Cisco SMB Class Solutions Your Next Phone System Purchase

Transcription

1 Overview Cisco SMB Class Solutions Your Next Phone System Purchase The Smart Buyer s Checklist for Small and Medium Organizations Will your aging telephone system soon need replacing or require a significant upgrade? Is your Centrex contract coming up for review? Does your company plan to move or to add new offices? If any of these situations apply to you, you re in a position to reap significant new advantages and cost savings with your next phone system procurement. Continuing to invest in outdated equipment doesn t pay. Many new cost-saving and productivity benefits are available with the latest class of phones and systems. These systems use the common Internet Protocol (IP) standard to tie into the same communications network that carries and other important information to your employees desks. With IP phones, workers can have traditional phone conversations with the same level of reliability that they enjoy today. But because your voice and computer systems are integrated, users can also access valuable Web content right from their handsets. They can even integrate their voic and boxes into a single electronic message center. Phone systems built on Internet technology are the most advanced and flexible options available today, and best at protecting your investment in tomorrow s networked world. In addition to simply handling telephone calls and displaying information, they help you reduce or eliminate telephone service toll fees. And they simplify installation and maintenance. In other words, these systems do more for your business, but are much less expensive to own and operate than older private branch exchanges (PBXs) and key telephone systems. And your investment is protected. The new systems can expand both in the number of connections and type of applications they support, at the same pace as your evolving business requirements. This is much more cost-effective than having to invest in significant upgrades or replacements as your business grows and changes. Because of these traits, the IP phone systems are safest choice today. But how can you make sure you select the right one? Ask the Right Questions When evaluating new phone system options, it s helpful to create a list of the attributes you require both in the products you will eventually buy and in the manufacturer that supplies them. Have the list handy when talking to a potential supplier or reseller so you can make sure to ask about each of your musts. All contents are Copyright All rights reserved. Important Notices and Privacy Statement. Page 1 of 5

2 Here is a suggested checklist: Can the phones display Web-based content and text? IP phones can display text retrieved from your computer system to make users more productive. The text could be customer account information needed during a phone call with a client, for example. Or an employee could check whether a certain product is currently in stock directly from a handset. Do the phones support XML-based applications? Ask whether the phones support an open application interface called extensible Markup Language (XML). Telephony applications developed by third parties using XML can work with phone systems that also support XML. Some phone-aware XML applications are designed as general productivity tools for use in any type of business. Others are customized to specific vertical markets, such as healthcare, retail, financial services, education, and legal services. If your handsets and phone system support XML, you can use any mix of these applications. Does the phone system support unified messaging? Find out whether users can access and respond to voice mail, , and fax messages from a common mailbox using any phone handset or PC. Merging electronic mailboxes keeps users from checking multiple message mailboxes all day long. Two research firms, Radicati Group and InfoTech, conduct frequent studies on the impact of unified messaging. They estimate that it saves each employee about 30 minutes of time each workday time employees can be devoting to other tasks. If you are running Microsoft Customer Relationship Management (CRM), can all phone users access the customer information stored in it? Integration between your phone and Microsoft CRM allows you to see screen pops of customer records on PCs as customers dial in. Users can also dial out to a customer directly from the client s record within the CRM application. And your organization can track calls and call duration and merge this data with the appropriate records in your client database. With legacy phone systems, integrated voice and CRM capabilities have usually been available to call-center personnel only and only after a costly and time-consuming programming effort. However, your IP phone systems should be able to integrate with your Microsoft CRM automatically and extend those benefits to all users with phones, not just call-center personnel. Are both wired and wireless phone handsets available from the manufacturer? Some of your more mobile users might require a wireless phone. These could include employees who often attend meetings in conference rooms or who work in warehouses or on retail floors. In addition, faculty and staff in school systems and healthcare organizations that routinely move among buildings, offices, and rooms. Can the manufacturer provide both wired and wireless handsets? If so, you can avoid equipment integration headaches and finger pointing among suppliers, should phones need servicing. Instead, you ll get consistent technical support and customer service from one company. In addition, make sure wired and wireless handsets work in the same way and support all of the same features. Consistency makes the installation more acceptable to users, and end-user training is simpler, too. All contents are Copyright All rights reserved. Important Notices and Privacy Statement. Page 2 of 5

3 Does the manufacturer supply wireless networking equipment? If you are interested in using wireless handsets, you ll need a wireless, or Wi-Fi, network in your building. Low-cost Wi-Fi networks transmit both your phone conversations and computer data over the air. These networks virtually eliminate cabling costs while empowering your users to remain connected when mobile. For volume discounting and consistent service, it s helpful if your vendor can supply your wireless network, too. Can phone stations be powered by the same cabling already at employee desks for their PCs? If so, you can eliminate the cost of one run of cabling to each employee workspace. Savings come about both in the cost of the cable itself and the labor to install it. Being able to supply power over the same cabling used to connect devices to the phone system is usually referred to as Power over Ethernet. Ask for it! In addition to power, check that only one communications cable must be run to desks that have both a PC and an IP phone. Usually, a single cabled connection attaches to the phone, which plugs into the PC in a daisy-chained fashion. This eliminates the need to run two separate communications cables to support each type of device again, saving you materials and labor costs. Can the manufacturer supply softphones PC-based telephony applications as an alternative to an IP handset? If so, mobile users can make phone calls right from their laptop computers using the corporate phone network, even if they are off-site in a temporary work location. As long as they have a secure connection into your computer network, they can access all of their telephony, messaging, and data applications. They can also hop right onto your corporate phone network and place inexpensive or free on-net calls while remote. What administrative changes must be made to move to the new system? Have the vendor explain what a typical migration strategy to the new system would entail. For example, how do you map your existing phone extensions to the electronic addresses used by your new phone switch? Is there a quick and easy tool to help you do this? If not, will the vendor provide onsite assistance during the conversion? How does the phone system maker support your ability to save money on toll charges? Extending your new phone system to a long-distance network requires a device called a gateway. This device connects your internal phone system to an outside network, such as the Internet, that allows you to bypass toll charges. Can the potential vendor supply this? The gateway should also have a fallback capability that automatically moves calls onto the traditional public telephone network if there is ever a temporary problem connecting to the alternative network. How financially stable is the product manufacturer? You want a vendor you can count on not only to survive. You also should feel comfortable that the vendor will have the resources to provide you with excellent service, support, and new features going forward. It s a good idea to ask a vendor to demonstrate that it has been steadily profitable over the past six financial quarters. This track record is a strong indicator that the vendor will maintain a solid business stance for the next 6 to 12 quarters. All contents are Copyright All rights reserved. Important Notices and Privacy Statement. Page 3 of 5

4 Is the phone system manufacturer a leader in communications technology that supplies equipment to phone companies? For you to get the most out of your investment, check that the vendor is also a primary supplier of Internet technology to telephone companies. Phone companies maintain very high reliability standards. They use Internet technology to transport voice communications in bulk across their networks. Now, they are also beginning to offer you IP-based subscriber voice services. Companies that are primary suppliers of Internet communications equipment to phone companies have a proven track record of successfully integrating voice and IP communications with very high levels of reliability. How can you compare the new total cost of ownership (TCO) with your existing PBX or key system TCO? Have the potential vendor help you with TCO calculations, so you can evaluate the savings both in capital investment and in administration over a period of years. Here are some reasons that the TCO with an IP phone system should be lower: IP phone systems are built on open industry standards. Legacy phone systems, by contrast, use a single vendor s proprietary technology. They have to be serviced and upgraded by that vendor, which is expensive. The newer phone systems use standard computer technology, which has volume-production capital-cost benefits. And you can train your own staff to manage the equipment. Moving users to different work areas and adding new employees to the phone system are simpler with an IP phone system. Users can move to a different location and simply log on to the phone with their existing credentials. In other words, their phone extensions and settings (such as speed dials) automatically follow them around. This is the case, regardless of whether the worker is using a wired or wireless handset or a softphone. Protect Your Investment The next decision you make has the potential to affect the productivity and cost outlay of your organization for many years to come. It makes practical business sense to shop for a phone system that does the following: Expands and changes in sync with your business needs far into the future, rather than requiring wholesale upgrades or replacements Supports new integrated text-based functions and an XML interface for running third-party telephony applications Costs less to own and operate Supports user mobility Saves you money on toll charges Handles phone calls with at least the same degree of reliability as legacy systems The wise buyer will also investigate the support of the specific capabilities described, as well as the staying power and service reputation of the vendor. To learn more about how to make the most out of your next phone system, contact your Cisco Systems IP Communications partner or representative. To locate a Cisco partner in your area, visit: All contents are Copyright All rights reserved. Important Notices and Privacy Statement. Page 4 of 5

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