Voice Over IP (VoIP) Phone Systems

How to Select the Right System

In earlier versions of this article, we largely tried to educate buyers on the differences between traditional telephone systems with today's VoIP-based systems. That is no longer a necessary overview since traditional phone systems are largely extinct and we strongly believe that an investment in a legacy analog, or a proprietary digital, system is a significant waste of money. Let's get passed that and move on.

Now, within the VoIP space you still have literally dozens of systems and solutions to choose from, so let's try to narrow it down a bit: We can divide up the solutions into 3 categories: Small/Medium Business (SMB) solutions, Enterprise solutions, and Hosted solutions.

SMB - We define SMB as companies between 10 to 250 employees. They can include single site organizations, or one with many branch locations. If each location, including the headquarters, has fewer than 250 employees, you still fall within the SMB space. Of course, if you are a company with 1000 branch locations an Enterprise company such as Cisco or Avaya will love to have your business - but, you would be paying too much for something you don't need.
Enterprise - An Enterprise company is one with more than 250 employees in any one location. In general business terms, a 250 employee company is usually considered small/medium, but from an IP-PBX standpoint, we believe that most 250 or larger firms will demand the capability and features of an enterprise solution.
Hosted - A hosted solution is one where your company would not purchase a telephone system at all. You would instead just purchase IP phones and subscribe to a hosted service from an Internet-based voice provider. This solution is generally targeted to very small firms with up to 40 or so employees. The main value in a hosted plan is the "perceived" cost savings in not having to purchase a system and therefore avoiding the high up-front cost. However, in majority of instances, the long-term cost of a hosted solution is much higher. Many organizations that have opted for hosted solutions have also faced, sometimes major, voice quality issues.

To further simplify the options, My IP Telephone only focuses on the SMB market. We evaluate products and provide objective opinion on their strengths and weaknesses. Our aim is to help you decipher between the many available solutions, to remove the hype and clutter, and to introduce you to a local service provider who can effectively deliver the solution for you. We also encourage you to reach the article on How to Deploy a System, which includes guidelines for pre and post implementation. To learn more about any of these systems, please click one of the logos below:

	3com Zultys Adtran 3com Zultys Adtran Suppliers \| Company \| Contact \| Home How to Select the Right System In earlier versions of this article, we largely tried to educate buyers on the differences between traditional telephone systems with today's VoIP-based systems. That is no longer a necessary overview since traditional phone systems are largely extinct and we strongly believe that an investment in a legacy analog, or a proprietary digital, system is a significant waste of money. Let's get passed that and move on. Now, within the VoIP space you still have literally dozens of systems and solutions to choose from, so let's try to narrow it down a bit: We can divide up the solutions into 3 categories: Small/Medium Business (SMB) solutions, Enterprise solutions, and Hosted solutions. SMB - We define SMB as companies between 10 to 250 employees. They can include single site organizations, or one with many branch locations. If each location, including the headquarters, has fewer than 250 employees, you still fall within the SMB space. Of course, if you are a company with 1000 branch locations an Enterprise company such as Cisco or Avaya will love to have your business - but, you would be paying too much for something you don't need. Enterprise - An Enterprise company is one with more than 250 employees in any one location. In general business terms, a 250 employee company is usually considered small/medium, but from an IP-PBX standpoint, we believe that most 250 or larger firms will demand the capability and features of an enterprise solution. Hosted - A hosted solution is one where your company would not purchase a telephone system at all. You would instead just purchase IP phones and subscribe to a hosted service from an Internet-based voice provider. This solution is generally targeted to very small firms with up to 40 or so employees. The main value in a hosted plan is the "perceived" cost savings in not having to purchase a system and therefore avoiding the high up-front cost. However, in majority of instances, the long-term cost of a hosted solution is much higher. Many organizations that have opted for hosted solutions have also faced, sometimes major, voice quality issues. To further simplify the options, My IP Telephone only focuses on the SMB market. We evaluate products and provide objective opinion on their strengths and weaknesses. Our aim is to help you decipher between the many available solutions, to remove the hype and clutter, and to introduce you to a local service provider who can effectively deliver the solution for you. We also encourage you to reach the article on How to Deploy a System, which includes guidelines for pre and post implementation. To learn more about any of these systems, please click one of the logos below:
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