What’s important in a business VoIP service? (win a free WiFi VoIP phone)

March 27, 2009 by Garrett Smith

Over the quarter I’ve met and chatted with a number of business VoIP providers.

The conversations have ranged in topics, but the one question that always comes up is, “What’s important to customers looking for a business VoIP service?”

To me it’s an intriguing question. For two reasons:

  1. No two service providers give the same answer. And often they’re not always sure themselves.
  2. There are quite possibly hundreds of answers. Answers that are always changing and often heavily debated.

Now, don’t get me wrong. It’s not like service providers and I are completely clueless about what customers want (and need).

It’s just that markets and customers are always changing and the collective readership here has far more insight into the expansive list of “important items” then a few dozen individuals.

So since it’s Friday, the sun’s out here in Buffalo, the weekend and the end of the quarter is upon us, I’d like to hear from all of you what YOU think today’s business customer is looking for in their VoIP service.

Oh and since it’s not snowing one commenter will be selected to receive a FREE QuickPhones QA-342 WiFi VoIP Phone.

Let’s hear it!

VoIP minute usage up slighty last quarter

March 26, 2009 by Garrett Smith

iLocus (one of my favorite places to grab in-depth analysis of the VoIP markets) released some new figures yesterday on the VoIP market.

According to their research:

  • Local VoIP minute usage grew by 7% from Q3 08 to Q4 08 (est 107. 2 billion minutes)
  • International long distance (ILD) minutes showed a small pull-back in Q4 08 (est 22.5 billion minutes)
  • National long distance (NLD) minutes showed a continued increase reaching an estimated total of 298.1 billion minutes

The growth in the local VoIP minute usage is likely attributed to the success of the cable companies with their digital home phone service offerings. While 7% wouldn’t wow anyone in a normal economic environment, given that most markets have lost 20 – 30% of the top in recent months, any growth is good.

iLocus attributes the decline in international long distance to consolidation in the wholesale ILD service provider space. One could also agrue that the economy is at play since people are likely cutting back on more costly ILD calls.

The steady growth in NLD VoIP minutes is attributed to the wireless carriers growing use of IP networks. Given that most VoIP providers (both consumer and business) have continued to grow in the face of the recession some of the total growth must be attributed to the migration to VoIP as a low cost alternative.

While Q408 wasn’t as stellar as many quarters in the past it was certainly better then what many other sectors can claim.

Skype becomes another VoIP trunking provider

March 23, 2009 by Garrett Smith

It’s hard being different.

For years Skype has been something different. A new kind of communications company. One that does all the things that a cutting-edge 2.0 new age telecommunications company should be doing.

But today it seems that they’ve come to the reality that sometimes you just have to be like everyone else.

The launch of Skype for SIP, a beta program that gives you Skype trunking functionality for your SIP based VoIP PBX systems, is big news for many in the industry.

Except isn’t this just a me-too trunking service? A way for businesses to take advantage of the economies offered by Skype’s peer-to-peer network.

Sorry folks. There is nothing big here except cheap minutes. The same thing that most in the industry detest hearing from VoIP providers.

Innovation and cutting edge doesn’t always pay the bills. Today we found out Skype knows this. And that’s why they’re once again going into minute stealer mode.

There is money in “plumbing.” Especially if yours is cheaper.

Get all of your Skype Hardware at VoIP Supply!

Do you want Google near your voice mail?

I know I don’t.

Over the past few days the relaunch of GrandCentral as Google Voice has generated a robust discussion about what Google is planning to do with voice. Thoughts range from Google building a standalone SOHO voice offering to Google using Google voice to bolster other offerings.

But there’s one thought that keeps popping-up. It’s the idea that Google voice will eventually provide the ability to derive context from your voice calls and voice mail for the purposes of archiving and retrieval at a later date.

(more…)

What’s Google doing with voice?

March 17, 2009 by Garrett Smith

There’s been quite a buzz surrounding Google’s release of Google voice. The offering is the second coming of GrandCentral, the service Google acquire a few years back.

Anytime a company like Google get’s involved with voice it seems like everyone in and around telecommunications loses their brains.

Folks. Google voice is not a business. It is simply a feature of a larger offering (which may or may not come to fruition).

You have to look at Google voice in the context of what Google is – an advertising company that wants to be a commerce company. To think that Google has ambitions past bolstering and or protecting their main income streams (ads) is far fetched at best.

In order for Google to continue to drive ad revenues they need more advertisers. To do this they need to make it easier to create something that requires advertising (I.E. an online business).

Slowly but surely Google is piecing together all of the components an entrepreneur or existing offline business needs to do business online. Sort of what eBay tried to do (but is failing at with) PayPal and Skype.

Google offers a way to make a site (Sites), optimize it for search (Site optimizer, webmaster tools), advertise it (Adwords, Ad manager), track performance (Analytics) and take payments (Google checkout). Now sprinkle in hosted productivity and collaboration products like Google docs, and way to communicate (Google Voice, Google talk) you’ve got all of need to launch a basic business online.

Today these all look like disparate offerings, but when put together they actually fit together well.

Can Google execute on this? Don’t know. That’s their problem.

But don’t expect them to be a VoIP/voice provider in any traditional sense.

Worse case they’ll use Google voice as a way to cover the black hole created by online leads that are converted offline. Like what Ifbyphone is doing with their call tracking services.

It’s a big problem for many marketers. Many of which would spend more if they new where all of their revenues were coming from.

Polycom Set to Release VVX 1500 IP Video Phone

March 9, 2009 by Garrett Smith

After a long wait and much speculation, Polycom has announced the release of their heavily anticipated VVX 1500 IP Video Phone.

The Polycom VVX 1500 is a child of impeccable DNA, combining the best of Polycom’s popular SoundPoint Series IP Telephones with Polycom’s technology leadership in video conferencing equipment.

The Polycom VVX 1500 features a full on color touch-screen interface for voice, video and applications. Add in a six-line IP phone with Polycom HD Voice wideband audio support to enable instant, one-touch business-grade video conferencing right from the desktop.

The Polycom VVX 1500 features an adjustable camera, base, and display to suit the environment and provide eye-level visual interactions.

Other features include a highly customizable applications platform with open Polycom XML API , integrated microbrowser and USB 2.0 for applications….Bundled with productivity and personalization applications, including Polycom Productivity Suite, Polycom My Info Portal and Digital Photo Frame….Deep IP PBX integration with a variety of Polycom Voice Interoperability Partners (VIP)….Integrated Gigabit Ethernet (GigE) switch for bandwidth-intensive applications….IEEE 802.3af powered at under 11W maximum for a “green” world….and Smart motion detection to enable the screen to go to power-save mode when no one is in the office.

Where’s the money in wireless VoIP? Manufacturing.

February 23, 2009 by Garrett Smith

Acme widgets is a leading manufacturer of widgets.

Acme got to the top of the widget world with their nimble nature and great internal communications. This allowed them to make quicker decisions then larger counterparts – a huge deal when making cutting edge widgets.

With all of the success came growth for Acme. With growth came more production lines.

What started out as a manufacturing plant with just one production line and four assemblers has now grown to 3 production lines with 12 assemblers.

You’d think that Acme would be smiling, but they’re not.

(more…)

Where’s the money in wireless VoIP? Part 2

February 18, 2009 by Garrett Smith

It might be tough for you to imagine today’s school environment. You’ve probably been out of school for years.

Even if you’re blessed to have children your parent teacher conferences and open houses often give little insight into one of the biggest problems facing America’s schools – overcrowding.

Today school enrollment is growing faster than space can be built. The halls are packed like a DSL line trying to handle a handful of simultaneous calls.

Most new teachers are no longer assigned a room. They’re nomads – roaming the halls with their classroom on wheels.

There isn’t much that you can do to alleviate the congestion. For that you simply need bigger schools.

But there is something that you can do about one of the largest issues facing today’s nomadic educator. And that’s where opportunity (and money) lies in wireless VoIP.

Like any organization communication is always an issue within a school. But getting a hold of someone takes on a new meaning when they have no physical presence. How exactly do you reach that nomadic educator?

You can’t pop into their classroom – they don’t have one.

You can’t call them – they have no phone.

Track them down. Send them an email you might be thinking. Well, it not that easy and like you most don’t have the time to tirelessly track someone down. Getting a hold of someone should be “easy.”

The solution?

Equip these nomadic educators with wireless VoIP phones.

Almost all schools have a network. Most schools have at least partial wireless network access. Getting a wireless VoIP phone into their hands configured to work in conjunction with their existing phone system or even in a peer-to-peer manner is well within the reach of most school districts.

You could create a nice little packaged solution for educational entities of all sizes featuring the QuickPhones QA-342 wireless VoIP phone and wireless infrastructure. The solution would be designed to help foster greater communication and accessibility across the district through the use of wireless VoIP.

You can even get marketing funds to help launch your efforts through the QuickPhones channel program. You’d also find some additional pull through on other services once you got your foot in the door with this problem solving offering.

There’s money in wireless VoIP. It’s roaming around schools across the nation.

One teacher, one classroom might be a thing of the past. Why don’t you make one teacher, one phone the future?

This is part 2 in a multi-part series on where the opportunity and money is in wireless VoIP.

Where’s the money in wireless VoIP?

February 16, 2009 by Garrett Smith

You have a compelling wireless VoIP product. You have a great channel program for that wireless VoIP product.

Now what?

Over the last four days a flood of emails and a bandwidth burning amount of calls have come in. You all seem excited about the QuickPhones QA-342. Many of you are ready to start making fat margins and have signed up for the QuickPhones channel partner program.

But a few of you still don’t know where the money is at in wireless VoIP.

This series of posts won’t tell you how to start a business, close sales or support your customers. This series of posts is not a silver bullet to your success in wireless VoIP.

It will show you the opportunities to make money in wireless VoIP. Opportunities that you VoIP service providers, value added resellers, integrators and folks in charge of voice communications can take advantage of and profit from.

Some of the specific opportunities that will be discussed target verticals such as:

  • Education
  • Healthcare
  • Manufacturing
  • Residential
  • Retail
  • Small Medium Business

So keep your eyes glued to your screen as over the next two weeks we will explore where the money is in wireless VoIP. Hopefully, you’ll learn enough to stop imaging that view from the beach and start working towards earning it.

P.S. If you’re impatient like me and can’t wait to learn more about how you can make money in wireless VoIP, feel free to contact me directly today. I’d be happy to help you.

Sick of not making money on VoIP hardware?

February 12, 2009 by Garrett Smith

I bet you are.

Remember the good ‘ole days? When you actually made fat margins on the VoIP hardware products you sold.

It was great. You made 25, 30, even 35 points of margin (and that’s on top of any services you performed).

Unfortunately those days are long gone. Over the last few years vendors and distributors in the VoIP industry have commoditized hardware and driven margins to the brink of extinction.

Leaving many channel partners frustrated and scrambling to make ends meet. It’s not pretty, but you know it’s the truth.

Imagine how nice it would be if there was a VoIP hardware channel program out there that provided up to 50% margins, street price protection, marketing funds, rebates and a team of individuals dedicated to your success as a channel partner.

You’d jump at the opportunity to be a part of that right?

What if I told you that there IS a channel program that offers all of this and more. You’re not imagining this. This channel program really does exist.

The program? It’s from VoIP Supply. Together with QuickPhones we have put together a channel program for the hottest new wireless VoIP product on the market – the QuickPhones QA-342.

But this program is not for every channel partner. If it was it’d be just like every other program.

Today we are looking for 50 47 (three new partners joined today) who want to invest in a product line with a channel program built from the ground up by those who know what it is like to be in YOUR shoes. In exchange for your investment you’ll receive:

  • Discounts of up to 50% off list
  • Street price protection to keep your margins fat
  • Sales and technical support to ensure your success
  • Market development funds to grow your business
  • Volume rebates to reward your accomplishments
  • SPIFFs for your organization to incentivize your efforts
  • Logistical services including blind drop shipments to save on your carrying costs
  • and a team of experts at VoIP Supply helping you along the way!

On top of all this you will be able to tap into the secrets of the VoIP Supply sales and marketing machine that has driven millions in sales since 2002.

 

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