“Every pitch we attend the conversation is inevitably drawn to the subject. The issue is often that VoIP means different things to different people and there is a plethora of different ways to provide and market this new technology.
From a billing point of view there is an argument that says nothing has changed – VoIP still produces a CDR and in the majority of cases calls are still billed on a per minute basis. There are some complexities but Tempest can handle them all. For example, SIP addresses replacing CLI in the database, multi-leg calls, on net and off net calls and of course inclusive minute bundles all need to be considered.
Our customers are coming at voice from different angles but most involve deploying a hardware solution that facilitates VoIP calls. MESH networks are used quite extensively in the UK and abroad to create wireless broadband communities and increasingly these are now used to deliver voice services as well as internet access. At the other end VoIP gateways and PBX equipment is being installed at businesses at an increasing rate and many are seeing the benefit of reduced call costs and free inter-site calls.
For some resellers this hardware element is a new thing. It’s easy to forget that many of today’s successful resellers do not come from a Comms background. CPS took the technology out of selling voice and apart from provisioning the line there are no technical aspects to that sale. VoIP changes that and this is where the more traditional PBX resellers and maintainers have the advantage. Having the experience and sales skills to sell a ‘piece of kit’ with the added advantage of cheaper calls is real bonus.
Traditional minutes are not dead but resellers that have a get out plan further than three years away then they must start looking at VoIP as an opportunity.