Now that the global financial crisis is behind us and the road to recovery has begun, it is a great time for small and medium businesses to take advantage of new technologies to help them not only grow their business, but save time and money. One such technology is digital telephony or Voice over IP (VoIP).
According to Maurice Famularo, marketing director for D-Link Australia and New Zealand, digital telephony or Voice over IP (VoIP) technology can help businesses to reduce costs and boost their bottom line. VoIP is synonymous with reduced costs via cheap or free phone calls. It works at the consumer level where maintenance costs and productivity benefits are not usually a factor.
It also works for large enterprises which can achieve both call cost savings and productivity improvements with sophisticated Internet Protocol-Private Branch eXchange (IP-PBX) systems – at a price. But it doesn’t work for small and medium businesses. VoIP call savings alone don’t justify replacing existing systems if it means losing functionality. And previous IP-PBX systems have been simply too expensive and difficult to set up and maintain.
As a result, VoIP telephones are rapidly replacing conventional analog phone systems in homes and large enterprises, but not in small and medium businesses. That is all about to change with the next generation of IP telephony systems, based on Microsoft Response Point™ software, offering improved functionality and ease of use at a substantially lower price point.
“These systems, such as D-Link’s VoiceCenter™, offer the call cost savings that have made VoIP attractive to small and medium businesses, plus the productivity benefits that have also driven its adoption by larger enterprises,” said Famularo. ”Leveraging investments in IP networks and PCs, they are actually less costly than conventional telephone systems. In Australia, a complete 5-user system is retailing for around AUS$4,269 with replacement telephone handsets costing AUS$299.”
The VoIP system is also easier to set up as it enables anyone with basic networking knowledge the opportunity to customise a telephone solution in a matter of hours. Changes to basic and advanced preferences can also be handled by users via an easy-to-use software interface. Phone extensions can follow employees as they move around the premises without rewiring and they are more functional. All the usual office telephone features are supported, plus new ones like voice commands, voice dialing and a voice automated receptionist. Users can reach anyone in their company directory or Microsoft Outlook® address book by simply saying their name. They can transfer, put on hold and retrieve calls the same way, or via their telephone keypads. Voicemail to e-mail forwarding is also supported.
According to Famularo, Microsoft Response Point systems will continue to add functionality over time because they are software-based. A number of further improvements are slated throughout 2009/2010 – such as advanced integration with Microsoft Outlook – enabling further productivity benefits.
“Having the right sales and support channel is an important element of any small and medium business solution because small organisations cannot afford to be reliant on one large vendor for support. They need to have a choice of suppliers that understand their needs and are geared up to handle them,” said Famularo.
So, while 2009 was not an easy year for many small and medium businesses, technology advancements will help to cushion the blow and put forward-thinking businesses on an even stronger footing. Every cloud does indeed have a silver lining.
– Joan Kuhrmann is the marketing communication executive for D-Link Australia Pty Ltd (www.dlink.com.au)
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