MARKETWATCH
www.comms-dealer.com
CASE STUDY
Clear lines for
Hosted
IPT is a
viable
hosted comms
solution
Bob Keating
Advances in technology and
ABATE PEST MANAGEMENT GOES HOSTED
the advent of SIP trunking have
Established in 1999, Abate Pest Management
helped to resolve most of the
is a fast, efficient and discreet pest control
service based in East Anglia. It ensures
challenges faced by hosted
‘peace of mind’ pest control for commercial
solutions, writes Michael J
or domestic premises seven days a week.
Thornton, Sales & Marketing
The company recently moved to a new
Director, Frontier Voice and Data.
larger office and was looking for a new
telephony system. As the business grew, the
management team was keenly aware that
every lost call was lost business. Although the
team could call numbers back, this was not C
ustomers are not so much concerned
about the ‘means’ as they are about
the service delivery. If a customer
an optimal arrangement and they wanted can pick up the phone and it provides the
to be able to redirect calls either to another functionality they require, then the fact that
phone or a mobile as and when necessary. the technology is provided off-site is not so
important to them. The key fiscal business
Abate worked with Aspect International benefits are that a hosted solution requires
Telecoms to find the best telephony system no capital expenditure, a critical factor in the
for their needs. It chose Gamma Telecom’s current credit crunch when finance is hard to
FeaturePlus IP Telephony service delivered get, especially for business start-ups. Companies
using a Cisco 8 port analogue telephony also want to avoid large up-front or upgrade
adapter (ATA). This allowed them to keep costs to their current systems. As a service
their existing analogue handsets, which provision a hosted solution is a 100 per cent tax-
are plugged directly into the 8 port ATA deductible business expense, whereas capital
allowing the company to route its calls expenditure is only partially tax allowable.
over a business-grade broadband line.
Business communications benefits include the
Abate now has four lines with the ability ability to link remote offices and teleworkers
to double these with no additional capital to the main office, providing them with full
Michael J Thornton
outlay. “We needed a service that could system functionality without incurring network
handle a large number of inbound calls, call charges. As more businesses move The main margin opportunities are in the
but which was also easy to configure. We towards virtual operations without a central ongoing revenue stream from service
can now appear to be in a number of office this is becoming a major selling point provision. As long as the service proves reliable
locations across East Anglia, but actually for hosted solutions. Multi-site organisations customers are inclined to stick with their
operate from one office in Norfolk,” said will benefit greatly from a hosted solution. service provider. But the wise reseller will not
Jon Blake, owner of Abate. “We can handle take the ‘sell it and forget it’ approach. Good
more calls than in the past, and we do not Most hosted services are provided on a modular account management leads to other sales
have to call customers back as often. The basis, with more sophisticated elements opportunities being identified and upselling.
calls now travel over a business-grade ADSL such as unified communications provided at
line and the call quality is indistinguishable additional cost. Hosted also allows upselling of Hosted already is gaining traction and the
from traditional phones. However, we also additional services including DSL broadband current recession has provided a vital incentive
have far more flexibility and more features provision and mobile solutions, so the service for its adoption as start-up businesses and
to help us cope with the peaks and provider becomes a total solutions vendor growing companies look for alternatives to
troughs in the demand for our services.” with a multi-product solutions proposition. the traditional PBX box on the wall. Tin doesn’t
have a long-term future in the SME space of
Bob Keating, Managing Director at Aspect
Tin doesn’t have
up to 30 extensions. The main sales challenge
International Telecoms, added: “Hosted IPT is is to overcome customer conservatism and
a viable solution for smaller companies looking a long-term resistance to change. Customers fear a loss of
to portray a bigger company image while control and the security of having their own
maximising the use of their existing connectivity
future in the SME space
kit. But the business benefits are so compelling
and legacy on-site equipment.” that a good sales person should be able to
n
of up to 30 extensions
overcome these.
n
46 COMMS DEALER MAY 2009 www.comms-dealer.com
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