Is VoIP Really a Commodity?
Did you know there are over 2,600 different Voice over IP providers online right now? Each with their own bundles, packages, discounts and risk-free trials. In order for something to be commoditized, the inherent value of has to be low or near nothing. Prioritizing price and ease of purchase, over yield and ease of use.
It is really reminiscent of the early days of home computers. Brands of all kinds and financial stability were coming into the marketplace, touting same or similar features of their competitors without ever stating their own value. It does exactly what the other guys’ does.
The over-simplification of technology has set the bar of expectations and it is up to the manufacturers to hit that new stated standard. For something to be complete, secure, reliable and resilient, complexity is present. For that same thing to be valuable, it has to also be simple.
Like all things, the Value Triangle is relevant to your decision.In Voice, your value isn’t fully seen in the price. It’s in the delivery. It’s in the support. It’s in the back-end network. It’s in the companies attention to security. It’s in the providers commitment to software issues. Because it’s complex in nature, not analogue and customer-facing, these considerations should make your list.
“I just want the phone to ring when people call” — Totally agree. This is not negotiable. Did you know there are voice providers that can’t guarantee this? If you have a 5 line plan and all 5 are in use, that 6th caller goes to a fast-busy signal. None of the top 10 online-only VoIP providers advertise that.
*something to consider* — In 2018, customers don’t want to wait to get to the right person. If your system isn’t configurable to optimize their time, your price of ownership just went up.
“It’s just a phone. Aren’t they all the same?” — This was pretty much every phone system from 20 years ago. If you want your 2018 phone system to be just a phone, you’ve removed 99% of the value of IP. Absolutely, VoIP can be just a phone. The added benefits of personalized call routing, call handling, visualization, reporting, inter-office communication and integration is the actual value. How they work and what they work with is the measure of their technology.
“I can get a “system” online for 19$ per person, why wouldn’t I?” — Truly, ease of purchase is everything. In the age of E-commerce, anything I can get without a contest is going to win. Unless it’s for the business that takes care of our employees. The truth behind “add-to-cart” VoIP is the same behind any highly-tailorable service. If it’s off the rack, it doesn’t fit as well as it should or could. Features aside, the service behind these discount providers is unreachable. When you’re in the purchase, the service was easy. When there’s a problem, the FAQ’s aren’t enough.
There are great reasons why VoIP is sold as a service and not a boxed product. Many considerations have to be made, both obvious and subtle for the investment to take root.
Value can be found in the search of VoIP. If you consider costs while shopping on price, you’re guaranteed to strike a worth-while product. Things like implementation time, post-sale configuration costs, security, resiliency in outages, customer service and training will all save you capital when considered up-front.
Our staff of Solution Advocates are grateful to guide anyone through this decision and sourcing process. Please contact us today at 804–521–7660 or sales@codebluetechnology.com
This Blog is written by Michael Bergamo — Senior Technologist and Brand Advocate at CodeBlue Technology