Hosted versus CPE
The days of the plain old CPE IP-PBX are numbered. CPE PBX solutions that support cell phone
mobility, smartphones & tablets, third party UC apps and have the
capability to be deployed as a traditional CPE, in the cloud, or a distributed
solution are the future.
FortiVoice works with IP and analogue handsets |
In the medium term the flexibility to work with either
analogue or IP will be needed if vendors want to capture the legacy as well as
the IP sites, but long term this capability is likely to become less
important. FortiNet with its FortiVoice
solution offers one of the best examples of a CPE PBX that can work with IP
phones, analogue phones or both.
On the issue of cloud versus CPE, versus centralised, Mark
Shane, ICON Sales Director commented,
“The demarcation between the CPE PBX, cloud, or centralised versus
distributed solutions markets is very grey."
"Let’s not forget that if a customer has multiple sites and wants
a cloud based solution this does not rule out a CPE PBX sale. Vendors such as
Vertical Communications with its Wave IP-PBX can deliver a CPE solution which
can be deployed anywhere in the network - on-site or in the cloud”
Microsoft Lync and UC
Mark Shane observed,
“Microsoft Lync is making an impact in the telephony and UC market and
ICON with its vendor partner are looking at this market as one of the few
growth opportunities available for the channel”
In terms of delivering UC capability Lync is one of many
solutions available. However, in its
target niche it is a strong contender with an almost unassailable
position. Mark Shane, Sales Director at ICON,
explains
“ICON distributes a range of UC solutions as well as MS Lync approved mobility solutions and it is the Microsoft tag, pedigree and connections that
hold sway in its target niche. This
means that in those business and enterprises which are committed users of
Microsoft solutions Lync is the natural solution and a contender has to be able
to exceed the performance of the Microsoft brand for delivering reliably. There
are very few UC solutions which have the brand credentials to do this.”
That is not to say that MS Lync will dominate the entire UC
market. Outside of its target niche
where the emphasis shifts from brand credentials to features, functionality,
and price, MS Lync competes on a more level playing field with other UC
solutions. Mark explained
“In niches which are brand agnostic and the focus is more on features,
functionality and price than on brand there are other UC solutions that can
stand up tall against Lync. Solutions,
such as Wave from Vertical Communications, which are continually stretching the
envelop by offering novel business apps in a very advantages commercial package
can often be a strong contender against Lync especially in vertical sectors
needing specialist solutions.”
Mark added
Lync is unquestionably a force to be reckoned with in the market and it
has to be a strong and confident brand to take it head on in its target
niche. ICON and our partner vendors who
provide MS Lync approved mobility solutions are betting that there are very few
who can do this successfully in its target niche.
The future CPE PBX
The concept of the CPE PBX is changing. Vendors or now delivering
highly functional communications platforms capable of supporting third party
apps. Mark explained,
“The notion that a CPE PBX is a platform for third party UC apps, just
like the cell phone is a platform for apps, is a novel trend but one that long
term will provide businesses with many more solution options and the capability
to customise and add to the functionality of the PBX platform throughout its
life. "
"Vertical Communications is pioneering this with its Wave IP
solution which provides a platform to run applications traded on the VerticalAppMarket”
Investing in a CPE PBX platform that allows you to add
functionality at will means your communications platform can change, develop,
and be customised to suit the needs of the business throughout its working life
unlike the monolithic CPE PBX solutions that, perforce, deliver the same
functionality at the end of their life as on day one.
Leading the change in communications platforms are the Vertical IP-PBX solutions |
CPE PBX integrated applications fall into one of two
categories. There are the core UC
feature set applications which vendors such as Vertical Communications include
as standard on its Wave series of PBX and the traditional and not so
traditional call management applications such as such as contact centre, call
recording, IVR, fax plus a host of others. Mark commented,
“A few years ago integrated applications were the novel differentiators
in the CPE PBX market. Now they have
become de facto standard necessary features.
Presence and instant messaging are the UC applications many UC PBX
vendors package as UC standard features."
"However, true UC PBX solutions, such as Vertical’s Wave IP,
provide a host of other UC applications such as visual voicemail, conferencing,
document sharing, and screen based call management for mobiles.”
No comments:
Post a Comment