Page 4 - 3CX July 2015

4 3cx Drilldown
July 2015
3CX’s Sweet Spot

T
here are now fully seven ways to mount
UC at an enterprise or an SMB: TDM COST CUTTING ROI
with the freedom to choose which SIP trunking
PBX, VOIP (or IP) PBX, Hybrid PBX, For customers migrating from a Legacy or
solution, the ability to scale and add on services, G
sotware based PBX, open source, cloud PBX, Hybrid PBX, there will be hard cost saving
and allowing the customer to switch between REEN
Skype (or Lync) PBX and what we might
seen in smaller phone bills, as both customer on prem or cloud mounted services as the
call “all BYOD”. he on-prem PBXs may be and channel can choose the best available SIP customer’s business needs evolve.
by Doug Green
further sub-divided into servers that demand trunking service. We should also remember the his is signiicant because by ofering both
proprietary end points and other proprietary requirements and those that allow for some reason for the slow migration: infrastructure. TDM is not “free”. Some legacy systems are staf time hogs, demanding certiied or trained techs on prem and cloud, and by ofering a very wide measure of control, the reseller retains his
level of choice. here is a tradeof between In theory Americans completely renew their doing MACs and maintenance.
role as a true value adding entity, customizing
upfront costs, ongoing operational costs such infrastructure in a 16-year cycle, but like any But if the savings help pay for the move, the solutions for the customer and retaining an
as maintenance and monitoring and recurring median, it’s remarkable how many parts of additional functionality SCX delivers, can add
ongoing relationship with the customer. As
fees, typically from cloud delivered services. the United States are untouched by upgrade
And with BYOD, we might also imagine that schedules. Users with remote sites still
in a sense, employees now assume part of
have broadband access issues. And even in
the cost because they literally bring to work communities with adequate broadband, many if the savings help pay for the move, the additional
their device of choice. Meanwhile, not only buildings lack proper cabling, or are built in functionality SCX delivers, can add to company
do IT and UC departments consider variables such a manner that upgrading the cabling
of upfront and recurring charges, they also could be prohibitive. Companies that are only productivity. In simple terms, it’s likely that your TDM
look at functionality. Basically, it comes down searching for the updated versions of what they
to inding the optimum functionality at an already have may decide to postpone migration, customer is using his PBX less and less because it’s no
afordable price.
being unable to justify the cost.
I have never been one to argue that any one We also have the emergence of Skype as a longer syncing up with the way we work today.
company or any one approach is the right potential PBX. I know that we should consider
solution for every user. Every organization is this to be a federated solution, since it’s both
unique and indeed everyone’s real costs will
on-prem and cloud based, but I think we
be unique given big diferences in existing might consider Skype to be in a space of its to company productivity. In simple terms, it’s resellers change their sales culture from selling
infrastructure, vendor relationships (where history and volume can mean lower than own. Here we have a ubiquitous technology company promoting what was a consumer likely that your TDM customer is using his
PBX less and less because it’s no longer syncing big on prem iron to soter or cloud-managed approaches, 3CX ofers a path for the reseller to
average costs for some) and the speciic product as a full on serious communication up with the way we work today. A low impact be a major player. he customer gains because
demands the enterprise needs. We are now system for business: Skype for Business. People migration to this type of solution is going to be the reseller is less likely to be tempted to
sixteen years since the irst VOIP PBX shipped, are adopting Skype as a PBX but there are greeted by company employees as an asset. he shoehorn a solution.
and well over a decade since other alternatives many self admitted gaps that may not matter to irm is providing better tools, and they are being In a crowded market, 3CX has carved out a
arrived and America’s installed based still
some enterprises, but would be a deal breaker provided in a Windows environment that is special niche, worthy of careful consideration:
is dominated by TDM. Its not that people
for many others. And down this path the user easily understood.
a Windows based solution you can mount on
are buying and installing TDM, but that the must consider a longer-term issue: do I want to any server, or from the cloud, you get the full
enormous base of installed legacy PBXs are
deepen my relationship with a single vendor. CLOUD TOO
functionality and scalability of any on-prem
still awaiting migration. For the channel, the he answer might be yes for some. Others may 3CX also now ofers a cloud solution too, and hardware solutions, and your not bound to one
opportunity in the remaining part of the decade prefer a more vendor-distributed approach.
like its sotware-based version, there’s plenty of outsized vendor that narrows your choices. You
is not only grabbing your fair share out of green choice and savings to be had. he 3CX cloud have control and functionality. In the many
ield installs, but also having the right product THE CASE TO SELL 3CX
PBX ofers full functionality. he reseller gets stories of this spring and summer, this remains
and right narrative to match customer needs A likely reader of this publication, if they are in complete control over the customer account,
big news. ■
when each of those thousands of sites comes up the channel, sells an on-prem solution. Good
for “rip and replace”.
idea. hat should be one of the things in your
ON PREM HARDWARE SPEED BUMPS
quiver because some customers are simply
going to want that business model and that
As those users survey the landscape, they will be confronted with some signiicant speed method of technology delivery. But increasingly, even very tradition bound irms are consuming
bumps to going VOIP via on prem proprietary more cloud services, and basically every IT
hardware. First, it’s simply more expensive
department uses generic servers to mount
to go this way in terms of up front cost. he various solutions for multiple suppliers. In other
badged server, pound for pound in terms of words, ofering either sotware based solution
processing power and function, is likely to be and or a cloud option, will make sense to most
more expensive than a generic server, even if people today.
the generic server is still a name brand (just not
a UC name brand).
RUNS ON WINDOWS, ON ANY SERVER
he user is then faced with other proprietary he basic 3CX value proposition is simple. It’s
costs: speciic branded end points that can
a sotware PBX that runs on Windows and
run several hundred dollars each, or using that you can basically mount it on any server.
non-speciied phones that cost less but don’t hat gives the dealer and his customer a big
deliver the functionality that you just purchased menu of choices right there, where they can
from the PBX. Users are also looking at customize and scale. It’s very easy to install and
maintenance and monitoring costs that can the customers are not going to need extensive
become expensive, or they can buy third party training. he incumbent IT staf will not need
support at a discount while running the risk
special certiications as they typically need
of undermining a warranty agreement. hese systems are strong, robust and stable, but can to today on some of the bigger VOIP and
the same results be obtained with less expense HYBRID PBX brands, nor will they need Linux or other special programming skills. And 3CX,
and more choice?
ofers users a range of IP phones further lowers
We might also add another less commented
migration costs.

In theory Americans completely renew their

infrastructure in a 16-year cycle, but like any
median, it’s remarkable how many parts of

the United States are untouched by upgrade

schedules. Users with remote sites still have

broadband access issues.

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20/07/2015 19:42