Heard a news feature on the radio the other day about current trends in sales and marketing. Big ticket items in high end boutiques are now just gathering dust. For some reason, $800 jeans stopped making sense. (Don’t care. Still love mine.)
But the focus was less on obvious excesses and more about our recent economic shift to a less disposable society. Example: for years, I didn’t wash my clothes. When I needed a clean shirt, I just go and buy a new one. But in this economic climate, I’m forced to launder my used clothes. (Ridiculous!)
Thankfully, there’s a detergent for that. In fact, there are lots of them. But the real story was how two very large companies were now charging a premium for a detergent that promised to make your clothes last longer in these uncertain times. I’m not sure what was in the earlier batches, but now that I’m forced to re-wear clothes, I want to play it safe.
Most companies are doing the same. Public or private, gone are the days of excess and careless spending. Travel is down and web-based conferencing is up. Cautious eyes are searching for ways to tighten the belt on spending, while finding innovative ways to increase productivity. Older communication equipment may have to stay in the closet another year or two to make the most out of their investment dollar.
But old equipment doesn’t mean that you can’t have some of the productivity-enhancing features found in VoIP-based solutions. You can squeeze every last drop of value out of your existing telephone hardware, while providing your workforce with advanced capabilities found in high-end VoIP platforms through SIP Trunking.
By SIP Trunking, you can toe the water of managed business communications without falling into the deep end. You can collaborate in real-time, increase productivity through innovative applications, and even manage your existing network more efficiently. And later, when the time is right for you, the move to a fully managed and outsourced communications solution is quick and easy. You set the pace.
What kind of benefits?
· Lower communications costs (especially inbound & outbound LD charges and internal calls)
· Dependability (can provide business continuity and disaster recovery capabilities)
· No line capacity issues (pool your voice assets, and stop paying for unused capacity)
· Flexibility (you can scale the service to grow with your business)
However, like many business solutions, it’s best to do some research before you buy. Ask yourself these questions:
· Is the vendor using an unsafe method of delivery, like the Internet?
· Does the provider offer more than just voice?
· Does the vendor have Unified Communications applications?
· Can you receive Software as a Service (SaaS) business communications applications, like call center functionality or cloud-based network security, over the SIP Trunk?
· Does the carrier provide network security tools?
· How strong are the security services they offer?
· Is the provider certified by a reputable telecom association or company?
Bottom line, your company needs to communicate to survive. And how it communicates can make all the difference in the world in today’s economic climate. How much could your company save by moving towards a one vendor, one bill solution, like Smoothstone’s? Take your time, do the research, and you just might find that not all SIP Trunking providers are cut from the same cloth.
In the end, I’ve worn those jeans three more times and saved myself $2400 so far. Not too shabby. And that pre-faded, torn look is still as fresh as the day I first bought them to look filthy and pre-worn.
Mark Metzner
