https://www.channelfutures.com/wp-content/themes/channelfutures_child/assets/images/logo/footer-new-logo.png
  • Home
  • Technologies
    • Back
    • SDN/SD-WAN
    • Cloud
    • RMM/PSA
    • Security
    • Telephony/UC/Collaboration
    • Cable
    • Mobility & Wireless
    • Fiber/Ethernet
    • Data Centers
    • Backup & Disaster Recovery
    • IoT
    • Desktop
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Analytics
  • Strategy
    • Back
    • Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Channel Research
    • Business Models
    • Distribution
    • Technology Solutions Brokerages
    • Sales & Marketing
    • Best Practices
    • Vertical Markets
    • Regulation & Compliance
  • MSP 501
    • Back
    • 2022 MSP 501 Rankings
    • 2022 NextGen 101 Rankings
  • Intelligence
    • Back
    • Galleries
    • Podcasts
    • From the Industry
    • Reports/Digital Issues
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
  • Channel Futures TV
  • EMEA
  • Channel Chatter
    • Back
    • People on the Move
    • New/Changing Channel Programs
    • New Products & Services
    • Industry Honors
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Advisory Boards
    • Industry Organizations
    • Our Sponsors
    • Advertise
    • 2023 Editorial Calendar
  • Awards
    • Back
    • 2022 MSP 501
    • Channel Influencers
    • Circle of Excellence
    • DE&I 101
    • Technology Advisor 101 (TA 101)
  • Events
    • Back
    • 2023 Call for Speakers
    • CP Conference & Expo
    • MSP Summit
    • Channel Partners Europe
    • Channel Partners Event Coverage
    • Webinars
    • Industry Events
  • About Us
  • DE&I
Channel Futures
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • Technologies
    • Back
    • SDN/SD-WAN
    • Cloud
    • RMM/PSA
    • Security
    • Telephony/UC/Collaboration
    • Cable
    • Mobility & Wireless
    • Fiber/Ethernet
    • Data Centers
    • Backup & Disaster Recovery
    • IoT
    • Desktop
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Analytics
  • Strategy
    • Back
    • Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Channel Research
    • Business Models
    • Distribution
    • Technology Solutions Brokerages
    • Sales & Marketing
    • Best Practices
    • Vertical Markets
    • Regulation & Compliance
  • MSP 501
    • Back
    • 2022 MSP 501 Rankings
    • 2022 NextGen 101 Rankings
  • Intelligence
    • Back
    • Galleries
    • Podcasts
    • From the Industry
    • Reports/Digital Issues
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
  • Channel Futures TV
  • EMEA
  • Channel Chatter
    • Back
    • People on the Move
    • New/Changing Channel Programs
    • New Products & Services
    • Industry Honors
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Advisory Boards
    • Industry Organizations
    • Our Sponsors
    • Advertise
    • 2023 Editorial Calendar
  • Awards
    • Back
    • 2022 MSP 501
    • Channel Influencers
    • Circle of Excellence
    • DE&I 101
    • Technology Advisor 101 (TA 101)
  • Events
    • Back
    • 2023 Call for Speakers
    • CP Conference & Expo
    • MSP Summit
    • Channel Partners Europe
    • Channel Partners Event Coverage
    • Webinars
    • Industry Events
  • About Us
  • DE&I
    • Newsletter
  • REGISTER
  • MSPs
  • VARs / SIs
  • Agents
  • Cloud Service Providers
  • Channel Partners Events
 Channel Futures

Telephony/UC/Collaboration


SunRocket Who? SMBs Love VoIP

  • Written by Channel
  • July 26, 2007

By Dan Baldwin, director of sales, ATEL Communications Inc.

The failure of consumer VoIP provider SunRocket will not cool the love affair between SMBs and VoIP. The attraction to VoIP is especially strong for new and expanding SMBs looking to buy a phone system.

Since re-engaging as an agent two months ago (after a five-year absence from the trenches), I was surprised to discover the acceptance of VoIP dial tone by businesses across the spectrum. An old call center customer of mine had installed a VoIP IP-PBX Asterisk server with a dozen SIP trunks feeding it dial tone over his dedicated Internet access T-1 (DIA) that I sold him. The SIP service he was using was from a business associate who had purchased and installed his own VoIP soft switch.

As a dial tone salesperson with a major San Diego interconnect, I field inquiries every day from new businesses and expanding businesses that need to order new or additional dial tone. Ninety-five percent of all businesses ask about VoIP. If they already have a non-VoIP phone system they want to know if they should switch their company to VoIP or install SIP trunk service into their existing phone system. It’s like they all want to be able to tell their business associates how cool they are because they use VoIP for their dial tone. Many small businesses I talk to call not to learn about VoIP, but to add more bandwidth and more SIP trunks to the VoIP system they’ve already setup for themselves and are using successfully.

During my break from selling dial tone, I thought business owners hated the idea of VoIP dial tone because of all the bad press consumer VoIP has had and continues to have. I was wrong. Business owners seem to know that the VoIP providers having trouble are all in the consumer space. It’s like they’re thinking, “Of course they’re having trouble they’re trying to make a living selling service to cheap skates!” The fact that many sad Vonage investors are loosing their money does not seem to dampen small business owners desire to claim the benefits of VoIP dial tone for their own business.

I think the main reason for the acceptance of VoIP in the business dial tone realm is the IP-PBX. It’s all about control. Nothing, it seams, frustrates a business owner or manager more than having to call his interconnect to make a small “move, add or change” (MAC) to their phone system and then having to pay $150 for it. Just as many business owners forgo the luxury of a secretary because they can now use their own computer to send a letter or email, business owners see VoIP (SIP trunks in an IP-PBX) as their opportunity to do their own MAC orders and forgo sending $150 to an outside company for every MAC in the future.

And it’s not just the early adapters. I’m selling VoIP dial tone in the form of SIP trunks to real estate agents in North Carolina and credit unions in Indiana. They see the decision to try VoIP or SIP as basically risk-free because if it doesn’t work they still have the option of putting regular dial tone (analogue lines, PRIs or regular voice T-1s) into their newly acquired IP-PBXs. Most figure, “Hey, I’m ordering broadband Internet anyway, why don’t I try VoIP in my new IP-PBX phone system by ordering SIP trunks?”

But it’s not just new and expanding businesses who just bought an IP-PBX who love VoIP. Almost all of our larger customers with existing non-VoIP phone systems using regular analogue or digital dial tone want to hear about how they can start integrating VoIP as they order new dial tone. I spend as much time talking people out of VoIP as I do selling VoIP. (It doesn’t make sense for many single-location businesses to add VoIP trunks to their non-VoIP phone systems “just to be cool.”)

While I certainly feel bad for everyone who lost money on SunRocket or Vonage I don’t really think the bad news affecting consumer VoIP will cross over to business VoIP. For small businesses buying a new phone system, IP-PBXs trunked with SIP dial tone is almost a no-brainer. No amount of bad consumer VoIP news will affect the love affair small business is developing for VoIP.

Note: ATEL explains how VoIP and SIP trunks work in a phone system so often that we actually made a video to send to our customers and prospects. Click here to view the video yourself or visit www.ATELcc.com.   

Dan Baldwin, founder of TelecomAssociation, is director of sales at ATEL Communications Inc. Founded in 1985, ATEL is the largest NEC telephone equipment dealer in Southern California. Baldwin works with ATEL’s carrier services division that acts as an in-house telecom master agency to sell network services to ATEL’s embedded base of 2,000 phone equipment customers. For more information about ATEL’s carrier services division please visit

www.ATELcc.com

.  

Got an experience that complements this blog posting? E-mail printable submissions to

[email protected]

.

Tags: Agents Telephony/UC/Collaboration

Most Recent


  • Layoffs
    Telecom-IT Layoff Tracker 2023: Cisco, RingCentral, Microsoft, 8x8, Sophos, More
    The onslaught of layoffs is bleeding over into this month.
  • Job Cuts
    January's Tech Layoff Scourge: Deep Dive Into Channel Impact
    We break down the seemingly daily layoffs impacting various companies doing business in the channel.
  • Select, circle individual
    Broadvoice Appoints 8x8, Mitel Vet as VP of Channel Partnerships and Alliances
    He brings UCaaS and CCaaS leadership to Broadvoice's partnership strategy.
  • Layoffs
    Talkdesk Layoffs Impact Sizable Number of Workers, Former Employee Says
    Talkdesk did not provide reasons for the reduction in headcount, one laid-off worker said.

Leave a comment Cancel reply

-or-

Log in with your Channel Futures account

Alternatively, post a comment by completing the form below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • Sales Strategy
    Telesystem Promotes TBI, MetTel Vet to Channel Strategy Manager
  • Cloud Phone
    AT&T to Offer Up to 1 Million Customers Cisco Webex Calling
  • Sign a Contract
    Unisys Adds Managed UCaaS with $153 Million Unify Square Acquisition
  • Fortune 500 2021 logo
    AT&T, Microsoft, Verizon, More Tech, Telco Companies Make Latest Fortune 500

Upcoming Events

View all

Channel Partners Conference & Expo

May 1, 2023 - May 4, 2023

Channel Partners Europe

June 13, 2023 - June 14, 2023

Channel Futures Leadership Summit

October 30, 2023 - November 2, 2023

Galleries

View all

Juniper Networks Shows ‘Swagger’ with Ambitious Growth Strategy

February 3, 2023

Zero Trust World 2023: ThreatLocker Unleashes Ops Threat-Detection Tool

February 2, 2023

Telecom-IT Layoff Tracker 2023: Cisco, RingCentral, Microsoft, 8×8, Sophos, More

February 2, 2023

Industry Perspectives

View all

How to Break Through the Growth Ceiling

February 1, 2023

5 Things to Look for in a UC Partner

January 31, 2023

The Benefits of Hiring an Investment Bank

January 30, 2023

Webinars

View all

Next-Generation MSP Platform: The Building Blocks for Your Business

February 15, 2023

How To Boost Your Business With White-Label UCaaS

February 28, 2023

Security Secrets of the MSP 501: How to Be a Cyber Leader in 2023

December 15, 2022
  • 1

White Papers

View all

6 UCaaS Reseller Challenges and How Real World Businesses Solved Them

February 1, 2023

Frost Radar: North American UCaaS Market, 2022

February 1, 2023

The Complete Guide to White-Label UCaaS for Reseller Success

February 1, 2023

Channel Futures TV

View all

Coffee with Craig and James Episode 117: Cato Networks, Video Killed the Podcast Stars

Retired Astronaut Capt. Scott Kelly Previews His CP Expo Keynote

December 21, 2022

Fusion Connect Eyes Future with Intrado UC, Managed Network Customers

September 23, 2022

RingCentral Focused on Hybrid Work, Microsoft Teams, Other Integrations

September 23, 2022

Twitter

ChannelFutures

Read about @coxbusiness' acquisition of @Logicworks. dlvr.it/Shty4t https://t.co/3MaKai6SVr

February 3, 2023
ChannelFutures

Where in the world are the top MSPs?? Take a look at the infographic breakdown of 2022 #MSP501 winners by region >>… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

February 3, 2023
ChannelFutures

.@SovosCompliance offers tips for how and when to revamp #partnerplans. dlvr.it/ShtDgv https://t.co/vPzajXnjee

February 3, 2023
ChannelFutures

Day 2 of #ZTW: @ThreatLocker unveils new Ops threat detection tool. dlvr.it/Shs93Y https://t.co/dAnj6IUiF2

February 3, 2023
ChannelFutures

.@broadvoice appoints a channel vet as new program leader. Before joining the company, he had risen through the ran… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

February 2, 2023
ChannelFutures

More activity over at @Pax8 (which just hired @RobTRae): the #cloud marketplace firm has purchased @BamBoomCloud.… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

February 2, 2023
ChannelFutures

.@SamsungMobile launches #GalaxyS23 phones, new #GalaxyBook3Ultra at Samsung Unpacked. dlvr.it/ShrW8G https://t.co/DloltwdMsE

February 2, 2023
ChannelFutures

The new partnership between Channel Futures and @ITExchangeNet is poised to benefit the partner community.… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

February 2, 2023

MSP 501

The industry's largest and most comprehensive partner awards program.

Newsletters and Updates

Sign up for The Channel Report, Channel Futures Update, MSP 501 Newsletter and more.

Live Channel Events

Get the latest information on the next industry-leading Channel Partners event.

Galleries

Educational slide shows and images from live events.

Media Kit And Advertising

Want to reach our audience? Access our media kit.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • Channel Partners Events
  • Telecoms.com
  • MSP 501
  • Black Hat
  • IoT World Today
  • Omdia

WORKING WITH US

  • Contact
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Newsletter

FOLLOW Channel Futures ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2023 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.
This website uses cookies, including third party ones, to allow for analysis of how people use our website in order to improve your experience and our services. By continuing to use our website, you agree to the use of such cookies. Click here for more information on our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.
X