Choices when it comes to your communications infrastructure

A BUYER’S GUIDE TO IP-BASED SOLUTIONS

www.eplusbusiness.com

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Introduction Asmallbusinesshasmanypriorities.Withsomuchonyourmind,yourphonesystemmightbesomethingthatyouhaven’tthoughtaboutinawhile.Perhapsyouhaveafewphonelinesoratrunkthatconnecttoasystemlikeaprivatebranchexchange(PBX).Itseemstodothejob,butarethereotheralternativesouttherethatmighthelpyourbusinesssavemoneyandbemoreproductive?

Inaword,yes.Formanyyears,phonesystemswithsophisticatedfeatureswereonlyavailabletobiggerbusinessesthathadthecapitaltomakealargeup-frontinvestmentinequipmentthenspendmoremoneytocustomizeasystemtotheirspecificbusinessneeds.However,withtechnologiessuchasVoiceoverIP(VoIP)andnetwork,or“cloud”-basedservices,animpressivearrayofcapabilitiesarenowavailabletosmallbusinesses.Thebestpartisthattechnologyhasnotonlyincreasedcapabilities,butdroppedthepricetoapointwherevirtuallyanybusinesscantakeadvantage.

Thispaperisdesignedtohelpyouunderstandyouroptionsandmakethebestchoiceforyourbusiness.Whenyoubreakitdown,therearethreemaintypesofproductsbasedonVoIPtechnologythatareavailabletoyou.Theyare:

• IPTrunking–theseproductsallowyoutocontinuetouseyourexistingphonesystem,butuseInternetProtocol(IP)todrivecostsavings.

• IP-PBX–thisisamodern,IP-basedvariantofatraditionalphonesystemthatyoupurchase,installatyourbusinesslocation,andmanage.

• HostedPBX–thisisaservicethatdeliversphonesystemfunctionalityfromanetwork,orcloud-basedplatform.Youpayfortheservicemonthlywithlittleornocapitalinvestment.

Letusexaminetheseoptionsingreaterdetail:

IP Trunking OneofthesimplestwaysforasmallbusinesstoswitchtoVoIPisIP-basedTrunking(sometimescalledBusinessTrunkingorIntegratedAccess).ThissolutionallowsabusinesstotakeadvantageofthebenefitsofVoIPwithoutreplacingtheirexistingphonesystem.

InanIPTrunkingsolution,voiceanddataaregenerallycarriedoverasinglecircuitwithpartofthecircuitusedforvoice,theotherpartfordata.BecausevoiceisverysensitivetodelaysphonecallsalwaystakepriorityoverInternettrafficoremail.

SomeofthebenefitsofIPTrunkinginclude:

• CostSavings–Formanycustomers,themovefromseparatecircuitsforvoiceanddatatoasingle,“integrated”circuitwilldelivercostsavingsof10+%.

• NoCapitalCosts–Thesesolutionsallowbusinessestousetheirexistingphonesandphonesystemsotherearegenerallynoupfrontcharges.

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• PredictableOperatingExpense–Monthlyvoiceanddatachargesappearononebillandingeneralhaveprettypredictablemonthlycosts.Asmallbusinesswilltypicallypayafeebasedonhowmanyconcurrentphonecallstheymightmakeatanytime.Longdistanceusageiseitherunlimitedoralargepoolofminutes.

• NoMaintenanceExpenses–Becausethereisnonewequipment,therearenonewcostsassociatedwithmaintenance.

Thebiggestnegative–sincethebusinessisusingexistingequipment,there’snonewfunctionalitytohelpyourbusinessrunbetter.Ifyouhaveanagingphonesystem,IPTrunkingisprettymuchatemporarysolution–atsomepointyou’llneedtoreplaceit.

IP-PBX Purchasinganewphonesystemisalogicalstepinimprovingyourcommunicationsinfrastructure.Thesenewergenerationphonesystems,IP-PBX’s,candeliveranexcellentexperienceforyouremployeesandcustomers.However,youmightbeinforalittlestickershock.AnIP-PBXisacapitalpurchase–itrequiresyoutobuythephonesystem,newphones,andhaveitinstalled.Thesepurchasescaneasilyadduptothousandsofdollars($10,000+isnotuncommon).Yes,thatcostcanbefinanced,butyouneedtoconsiderwhetheryouwanttobuyandownapieceofdepreciatingequipment.

SomeotherconsiderationsyoumighthavewhenpurchasinganIP-PBXare:

• Obsolescence–Likeanyotherpieceofequipment,anIP-PBXcanbecomeoutdated.AnIP-PBXcanbeupdatedandupgraded,butitwillcostmoney.And,eventually,justlikewithanoldPC,therecomesatimewhenupgradingisn’tpossible.

• BusinessContinuity–SincetheIP-PBXwillresideinyourfacility,anythingthatmighthappeninandaroundit–apoweroutage,anaturaldisaster,etc.–willaffectyourabilitytosendandreceivecalls.

Hosted PBX HostedPBXmakesallofthefeaturesandcapabilitiesofabest-in-classphonesystemavailabletoyouwithouttheneedforabigcapitalpurchase.WithHostedPBX,theserviceproviderhostsandmanagesthephonesystemintheirnetwork.Asabusiness,youdonothavetoworryabouttheexpense,maintenanceorotherdownsidestopurchasingaphysicalphonesystem.Insteadofthatbigup-frontinvestment,youpayonlyforwhatyouneed.

SomeofthecharacteristicsofHostedPBXare:

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• LoworNoCapitalCosts–Sincethereisnoequipmenttopurchase,theup-frontcostsarelimited–andoftentheseareincludedaspartofyourmonthlybill.

• PredictableOperatingExpense–Monthlyvoiceanddatachargesareusuallycalculatedonapertelephonebasis.Ifyouhave10employeeseachwithatelephoneontheirdesk,yourmonthlyoperatingcostwillbe10timesasetfee.Ifyouaddpeople,you’llknowexactlyhowyourcostswillincrease.

• NoMaintenanceExpenses–Becausetheserviceproviderownstheequipment,theyareresponsibleofallthecostsassociatedwithmaintenance.

• BusinessContinuity–Sincethephonesystemresidesinasecurefacilitywithsafeguardslikeback-uppowerandequipment,eventsatyourlocation(suchasapoweroutage)wouldnotaffectyourbusiness.Youcansimplyandquicklyconfiguretheservicetohavethecallsroutedtoanalternatenumber(suchasanotherlocation,home,ormobiledevice).

• NoObsolescence–Theserviceproviderhostingthesystemwillroutinelyupgradetheservicesothatnewenhancementsaredeliveredonanongoingbasis.

Hosted PBX diagram

Hosted PBX from E+ Business Solutions E+BusinessSolutionsisproudtomakeHostedPBXavailabletoitscustomers.Weseethefutureasonewherebusinessesanywherecanreapgreaterperformancebenefitsatalowercostbymovingtoacloudbasedsolution.HostedVoiceisaHostedPBXthatmakesanincrediblearrayoffeaturesandcapabilitiesavailableatafractionofthecostofanon-sitephonesystem.

RouterIPNetwork

HostedPBXFeatureServer

Customer ServiceProvider

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Benefits HostedPBXistrulythelastphonesystemyou’lleverneed.Itdeliversbest-in-classcapabilitiesatapricethatareaffordableforall.Asdescribedearlier,ahostedapproachhasalotofadvantages.Inadditiontothose,hereareafewothers:

Abundledpriceforeverythingyouneedtorunyourbusiness.HostedPBXincludeseverythingyouneedtosupportthevoiceanddataneedsofyourbusiness.Therearenohiddencosts–yousimplypayaflatrateperemployeepermonthandthat’sit.Asyourbusinessexpands,youcansimplyaddnewuserstoyouraccount.

Bigbusinessfeatures.HostedPBXprovidesyouallthefeaturesyouneedandthensome.Ifyou’reonanoldersystemtoday,you’llbethrilledwiththefunctionalitythat’savailableinHostedPBX.Includedarethefeaturesyou’dexpect–calltransfer,voicemail,callforwarding,andthelike.However,whatreallymakesHostedPBXexcitingarecapabilitiessuchas:

• Mobility.Ourmobilitypackage,Accession,allowsyoutointegrateyourmobiledevice,tablet,orlaptopintoHostedVoice.Accessionincludesdownloadableclientsfor:

o Windowsbasedlaptops/desktopcomputers

o Android-basedmobiledevicesandtablets

o Appledevicesandtablets(iPhone,iPad,Macbook)

AccessionintegratesyourmobiledevicewithdeskphonefunctionsandenablesyoutosendandreceivecallsfromanydeviceconnectedtotheInternet.YoucanalsodoInstantMessaging,VideoChat,integratewithMicrosoftOutlook,andmoveactivecallsbetweendevices.

QuickandEasyCustomization–aneasytousewebportalenablesyouandyouremployeestoeasilycustomizetheirphonesystemexperiencetosuitthewaytheydobusiness.

Haveanemployeethat’soutoftheofficealotoftheday?Withtheclickofamouse,ausercantakeadvantageofHostedPBX’spowerfulremoteofficecapabilitiestohavetheirdeskphoneandmobilephoneringsimultaneously,orusethemobileclienttoreceivecallsanywhere.Wanttodistributeinboundsalescallstoagroupofemployees?Again,aclickofamouseintheweb

Accession Mobile App

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portalletsyousetupahuntgroupthatcanringyoursalesteam’sphonessimultaneously,insequence,orinaspecificpattern.

• CustomerService.E+BusinessSolutionsislocatedwhereyouare.Shouldthereeverbeaquestionorproblem,ourtrainedstaffwillsolveittoyoursatisfaction–quickly.Comparethattootherprovidersthatservecustomerswithan800numberinanotherstateorevenanothercountryandyou’llunderstandwhylocalisbetter.

• VoiceQualityandSecurity.SinceHostedPBXisaservicethat’sfullymanaged,weensureasuperiorexperience.Thisisnotaproductthatusesthecommercialinternettoroutevoicecalls.WithHostedVoice,end-to-endqualityandsecurityareassured.Allcallsareroutedoverourmanagednetworktogiveyourcallshighestquality.

Conclusion Therearealotofoptionsouttherewhenlookingataphonesystem.Itmayseemlikethestatusquo–nochange–isthesafestbet.However,thepaceoftechnologyhasnowmadepossibleanimpressivearrayofcapabilitiesavailabletosmallbusinessthatwaspreviouslyonlyavailabletolargerones.Nowmightbetherighttimetoevaluateyourneedsandseeifnewcapabilitiesmighthelpyourbusinessbemoreproductive.Youmightfindyoucanmakeabigjumpforwardwhilespendingprettymuchwhatyou’respendingtodayorevensavingmoney.WithHostedPBX,E+BusinessSolutionsisdeliveringabest-in-classphonesystemwithnoup-frontcoststhatallowsyoutobuyonlywhatyouneed.Wetakecareofallthedetails–phones,equipment,installation,training,andongoingservice–soyoucanfocusonyourbusiness.Bestofall:we’rerighthereinJackson–we’reavailablearoundtheclocktohelpsolveanyproblemsyoumighthave.CallustodayattofindouthowHostedPBXcanhelpyourbusiness,orgetmoreinformationatwww.eplusbusiness.com