it’s not stupid Walter Snell
What is a Hosted PBX? • Misconception • A PBX sitting in a data center • Vonage or Skype • A inbound virtual PBX (e.g. Angel.com)
What is a Hosted PBX? • Reality – it’s software • One virtual platform for many companies • Web based administration • User dashboards • QoS management service • New provisioning methods • Complete telecom services • New features/unified communications
Example Architecture • Key Concepts • Hardware Redundancy • Network Redundancy • QoS Management • Data Security
Hosted PBX is for the SMB Market • SMBs invest where challenges dictate • Many PBX and key systems are near retirement • Cost is the number one consideration • Lack of IT resources restricts advanced premise solutions • “Best of Breed” is traded for “Ease of Use” • Ideal for the 10-100 size business
Resource/Commitment According to Yankee over 30% of 2 million SMBs are in the market for hosted VoIP (aka the unfortunate 2 million) • Less Onsite IT Costs • Easier to Deploy/Change Services • Low Capital Investment Reference: Yankee Group SMB State of the Market Report
Hosted PBX Adoption Rates SMBs adopt rapidly when the needs are highest and the solution is clear – Hosted PBX is nearing that inflection point Reference: Yankee Group SMB State of the Market Report Only 30,000 business use Hosted PBX today Out of 2.4 million
Benefit #1 - ROI • Cost Comparison for 50 person business Premise Hosted Startup Cost 50 phones $18,000 ($350 per phone) IP-PBX $50,000 (Cisco Call Manager Express) Assessment $ 3,000 (Network Assessment) Labor $ 8,000 (80 hours @ $100 hour) $79,000 Monthly Operations Cost 30 Employees $ 0 25,000 minutes $ 1,250 mo. (.05 average) 24/7 Support $ n/a IT On Site $ 500 mo. (consulting fees) Software Maint. $ 1000 mo. (15% annualized) PRI Service $ 450 mo. $ 3,200 mo. Startup Cost 50 phones $ 12,500 ($250 per phone) Setup $ 1,500 (30 per user) QoS Router $ 1,000 (Router) iQ Manage $ 1,000 (QoS Mgmt) Labor $ 2,000 (20 hours @ 100 hour) $18,000 Monthly Operations Cost 30 Employees $ 1,250 mo. 25,000 VoIP minutes $ 625 mo. 24/7 Support $ 0 IT On Site $ 0 Software Maint. $ 0 T1 Service $ 450 mo. $ 2,325 mo.
Benefits #2 - Freedom • Work Anywhere • Local and remote users • No WAN congestion problem that IP-PBX suffers • Mobile users – soft phone, cell phone, etc. • Home users – completely connected • On-net Extension Calling • Dial an extension whether its in San Diego or Japan • No cost calling
Benefit #3 – Self Control • MACD • Self manage Moves, Adds, Changes, Deletes (MACD) • No Consultants needed • Add new numbers • Order new phone numbers online • Local, US, even international numbers • Order new services • No truck rolls – provision instantly • E.g. email-fax, video, collaboration, ACD
Challenge #1 - Quality • Quality is number one concern • If it doesn’t sound good, then it’s not good enough • It must never drop calls or jitter • Reasons • Overloaded LAN – can’t handle VoIP • Poor ISP service provider network • Solutions • QoS Management Tools • Managed WAN circuits (MPLS-DSL, dedicated T1)
Challenge #2 - Reliability • It has to work all the time • Premise equipment aims for 99.999% • Not there yet for hosted but close 99.99% • Reasons • Network and Power Outages • Software/Hardware Problems • Solutions • Routing Masks (inbounds move to cell, legacy) • Local failover to PSTN in critical business apps • POE (power over ethernet) + battery backup
Hosted PBX to UCX (unified communications exchange) Mobile Services Unified Messaging Telephony Multimedia Communications Video Conferencing Hosted PBX Video/Web Conferencing Enterprise IM Services Mobile Communications Unified Communications Architecture Collaboration Unified Messaging Predictive Dialing Workflow API Easy to add new features as businesses move up the technology value chain
Enhanced VoIP Example – Hosted Auto Dialing 2 Send live callers • Upload call data to Hosted PBX • Smartcast begins predictive calling • Leaves voicemail on no answer • Pops live called party to agent screen • Routes live calls to sales agent • Starts/Stops based on Agent Activity 1 2 3a 3b 3c 4 Outbound dials 3b 1 Upload data 3a Pop SF Record Sales Team Location: Anywhere Size: 1 to 100 Salesforce Data Center Location: Save up to $2000 per month per sales person in labor costs
Review • Hosted PBX services are ideal for SMBs • Low CAPEX and OPEX are primary drivers • Flexibility, mobility, and ease of use are other advantages • Challenges are QoS and reliability • Enhanced features enable businesses to reduce costs much further • Hosted PBX is nearing the inflection point