Can small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and Unified Communications (UC) find happiness together? In other words, is UC just for large enterprises that have the financial wherewithal to invest in and support UC solutions, or can SMBs also take advantage of the many benefits of UC? Until recently, many SMBs assumed that UC wasn’t for them, since they don’t have the resources (both financial and personnel) to invest in UC, but this has been changing as vendors have slowly introduced UC offerings aimed at this segment. More and more SMBs are also realizing that you don’t need to purchase and implement a UC solution that “does it all” from day one, and that UC can be an evolutionary process, allowing companies to start with a solution that meets their basic needs and add capabilities over time.
Industry studies show that the SMB market will represent 40-60 percent of future IT spending over the next five to 10 years, but most SMBs have shied away from UC, in part because there were few product offerings on the market aimed specifically at this growing segment. There is no “one size fits all,” and while SMBs have many of the same needs as their larger counterparts, they require solutions that are developed with the specific requirements of smaller companies in mind. For example, while expected to perform as well as their larger counterparts, providing high-level service and producing high-quality products, SMBs generally have to “do more with less.” In addition, they are increasingly expected to compete cost effectively against larger organizations, which can generally take advantage of economies of scale and price their products and services much lower than smaller companies.
Anyone who works in an SMB knows that there are significant differences in the way they get their jobs done. In most cases, everyone wears multiple hats – from the president to the head of marketing to the administrative assistants. The general manager of a mid-sized company may be expected to help with financial planning, sales, customer support for large customers, and so on. The sales and marketing teams may be combined into one, or the director of marketing may also be responsible for media and public relations. And because they wear various hats and are responsible for a variety of jobs, they may be away from the office more often, placing more of a burden on other workers.
Budgets are also tighter for smaller companies, which have to watch the bottom line more closely. The need to travel is often great, as the sales and service reps of small and medium firms have to cover larger territories, and there are no local reps to rely on for making sales calls or meeting with partners.
The goals of small- and mid-sized companies are the same as for large enterprises – increase revenues, reduce costs, enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty, and improve worker productivity – but the technology solutions they implement can be vastly different. SMBs require packaged solutions that are easy to purchase, implement, and maintain, providing the core capabilities needed, with the ability to add on and grow as needed. Most SMBs have limited IT staff and resources, and want products that do not require a complex IT infrastructure.
Small and medium sized companies – and their resellers – require UC solutions that are properly bundled and priced. Many companies don’t require all the bells and whistles that most UC solutions offer, and prefer a sub-set of capabilities, with the ability to add on and grow as needed.
Vendors have begun realizing that SMBs have different requirements, and have introduced offerings aimed at these customers. One of these vendors is Aastra, which recently briefed me about a new product designed for small and mid-sized companies – and their resellers.
Aastra’s new product, the MX-ONE™ Compact, is billed as an “all-in-one” solution addressing small and medium-sized enterprises, scaling from 50 to 300 users (although it can actually grow to 1000 users without additional hardware). Aastra notes that the product is based on the MX-ONE portfolio, but in a smaller footprint, and consists of a number of bundled base blocks and a set of optional components, making administration easier and more affordable, while providing many of the key features found in the MX-ONE, notably mobile integration.
True to Aastra form, the platform is based on open standards with full support for SIP, making it easier for VARs and resellers to develop, customize, and integrate applications and add value. The ease of integration lets resellers not only customize applications, but get more margin from these applications. As telephony products become more commoditized, and as the value of solutions moves from hardware to software, resellers need to find ways to distinguish themselves and to increase their revenues. Open industry standard support also makes it easier to integrate with third-party applications today and in the future, protecting today’s investments.
Another capability resellers will like is the Aastra MX-ONE Manager Provisioning, which handles all user- and service-related tasks from one interface, making it easy to set up and remotely provision users.
The MX-ONE Compact is a combination of hardware plus software applications. The core of the product is the Aastra MX-ONE Telephony System, providing base capabilities including voice mail, unified messaging (integrating with Microsoft Outlook, Lotus Notes and Novell Groupwise), auto attendant, 8-way audio conferencing, and Microsoft OCS and IBM Sametime integration. It also supports a range of SIP endpoints including hard or soft phones, and as you know from Dave Michel’s article (Aastra Phone: There's an App for That), Aastra offers a wide range of phones that “provide developers the ability to create powerful solutions on its SIP phones that match the features and usability of proprietary phones through open technologies.” The MX-ONE Compact supports all Aastra phones, giving users and resellers the XML capabilities of the Aastra 67xi phones.
Mobility is a big part of the offering, with capabilities ranging from basicfind me/follow me and one number service, to mobile extension, dual mode phone support, and handoff between cellular and wireless network. Aastra also offers a full line of wireless phones including WiFi, SIP, and DECT phones that can be coupled with the PBX like any other phone. There’s also the Aastra Mobile Client (AMC) that runs on smartphones such as Blackberry, Symbian mobile, etc. The find me/follow me and mobility capabilities make it easier for workers to be accessible and reachable when they’re out of the office. International travelers can minimize mobile roaming charges and save companies lots of unnecessary costs.
On top of the base package, users can optionally add on full IP-based contact center capabilities with skills-based routing (based on Aastra Solidus eCare™), a UC soft phone, and additional Aastra end points. There are two contact center options – Solidus eCare Lite is for voice only, providing skills-based routing, and full reporting, while Solidus eCare supports multichannel chat, voice, email, fax, and SMS. Solidus eCare also supports presence and IM through the Aastra InTouch client. Another optional add-on is advanced mobility capabilities, enabling the PBX to have more intelligence about how individual mobile users should be contacted, and providing least cost routing based on time of day, location, etc. Mobile users can use short number and extension dialing in combination with the Aastra Mobile Client to access all of the MX-ONE Compact’s communication capabilities from their mobile device as if they were using desk phone. Aastra NOW Business Operatorattendant console is also an optional add on.
With six pricing bands, the solution can meet the different needs of small and mid-sized companies, enabling them to start with the functionality they need, and only pay for the capabilities they want.
The package offers most of what an SMB is looking for, although a couple things are missing, notably IM and presence capabilities (these are available with the contact center add on for contact center agents). The system integrates with OCS and Sametime, but most SMBs don’t have these implemented, and probably prefer a built-in offering from a single vendor. Also, 8-way audio conferencing is provided, but there is no scheduled meet me capability. Web/video conferencing and collaboration capabilities are available through separate offerings from Aastra, but are not integrated at this time.
Aastra is certainly not the only vendor to introduce a packaged solution for SMBs, and will have to compete with offerings from traditional competitors, as well as new hosted services that some smaller companies are turning to. Aastra’s MX-ONE Compact is a competitive offering for companies looking for a premise-based solution – especially those looking for leading-edge mobility capabilities. SMBs are by necessity looking to save money, and the mobility capabilities of the MX-ONE Compact help companies reduce long distance charges by routing calls over the IP network, and routing mobile calls via Dynamic Least Cost Routing.
It looks like the answer to my previous question is yes – small- and medium-sized businesses and Unified Communications can find happiness together. But it takes the right type of product that is packaged, bundled, and priced properly for SMBs, while providing the functionality needed and the ability to grow.