SMB Communicator Newsletter

Feature Article

Successful Business Owners Do What They Do Best and Outsource the Rest

Technology is often the "X" factor in helping small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) level the playing field and compete with bigger, more global companies. The Internet has played a large part in facilitating this by allowing potential customers to evaluate large and small companies side-by-side by visiting their Web sites.

A more recent leveler is VoIP, short for Voice over Internet Protocol. VoIP, makes use of popular and familiar Internet Protocol to transport both voice and data on a single network. This helps companies save money, leverage investments they have in their data network, and use high-end communications features to increase productivity

How to achieve VoIP benefits

VoIP typically offers low flat rates for voice and data, reduces the unpredictability of long distance charges, and efficiently connects remote offices. Cost savings are well documented.

In addition, VoIP increases user productivity by making communications with colleagues, customers, and suppliers easier. Think along the lines of listening to your email when away from your computer, or reading your voice mails and emails all from a single inbox. One network facilitates all of your communications needs.

The question is: how does a company achieve the lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) benefits of VoIP without tying up valuable and limited resources investigating, choosing, implementing, and managing the right VoIP solution?

A recipe for success

The answer is outsourcing.  Combine a trusted partner with the right equipment and services and you have a recipe for successful VoIP deployment. 

You can attempt to go it alone and spend a lot of time searching for the right blend of phones, services, and vendors and performing the migration yourself, and have no guarantee that all the moving parts or your VoIP solution will be a match for your needs now, or in the future.

That’s partly why outsourcing the migration to VoIP to experts so attractive.  When you choose the right provider, you choose a team that specializes in helping businesses owners like you take full advantage of the benefits of VoIP.  You gain a partner that can assess and match your needs to the optimal VoIP solution and provide “future-proofing” so your system will accommodate your business growth.

Proven IP telephony providers, XO Communications and Avaya, have partnered to offer a suite of managed solutions that simplify migration and management through seamless, integrated offerings of converged systems and network services.  This allows XO to provide options like the end-to-end XO One Managed iPBX.  XO can handle everything:  with one simple bundle of voice, data, equipment and professional services, all managed and billed from one vendor on one invoice.

With more than a decade of experience in delivering network and managed service solutions, XO can handle everything: the phones, the hardware, the network, and the maintenance.

Tie up less capital, lower costs

With managed VoIP services, all of the equipment you need is provided, so you have no significant up-front investment in phones or the additional expense of managing and maintaining the system on your own. That means lower startup costs and more capital to invest in your business.

In addition, consolidating the number of vendors you must work with, leads to time savings, simplified billing, and fewer errors. Compared to traditional PBX programs, the TCO savings can be substantial.

How to choose

Look for a proven record of success in delivering network and managed services solutions to business owners like you. You’ll find a trusted partner and the industry’s best equipment in a combined offering from XO Communications and Avaya.

XO Managed IP PBX is a simple, practical bundle of voice and data services powered by Avaya equipment and networked by XO Communications. It offers everything a business needs for cost effective, comprehensive communications:

• Local voice with unlimited local calling
• A generous number of long distance and inbound toll-free minutes
• Internet access
• Web hosting
• The latest phone systems with low upfront costs
• PBX maintenance

* Please note that packages and pricing vary , contact XO Sales for full details.

Industry News

VoIP: Why Outsourcing Makes Sense

If you’re like many small and medium-sized businesses (SMB), you tend to be technology savvy. Your lifelines are cell phones and laptops. You use the Internet to market your company and keep an eye on your competitors. You’re ready to embrace technology that can save you money and increase productivity — such as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).

Like most technologies that delivers benefits across your entire business, VoIP requires careful attention to detail: the network architecture, software, phones and other hardware, network connections, and voice and data features. And if there is only one in-house IT person (which is often the case in small businesses) to handle the computers, adding VoIP may seem like that big business benefit in the sky you really want but can’t quite get your arms around. What to do?

Find a trusted partner to take care of VoIP for you!

“The smaller they are, the more interest small businesses have in having an outsourced solution,” said Lisa Pierce, a vice president at Forrester Research Inc. in Cambridge, MA. “If they're going to hire someone, they're going to hire someone that can help them expand their businesses. That willingness to rely on an expert means a solution provider could come in with both a WAN and a LAN solution for VoIP.” 1

In fact, recent survey research by Pierce showed that SMBs are 2.5 to 3 times more interested than enterprises in managed IP telephony and managed site-to-site or interoffice VoIP services. And that interest increases as companies get smaller, according to 608 SMBs that responded. Thirty percent of companies with six to 99 employees told Forrester they are very interested in managed VoIP. Among companies with 100 to 499 employees, that interest dips to 25%. And among companies with 500 to 999 employees it dips further, to 18%.

“I think over time, as general supplier experience matures, standards mature and the ability to predict performance evolves, we’re going to have a much wider range of choices on the services side,” said Pierce. “There will be a variety of packages of services for small businesses to acquire.”

The right partners can apply their expertise to help you make important decisions about service packages, phones, features, and network connections – ensuring you achieve positive ROI on your investment. Once you estimate the cost savings and productivity gains from deploying VoIP, it’s easy to see why outsourcing VoIP deployment and management makes good business sense.

 

1. Lisa Pierce, "VoIP is not mature. It's not idiot-proof." In "VoIP too big a 'pain' for small businesses" by Shamus McGillicuddy. SeachSMB.com. 28 Nov 2006.

Industry News

XO Communications Named Best Wholesale VoIP Provider

Orlando, FL (October 9, 2006) – XO Communications received the 2006 Metro Carrier Excellence Award for best wholesale voice over IP (VoIP) service provider from ATLANTIC-ACM, a Boston-based telecommunications research consultancy.

The award is based on the results of ATLANTIC-ACM’s 2006 Metro Carrier Report Card: Business and Wholesale, which evaluated the performance of Metro Carriers by their wholesale and business customers and is based on more than 5,000 individual carrier evaluations.

“We’re very pleased that XO has been recognized by the service provider community as the best wholesale VoIP provider,” said Ernie Ortega, president of XO Carrier Services. “This award is a testament to the quality and reliability of our IP network and our ongoing commitment to be the best partner for our customers in terms of innovative solutions and support.”

Case Studies

Church Group Puts Faith in XO Managed Services

When the United Methodist Church national headquarters relocated from Evanston, IL to Nashville, TN, its finance and administration department — the General Council on Finance and Administration (GCFA) — was responsible for installing an entirely new telephone and data system at its headquarters. Not their usual order of business.

The Challenge

Rev. Alan J. Morrison, Director of Support Services at GCFA, said his challenge was finding a system that was right for the size of the building, offered flexibility, and provided features such as speakerphones, voice mail systems, and international conference call capabilities, for starters. Because he was too busy to manage installation and maintenance himself, he needed a vendor that could not only design and install the new system but provide ongoing equipment maintenance and support, too.

The Solution

GCFA’s solution was XO One Managed Services, a bundled telecom and professional services package that combined network services, equipment, installation, and maintenance into a single offering from one provider on a single monthly bill. For GCFA, the XO team specified a T1 for voice with 100 Direct Inward Dial lines (DIDs) and a T1 for data so that all staff could be reached directly without going through a common switchboard. (A typical XO Managed Services bundle may include local dial tone, Internet access, long distance and hardware, plus maintenance and support.)

The Results

The installation of the entire system and training of GCFA’s IT staff took only a few days. Plus, the XO team left printed instructions that have helped GCFA staff get on board quickly. And because the XO solution included equipment, there was no significant capital investment and the equipment is maintained and replaced as needed by XO. This solution freed Rev. Morrison and his staff to focus on their primary business.

Most important, the XO bundle has a fixed cost, allowing GCFA to know exactly what its monthly expenses will be. Said Morrison, “XO Managed Services fit GCFA’s needs because the XO team was able to specify exactly what equipment GCFA needed, design and install the system, and even train the staff!”