Page 1 of 3
Networking upstart Sutus earlier this month introduced a number of new features to Business Central, its communications-in-a-box offering. The two-year-old product, which spans everything from IP-PBX to firewall functionality, is intended as an all-in-one for small businesses craving full-featured voice and data solutions -- and it's earning Sutus lots of fans in the channel.
New as of this week are subscription services for advanced e-mail security, including antispam and antivirus, and the Sutus Connector application, which offers click-to-dial, caller ID pop-up prompts and other interface-based communications controls. Also new are networking features such as out-of-office assistant, e-mail forwarding and e-mail inbox quotas that max out at 16 GB.
The company, which was founded in 2003 in Vancouver, Canada, emerged from stealth mode nearly three years ago with the first of its Business Central offerings. It has since proceeded to expand the functionality and capabilities of the appliance -- with everything from routing and VPN remote access to Web server and messaging features -- while keeping costs low and deployment simple, all managed from a single Web-based interface.
It's an idea that has gained traction, according to Sutus executives, especially in hard economic times where small businesses are investing in IP networking solutions to keep costs down but don't want to pay for features they don't use and don't want to manage cumbersome technology that requires modules and new investments to upgrade. Sutus' solutions are tailored for businesses of multiple locations and between three and 25 users per location. They are aimed at VARs comfortable with selling a one-box appliance and delivering managed services on top of it.
All told, a smaller business can set up with the full Business Central 200 solution for between $2,000 and $3,000 initially, depending on features. The box itself isn't cheap, but it's a relative steal considering what SMBs would need to pay for individual feature sets and appliances, especially when they can add alarm systems, security cameras, servers and other small-business devices as "plug-ins" for use on the Sutus box.
