How to buy a business phone system

www.unityconnected.com

© Unity Connected Solutions

+ Applications, features and business needs< 25 Stations

+ Cloud based Applications

+ Premise based Applications

+ Key Applications Explained

+ Connections and Devices

+ Cloud Based Connectivity

+ Cloud Connection Considerations

+ Premise Based Decisions – TDM vs VoIP

+ Premise Based Decisions - Lines

+ Pricing Considerations

+ Cloud Pricing

+ Premise Pricing

+ Pricing Comparison Summary

+ Final Thoughts

TABLE OF CONTENTS

+ Cloud or Premise

+ Explaining Terms

+ Cloud Systems High Level

+ Premise Based Systems High Level

Cloud or Premise?

Applications

Connections & Devices

Comparing & Summary

01 02 03 04 INTRO

Pages 20-25 Pages 14-19 Pages 9-13 Pages 5–8 Page 3-4

+ High Level Process

DIFFICULT DECISIONS AHEAD

For most of us, major IT buying decisions

come along perhaps once or twice in a

lifetime. We may not have the practiced

skills in decision-making itself, and the

rate technology continues to change at

can make the task even more daunting

and confusing.

Telephone systems are no different. They

could, in fact, be more daunting as the

system being replaced likely ran for years

and years and no one has really had to

think about what all the changes might

mean. Until now!

It is more likely we have upgraded our

computers and changed our mobile

phones several times since the last time

we looked at our phone system. With new

terms like Cloud, SIP, PRI and VoIP to

contend with it may very well become

overwhelming.

Having a roadmap can

prevent us running into

roadblocks later…

But there is a logical approach to the

process. In walking you through that

approach, we will also educate you on the

key terms as you need to know about

them.

We start with determining the core

platform or model – Cloud or Premise –

and then walk through Applications,

Devices, Connectivity and Support.

We would love to get your feedback on

whether this helped or not at:

[email protected]


4 © Duarte, Inc. 2014

HIGH LEVEL PROCESS

Make sure the TDM system can support you for at least 5 years

Premise

Business

Needs

Cloud

Or

Premise

TDM

Or

VoIP

Simple

Or

Advanced

PRI

Analog or

SIP lines

Check your Data Network. It may

need to be upgraded to

support VoIP

Worth checking SIP Trunks out. Could save you

30% to 60%

Check that a VoIP system can support Analog trunks - cheaply

Most manufacturers

are not making TDM

only systems

anymore.

Under 8 to 12 lines,

analog may still make

sense. PRI better for

12 or more lines

Not all IP phones are SIP. Not all

SIP are standard. Cloud uses SIP

Digital sets will be proprietary to one vendor and

possibly one system

Check if people

prefer a soft phone

for their PC or Smart

Phone. Could save $

IP

Digital or

Soft Phones

At least make sure the phones are compatible – if you decide to

go advanced later

Make sure it isn’t feature it is and you are paying for more than

you need

With a CAPEX

premise buy – you

tend to know your

costs. With OPEX be

careful not to go over

Make sure you take into account things like door

phones and other attachments you like or use – ask if you can get with Cloud

Cloud often includes LD

calling, saving you more money

Lines Cloud

Cloud simplifies the

line question, but

ensure you have

enough Internet

bandwidth & Speed

Check # line,s & if LD is provided. Mileage varies by

vendor.

Most will require you buy your own phones. The only

CAPEX part

Self install is not always easy.

Check if vendor will install &

support

SIP or

Soft Phones

SIP is the standard

for Cloud. But SIP is

not always standard.

So check carefully

Don’t assume Cloud is less secure. Often Cloud Data

Centres are more secure than your office, especially from

disasters.

Check payment terms. Are you locked in for one

year, 3 years, etc

What install and service options are available. OR is it completely do it yourself?

Check Service Provider ability to deliver any new

services on time

Take a look at leasing. Most vendors offer attractive

lease rates to make a CAPEX buy look like OPEX


Cloud or Premise?

01 + Cloud or Premise

+ Explaining Terms

+ Cloud Systems High Level

+ Premise Based Systems High Level

CLOUD OR PREMISE?

Everyone is searching for new

ways to ‘consume’ technology

and many are familiar with

cloud apps already.

Cloud telephony is here now

and is a viable option for

consideration.

Cambells brought us the famous fork or

spoon commercial, to show off their new

chunky soups. The bottom line was that

you could use either a fork or a spoon

and the soup would taste just as good.

Similarly with telephone systems, you now

have two ways to ‘consume’ your

telephone needs – a Cloud based system

OR a Premises based system. Both will do

the same thing but one of them may better

suit your business.

It makes sense to start with the Cloud or

Premise question as it impacts all the

other decisions you will need to make.

Care must be taken not to jump to the

conclusion that one will be less expensive

than the other just because it is Cloud or

Premise. We will talk about comparing

price at the end, because it should be

about fitting your business first.

.

We’ve actually been here before. Years

ago Carriers offered CENTREX, from

their Central Offices (Co). It provided

limited PBX functionality and could be

offered across cities. You paid monthly

with varying charges by type of phone,

how many buttons on the phone and

other features. Large Banks and

Government organizations used it as

they preferred the monthly fee model.

But PBXs offered more advanced

functionality, like powerful ACDs, Unified

Messaging and more and it became

difficult for Centrex to compete.

Cloud is the next generation Centrex, if

you like, offering the same benefits but

with more advanced capabilities.

Have we been here before?


EXPLAINING TERMS

With Cloud based Telephone Systems the

control equipment is located in a Data

Centre managed by the service provider

while telephone sets will be on your

premises.

The server controlling everything, the

applications and the carrier network

connections are all in your service

provider’s Data Centre or in the ‘Cloud’.

Any desk telephones and the data network

to support them are on your site.

Your Internet connection connects your

data network and desk telephones to the

Cloud Data Centre.

Someone else worries about the server,

updates, upgrades, maintenance, power

and security. Usually the things that take

the most effort to manage.

Traditional Telephone Systems have a

control unit or server that is located

somewhere on your premises. It might be

a closet, in an electrical or storage room or

in a proper computer room.

Your telephones may be directly wired

back to the control unit or are IP phones

on your data network and the server is

also on your data network, so it can

control them.

Finally, your telephone carrier will bring in

your network connections that will be

wired to the controller or server.

You manage it all, the server, cabling,

telephones, etc. Ensure updates happen,

upgrade items when needed. Pay the

carrier for your lines and LD. Yes, you can

have your reseller do these for you, but it

is all on your premises.

.

Cloud Premise

LAN

Desktop or Laptop IP Telephones Server

Control Unit Or

Application Server

Telco Line

Or Trunk

Connections

Traditional Telephone System (Your Site)

Your Site

Internet

VS


PLATFORM COMPARISONS

Cloud is about flexibility more

than anything else.

And these capabilities show

that flexibility off best.

What other factors could impact your

decision? Being in the Cloud does offer

some other business advantages.

Multi-Site

Cloud isn’t necessarily site specific. So if

you have many sites, especially small

ones, Cloud can make them look like one

more easily. And it can do it nationally.

Scaling

What if you are growing fast? You may not

know what size system works best and

Premise systems often have size caps.

You don’t want to invest in a large size

cap system and incur the upfront cost until

you are sure. So a Cloud system can

scale up much better, matching cost to

growth.

Seasonal

There is never a perfect way to handle

seasonal requirements but Cloud may

work best. You will have to acquire your

Telephone sets up front but could

negotiate scaling up line costs for a

predetermined period.

No IT Department

Again, Cloud will not completely eliminate

this but it can dramatically reduce it. You

won’t have to deal with Carriers and their

bills, nor worry about updating your

telephone servers to keep them current.

But you will have to worry about your Data

Network but that is where choosing the

right Cloud provider can help.



Applications

02 + Applications, features and business needs< 25 Stations

+ Cloud based Applications

+ Premise based Applications

+ Key Applications Explained

APPLICATIONS, FEATURES AND BUSINESS NEEDS

Cloud is not a ‘one-size-fits-all’

solution, the same as with

Premise based solutions.

So determining your business

needs first, may impact your

choice of solution – Cloud or

Premise.

Years ago we talked ‘features’ today we

talk ‘applications’ but fundamentally it is

about making sure that whatever you are

buying meets your business needs –

today and into the near future.

It is hard to project where technology is

going, when it changes so rapidly, so it is

sometimes better to think in terms of

where you want your business to be in 5

or 10 years time.

Why? Because some systems may have

size or application limits and you could be

forced into another change. Or the system

may have basic features and suddenly

you need more advanced features and,

again, have to change.

In the end, you are only looking at

capabilities because you have a business

need that is now unmet with the current

system.

Even with Cloud systems, there are

different options. This is because there is

always a cost to provide advanced

capabilities. Whether you are buying a

complete system for your premises or a

‘service’ from a cloud provider, someone

has to buy the hardware, the software and

any licensing costs that go with them.

So sellers make a decision to provide

different ‘flavours’ that match to different

business needs and price them

accordingly.

It could be pricing by shared or dedicated

lines depending on how much calling

volume you do or it could be by application

or could be basic and advanced

capabilities. Someone is trying to match

the costs to the capabilities to provide as

cost effective a solution as possible.

But it can complicate decision making.


CLOUD BASED APPLICATIONS

Because Cloud is essentially about

providing a service via the Internet to you,

you don’t have to worry about the size or

scale of the system.

One of the key benefits of Cloud is that it

can generally scale better and manage

multiple sites better, if that is something

you need to consider.

But they also tend to reduce the choice of

applications. Often bundling everything in

with whatever is being delivered to you,

whether you need them all or not.

But to manage pricing, they may have a

couple of solutions, for example a basic

solution that provides most of the common

telephone features as well as some basic

versions of advanced features.

They may not have a full blown Contact

Centre application but do provide a basic

Cloud simplifies concerns over scale and locations. But choices

will still be required for application availability

hunt group or basic ACD application. So

they will allow several phones to be put

into a group and a single incoming caller

will get the next person or next available

person. It may have limited statistics and

messages. It may not match caller to

agent best on their skills, for example, but

it will make it easier to have incoming

callers answered as fast as possible.

You first have to think about features or

applications that make it easier for your

customers to interact with you and then

about how you can help your staff interact

and collaborate with each other to be

more productive and efficient.

Cloud based systems can often support

mobile or Teleworkers much more easily

than premise based solutions. And some

newer Cloud systems are offering some

very advanced capabilities.

Common Apps

Hunt Groups (ACD)

Voice Mail

Unified Messaging

Conferencing (Bridge)

Find Me/Follow Me

Call Recording

Auto Attendant

Business Hour Rules

Paging

Music On Hold

Soft Phones


PREMISE BASED APPLICATIONS

Premise systems still offer

more capability and flexibility

when it comes to truly

advanced features…but it may

come at a cost.

Where Premise based solutions ruled,

even in the days of the original ‘Cloud’

service, Centrex, was that they offered

very advanced capabilities, especially

when it came to Contact Centre.

However, Premise Telephone systems or

PBXs, were also size ‘sensitive.’ To match

costs to customer size, manufacturers

created different platforms or control units.

The problem was if a customer outgrew its

current system, it may require a large and

costly change-out of hardware.

On the other hand, you may have a best-

of-breed approach and have already

acquired a number of applications that

integrate with your existing telephone

system.

For example, integrating email and chat

marketing into your traditional contact

centre to maximize agent time.

Generally speaking, advanced premise

based systems will offer the most

sophisticated applications with more

options and variations. Just be clear that

those are still your requirements today.

It may be possible to upgrade your

premise system from what you have today

to something newer. But you should verify

that the platform isn’t going to be replaced

with something newer in the near future

and what are your options to retain value

in existing licensing costs.

Some vendors have platforms that offer

exactly the same capabilities in Cloud or

Premise flavours. You can choose Cloud

to start and could go to a premise version

if you feel that suits you, without having to

relearn features or change telephones.


KEY APPLICATIONS

Over time, the applications have become more sophisticated.

Here we show you some key ones in order of sophistication

Unified messaging connects your voice mail to

your email system. Now you can receive your

voice messages as text file attachments to your

email. This means only one ‘inbox’ for all

communications and makes it even easier to listen,

transfer or even add to a message for instructions

to another person.

Unified Messaging

At a system level you should be able to create an

automated attendant so calls don’t need answering

by a live person. Advanced systems may offer

speech recognition.

Individuals should be able to create multiple

greetings for callers, receive notification of new

messages and access messages from desk

phones or when away. Advanced systems can

offer email notification.

Voice Messaging

Allows incoming calls to ‘hunt’ for the next

available person. Can select how to ‘hunt’, simply

go around the group, most idle person and so on.

My allow people to queue or wait.

Great where a business receives a lot of incoming

calls for sales ore services.

Hunt Groups

ACDs or Contact Centres increase sophistication,

providing more ways to match callers to agents, for

example by the skill level of the agent. Can provide

more ways to queue callers or offer callers choices

while queuing.

ACDs also offer greater reporting for managers to

determine how well they are running.

ACD / Contact Centre

Often related to ACDs is the ability to record calls.

It may even be a legal requirement if doing

outbound sales.

Allows someone to record calls for quality (manage

agents effectiveness) as well as to prove a

transaction or customer response.

Call Recording

Some businesses are reducing their office footprint

as many employees are mobile. Hot -desking

allows an employee to sit anywhere and dial in a

code and the phone on their desk is now their

phone.

The system knows how to route calls to them.

Hot Desking

If you have a lot of mobile employees then a ‘Find

Me/ Follow Me’ capability really helps. No longer

do employees need to remember to set their

phone to call forward, the system automatically

sends calls or twins calls with their mobile phone.

This can be turned on and off by time of day yet

any message goes to a single mailbox.

Find Me/Follow Me

If your employees have smart phones a lot of

systems now offer soft phones or telephone

applications that allow their smart phone to act as

if it is their desk phone.

Beyond forwarding calls they can do all the things

they can do from their desk phone.

Soft Phone Apps

Good

Better

Best


Connections & Devices

03 + Connections and Devices

+ Cloud Based Connectivity

+ Cloud Connection Considerations

+ Premise Based Decisions – TDM vs VoIP

+ Premise Based Decisions - Lines

CONNECTIONS & DEVICES

It’s all about Connectivity, so

making sure your system

provides you the right choice

of lines and devices is key…

But business has changed.

Mobility and Teleworking

support could impact your

phone support and choices.

The primary purpose of a communications

system is to connect people together.

Whether that be in real-time (talking to

someone) or one-way (voice-mail, email)

and so on, they are all ways we try and

connect with each other.

The major factors determining how we

communicate would be the urgency of the

communications , where we are located

and what devices we have available.

All of the ‘equipment’ are to support

connectivity and the devices we need. In

some cases it can all be done within the

communications platform and in some

cases it may require integration to another

system. For example, it is quite common

to have voice mails sent to you in an email

as an attachment today. The voice mail

system understands how to provide the

greeting, record the message and then

send via the email platform of choice.

The path to deciding is slightly different

between Cloud and Premise.

All of the carrier connections are made at

the Data Centre with Cloud. Cloud

providers will offer you some number of

simultaneous calls outside your

employees and an LD package. This will

be included in your monthly fee.

Premise systems require you to

coordinate your own carrier lines and LD

and pay separately.

Cloud generally only supports SIP phones.

And not all are standard. But will include

different choices. As well as Soft Phones.

Premise systems can support Analog,

Digital. IP, SIP phones & Soft Phones, but

often from one manufacturer.


CLOUD BASED CONNECTIVITY

The core of the Cloud solution is in the

Service Provider’s Data Centre, and that is

where all the Carrier connections are

made. So you don’t have to choose the

type of connectivity only how much you

will need.

Lines

Some Cloud providers offer you dedicated

or shared connections. If you have a

heavy volume of calls, you need dedicated

lines to ensure all calls get through. If you

are a low volume then you can save

money with a shared connection.

Long Distance (LD)

Similarly the Cloud provider will have

negotiated bulk LD rates for all its

customers. Some will provide an LD cost,

others include LD in the monthly fee.

Check how much LD is included.

Cloud simplifies concerns over scale and locations. But choices

will still be required for application availability

Telephones

Cloud based systems support SIP or Soft

Phones. SIP is supposed to be a Standard

but not all Cloud platforms support all SIP

phones. They will advertise which ones

they do support. Check if they will also

work on premise solutions in case you

decide to change later and want to re-use

your phones. You will have to buy your

telephones outright.

Soft Phones are applications run on

Laptops and Smart Phones. They vary in

functionality but offer a great choice if

working from home or on the road.

Laptops require a USB headset but plenty

are available. Smart phones just use the

standard phone headset or microphone

and speaker. It may require set up to work

and some may require Wi-Fi for full

functionality, so check with your provider

.

Unfortunately there is a lot of tech jargon

used in communications that can cause

confusion – and SIP is no different.

SIP was a standard developed to allow

IP type phones to be used on any

communications platform, the way we

could use touch tone phones on any

system.

Most manufacturers meet the basic SIP

standard for answering calls, etc, but the

more advanced features can still be

proprietary.

SIP is also the standard used to bring

lines or trunks into a PBX over an

Internet connection.

Just check that your SIP phones are

standard and can work on other systems

SIP – Session Initiation Protocol


CLOUD CONNECTIONS CONSIDERATIONS

At its most basic, this is a VoIP

solution.

So all the things you need to

do to support a traditional

system providing VoIP must

also be done with Cloud.

Self-install may not be so

simple, so check your options

in having someone help you

set up.

Even with Cloud there are some

considerations for your office or premises.

Cloud is brought into your office over your

Internet connection and then your data

network. So you will have to check both

are sufficient to support.

Internet or WAN

There are sites that let you run Internet

speed and bandwidth tests. They are not

perfect but will give you a sense of

whether it is sufficient to run the number of

calls over the network on top of whatever

else you use it for.

It is a VoIP connection and so your

telephone calls will be subject to the same

technical issues that affect any VoIP call

today, like Jitter, Delay, Packet Loss and

so on.

Data Network

After coming in over your Internet

connection the call will now run over your

data network to your SIP telephone. This

means that your Data Network needs to

be set up appropriately to support VoIP.

(This would be no different to putting an IP

telephone on a Premise based PBX.)

So ensuring you have a good quality date

network switch that supports the ability to

set up QoS (Quality of Service) where you

can prioritize the voice calls over other

data network traffic would be the bare

minimum requirement.

PoE (Power over Ethernet) would be

another advantage so that the phones are

powered from the switch rather than

having to buy separate power adaptors.


PREMISE BASED CONNECTIONS – TDM VS VOIP

Premise systems are all about choice.

You get to own your system and dictate

what is connected and how it is

connected. And control everything about

it. One of the key reasons people go this

route. So you have a few more choices to

make than with Cloud.

TDM vs VoIP

The traditional digital phones we use

today are based on a standard called TDM

(Time Division Multiplex). It works, is

directly connected to your control unit, so

you don’t need a data switch in between

or worry about other devices disrupting the

connection.

However the telephones are proprietary to

each manufacturer. Some of the traditional

manufacturers are still making TDM sets

but they are migrating to IP systems.

There are more decisions to make with a Premise solution

including Carrier Connectivity

This means that the new controller will

support the old hardware with the TMD

telephone sets now, but this will not

happen forever. And newer manufacturers

don’t offer TDM at all.

You may have to choose a VoIP system

VoIP or IP Telephones

IP Telephones connect to your controller

via your Data Network. They are just like

any other data device and send packets

over a shared data network.

Because it is shared, it is subject to things

like delay, jitter and packet loss and has to

be set up properly to work effectively.

Having a data network designed for VoIP

is critica.

Some IP telephones are based on SIP

and so will work on different

manufacturers systems, but not always.

.

TDM or Time Division Multiplexing has

been around for 30 years and is rock

solid. It used telephones directly

connected to the telephone system and

offers advanced features like call

displays, soft keys and more.

IP/SIP phones use a shared data network

and care is needed to set up that data

network properly. They can offer

advantages of software downloads, can

integrate to the web, although most

businesses don’t use these features.

For TDM you have to pay for a board that

supports 16, 24 or 32 telephones. For IP

you have to account for the cost of the

Data Network switch.

It may be swings and roundabouts but

they should be in your pricing decision

TDM or VoIP (IP)


PREMISE BASED CONNECTIONS – LINES

The biggest difference between Cloud and

Premise will be your line or trunk

connections to the outside world.

There are far more choices today than

ever before, and many different pricing

considerations.

Analog vs PRI vs SIP Trunks

Pricing forces a lot of small businesses to

continue with Analog trunks. They can

support Calling Line ID (CLID) where you

can see the number of the caller. You just

have to make sure your telephone system

is equipped with the hardware to support

CLID.

Once you get to about 12 lines, PRI or

Primary Rate, a digital line, starts to make

sense as the pricing starts to get cheaper

per line. It supports CLID and ANI and all

the other features you may need.

SIP Trunking is very new and used your

Internet connection. Some Premise

systems will directly support other require

a hardware device. Most will ask for this to

‘demarc’ from the Telco for testing.

DID – Direct Inward Dialling

DID is a feature that lets callers dial your

telephone extension directly – not via an

attendant – live or auto. The last few digits

of the number dialed is sent to your

system to ring your phone. You pay for

‘blocks’ of numbers, not just one number,

and is charged on top of your line charge.

800 Services

Finally, 800 services provide a single

inbound calling number free to customers

but charged to you. It can be brought in

over any type of connection but best over

PRI.

SIP has been explained earlier – as a

standard. But is also now used to provide

carrier connectivity as well – and is then

known as SIP Trunking.

The big advantage is in cost savings over

Analog or Digital Trunks. It can save

anywhere from 30% to 60% per month.

It uses your Internet connection, so that

connection may have to be increased and

tested for speed and bandwidth.

Many providers will require you use a

Session Border Controller - a device that

sits between your telephone system and

the Internet for testing in case of

problems.

You may also want to consider a security

service to protect your data network with

so much dependent on it.

SIP Trunks



Comparisons & Summary

04 + Pricing Considerations

+ Cloud Pricing

+ Premise Pricing

+ Pricing Comparison Summary

+ Final Thoughts

PRICING CONSIDERATIONS

Pricing needs to be done on an

apples-to-apples basis.

That way there are no hidden

surprises because it was

overlooked in the rush to buy

something ‘cheap’

At the beginning we said it was about

using your business needs to determine

the system requirements. Then using that

to help choose between a premise or

cloud system.

Then to think about pricing. Why?

Because most people jump to the

conclusion that Cloud will be less

expensive and start going down that path

without properly considering if it will meet

their business needs.

In some cases, Cloud may meet it much

better. For example, if you have many

small locations, Cloud can make them

look like one system much better. You

have a high percentage of workers form

home or on the road or you are growing

fast and don’t want to be locked into a

premise based platform that may have a

cap on how big it can grow.

Or Monthly payments may simply be

better than an upfront CAPEX cost.

But it is good business sense to ensure it

is an apples-to-apples comparison so that

there are no unknown or overlooked costs.

There are still some CAPEX costs with

Cloud, like paying for any desk telephones

and perhaps upgrading your data network.

For Premise, there is the CAPEX for the

initial system, telephones, etc, and the

monthly recurring costs for Carrier and LD.

As well as any maintenance fee.

Plus, you may amortize the cost over say

5 years to get an equivalent monthly cost,

but if you go beyond 5 years, additional

upgrade costs may come into play.

So there are several factors that can

impact how you compare price.


CLOUD PRICING

Opex Costs

The core Cloud service will be priced on a

monthly basis.

This can be based on the number of ‘lines’

you need – whether shared or dedicated.

Or it could be based on the number of

telephone users and perhaps even

additional breakdown by groups of

features being used.

Either way, there will be some factor(s)

used to determine the monthly cost.

Internet Costs

While the line costs you normally have to

worry about are handled by the Cloud

provider, you will have to work out if you

have sufficient Internet bandwidth. If not,

there will be an incremental monthly fee to

be considered.

There is more to pricing comparison than the monthly fee

versus CAPEX cost

Capex Costs

Most Cloud services expect you to pay for

any desk telephones. Even if you change

Cloud provider or go back to Premise, you

own the sets. As a rule of thumb,

telephone sets are about 30% of the total

cost of a system.

Data Network

You may have to upgrade your Data

Network to support the SIP telephones.

While it isn’t a cost of the telephone

system it is still part of the overall cost of

your new system.

.

OPEX vs CAPEX & Leases

Operational Expenditures or OPEX are

often preferred because the full cost can

be fully deducted in that year, whereas a

Capital Expenditure or CAPEX can only

have a portion written down in a year,

depending on what it is. Deducted

meaning subtracted from revenues when

calculating profit.

This may be attractive if it can directly

reduce tax payments in that year.

OPEX also allows businesses to match

their costs better to their income.

Finally, CAPEX can be turned into OPEX

by leasing the equipment. As you do not

own the Asset, the payments are tax

deductible and an Fair Market Value

(FMV) lease can provide even lower

monthly payment costs.


PREMISE PRICING

The bulk of the cost of a premise based

system will be a Capital Expenditure or

CAPEX. You will own all the equipment or

Assets. There will be controllers and other

hardware, perhaps racking, cabling (of

which some is an asset and some isn’t)

and finally the devices.

You will also have to manage the network

carrier and the monthly recurring network

costs.

This will be good or bad, depending on

what level of control you feel you need

over your business. Good if you want that

control, bad if you don’t want the hassle to

manage it all.

You may feel you need this approach for

the security of your system, although

when you look at your service provider’s

Data Centre, it will be hard to match it for

power, cooling and physical security.

You should ensure you have priced in any

costs required to get future software

upgrades. Otherwise your system will

slowly get dated. Many manufacturers

offer this option for an annual fee. It may

even be tied to your maintenance contract.

You will also have to include maintenance

costs, especially if leasing as the leasing

company will demand it.

You will have to determine the monthly

carrier line costs and LD costs. These will

not be included in the hardware price.

And if you are going VoIP for the

telephones, you should also consider the

cost of any networking upgrade to support

it.

There is actually a 3rd option – Hybrid.

By Hybrid we mean buying all the

equipment – just as if it was going on

your premises – but having a service

provider ‘host’ your control equipment off-

premise – in a high-availability Data

Centre.

The provider worries about the daily

management and care of your controller

– power, cooling – ensuring it is always

available – while you simply worry about

using it.

It can even be turned into an OPEX

expense if needed.

This often referred to as Private Cloud

and offers many of the advantages of

both models, with additional security.

Hybrid – the 3rd Option


PRICING COMPARISON SUMMARY

We covered a lot on the prior pages, so

here is a summary of all the possible cost

implications in selecting a new system.

Premise Pricing Components

Total Equipment Costs

Software Maintenance fee

Installation

Cabling

Room Renovations (Rack?)3

Data Network

Integration Costs

Hardware Maintenance

Monthly Line/Trunk costs

Monthly LD costs

Cloud Pricing Components

Per Line/Phone Monthly fee

Monthly Application fees?1

Telephone set costs

Installation (if needed)

Cabling

Data Network

LD Costs above package?2

Internet (Upgrade) monthly

1 May not be a separate fee

2 Does it included unlimited LD or is

there an overage cost?

•3 New equipment may only be rack

mounted and you may need to install

Monthly Fee

CAPEX

One-Time Cost

Annual Fee


FINAL THOUGHTS

A provider that offers both Cloud AND Premise

solutions can offer a more balanced view of

what is best for you.

The biggest decision of all may be the company selling you the

equipment or service.

Many Cloud providers sell it as a DIY project. You order the lines

and the telephones, the telephones are shipped to site, and then

you set it up yourself.

Many are based out of the USA. So there are no operations in

Canada. Could be a risk too far.

So perhaps look to a company that can offer you both choices,

Cloud or Premise, that can be on site to set up both for you and

operates a 24x7x365 help desk that is proficient in solving all the

business telephone problems you have and that can have a

technician in truck come to your site.

24 x 7 x 365 Network Operations Centre

Full remote support

Canada / USA 1-800 access with live answer

Full warranty on all equipment for any failure

resulting from normal failure

Warranty lasts as long as you have contract

Warranty includes Advanced Set Replacement

Web portal access for moves, adds, changes

Access to online user training at any time

On-Site support, if needed

Support Features

Your business communications solution is too vital to leave it to

a Service Provider that can’t come on site when needed


WANT EVEN MORE INFORMATION?

For more information, as well as detailed explanations

of the industry-specific language used, please visit our

website:

www.flexfone.net


If you are reconsidering your telephone system and

need some help understanding how to go about the

decision, we have a guide that can help you there:

Using Cloud to Simplify Your Move

http://www.flexfone.net

http://www.unityconnected.com/flexfone-advanced

http://www.unityconnected.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Using_Cloud_to_Simplify_Your_Move.pdf

Technology

How to buy a business phone system