Why VoIP For SMBs Is Hot

Reason No. 3: The Potential For Managed Services

Several PBX and handset makers have launched initiatives to fuel managed and hosted services for VoIP customers, especially for small businesses with fewer than 50 employees.

"Managed services are among the key trends we're seeing from service providers," Nortel's Segura says. "In 2007, we're augmenting our bundles to include a managed service that allows for the throttling of different kinds of traffic." This will mean the ability to prioritize voice packets over video packets, he says.

Telecom carriers may seem like the most obvious providers of managed services for VoIP because they are, first and foremost, providers of voice services. But VARs are getting into the game too.

"The carriers have been driving this, but that doesn't necessarily mean it has to be a [traditional] service provider offering it," says Jeanne Bayerl, director of marketing and business development for small and medium businesses at Plano, Texas-based Alcatel.

In fact, while most of them work closely with carriers on VoIP packages for their customers, many VARs believe that they have more to offer in terms of managed VoIP services than carriers do. And VoIP deployments are often easier to manage than circuit-switched deployments because they can be managed remotely.

"Before if we wanted to sell a PBX in Boston and something went wrong, we'd need to get to Boston to fix it," Boardwalk's Stone says. "Whereas now, even if it's a hardware issue, Cisco has the SMARTnet Maintenance program so we can prepare the unit remotely."

"Most of the carriers are in the business of getting lines and getting circuits and those kinds of things," ATS' Sims says. "They're not always set up to go past the demarcation point and deal with the everyday problems of the customers."

CTI's Blau agrees. "VARs like mine are typically similar in size and scale to our customers," he says. "Most small businesses are nimble and quick and expect the same level of attention that they give to their customers, and carriers can't execute on that."

To that end, CTI in January plans to roll out a hosted VoIP service, using equipment from Avaya and BroadSoft. The only customer-premise equipment will be the IP phones.

"It's not for everyone, but in the instances where a hosted solution is right, people will know that they have an opportunity to work with a company that knows the market," Blau says.

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