Software Advice BuyerView: VoIP Software Report Insight into today s small-business software buyer

Transcription

1 Software Advice BuyerView: VoIP Software Report 2014 Insight into today s small-business software buyer

2 Abstract Every year, Software Advice speaks with thousands of organizations looking for the right software. We analyzed interactions with small-business buyers (those from organizations with annual revenues of $100 million or less) from 2013 to 2014 to uncover their most common pain points and reasons for purchasing new software. Key findings: Many small businesses have not switched from landlines and cell phones to VoIP. Small businesses put a premium on both reliability and scalability when evaluating VoIP solutions. Small businesses are overwhelmingly interested in hosted rather than onpremise solutions.

3 Many Buyers Currently Using Cell Phones and Landlines 13% 14% 42% VoIP Landline Nothing Cellular 31% While a good number of small businesses are currently relying on VoIP service, 45 percent still use landlines or cell phones for their telephony needs.

4 Pain Points Include Lack of Reliability and Scalability More reliable Company growth Lower price More functionality Better quality Better support More modern Remote accessibility Easier to use Better security 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% Percent of sample Seventeen percent of our sample wanted a higher level of reliability from their phone systems.

5 Majority of Buyers Favor Hosted Solutions 23% Web-based Unspecified 77% None of the buyers in our sample specified a preference for an on-premise system, though a significant amount of buyers failed to specify a preference.

6 Buyers Want Auto Attendant and Conferencing Applications PBX system Auto attendant Conference calling Internet fax ACD Call recording CTI Softphone Predictive dialer SIP trunking Broadband Internet 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Percent of sample Beyond PBX systems (the core of business phone systems), auto attendants and conferencing applications were highly popular among the buyers we spoke with.

7 Popular Features Include Voic and Voic -to- Voic Caller ID Voic -to- Number portability After-hours mode Find me/follow me Number customization IVR Remote access Hold music 0% 10% 20% 30% Percent of sample Though caller ID and voic are hardly cutting-edge technologies in 2014, these staples of business communications topped our list of popular features.

8 Buyers Want Integrated Unified Communications Solutions 1% 23% Best-of-breed Integrated suite only Multiple products OK 76% An overwhelming majority of buyers specified that they re seeking integrated solutions rather than best-of-breed applications.

9 Most Buyers Looking to Replace Their Phone Systems Immediately 22% 7% 1% 6% 64% 30 days 1-3 months 3-6 months 1 year Unspecified Because phone systems are the backbones of many businesses, most buyers have a short time frame for making a decision.

10 Few Buyers Have Backgrounds in IT 13% 6% 42% Owner/partner Management IT Other 39% In the small-business market niche, most buyers are business owners rather than IT professionals. These buyers value ease of setup and maintenance.

11 Most Buyers Need Systems for 1-9 Employees 5% 7% 7% 18% 11% 27% > 51 25% Most of the small businesses with whom we discussed phone system purchases had fewer than 10 employees.

12 Most Buyers Currently Using Fewer Than 10 Phones 13% 4% 8% 7% 14% 30% > 50 24% 62 percent of the buyers we surveyed were using 9 or fewer phones, though many of these buyers also observed that their businesses were growing.

13 Majority of Buyers Using Fewer than 10 Lines 3% 9% 1% 11% 12% 24% 41% > 50 Seventy-six percent of the buyers with whom we spoke were currently using fewer than 10 lines.

14 Buyers Located in a Variety of Industries 20% 4% 4% 5% 5% 5% 5% 8% 10% 33% Professional services Healthcare Retail Contact center Legal Manufacturing Media and entertainment Finance Nonprofit Other No single industry predominated in our analysis, though buyers rendering some kind of professional service accounted for 33 percent of our sample.

15 Learn More About VoIP Software Read Report Read the full report Get Free Quotes Get free price quotes on top VoIP software Get Free Demos Get unbiased reviews & free demos on top VoIP software

16 @SoftwareAdvice /company/software-advice Software Advice is a trusted resource for software buyers. The company's website, provides detailed reviews, comparisons and research to help organizations choose the right software. Meanwhile, the company s team of software analysts provide free telephone consultations to help each software buyer identify systems that best fit their needs. In the process, Software Advice connects software buyers and sellers, generating high-quality opportunities for software vendors.