SMB Knowledge of Business Phone Tech Is Lagging
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Likelihood to Evaluate a New Phone System
Almost half (48%) said their organizations are likely to evaluate new phone systems, and 36% expect that to happen within the next 12 months. -
Reasons for Evaluating New Phone System
Nearly two-thirds (64%) cited outdated equipment, followed by the need to reduce cost (31%) and the need for a specific feature (30%). -
Limited Awareness of Telecom Technologies
While a full 68% of respondents are familiar with VOIP, the next highest technology in terms of awareness is IP telephony at 27%. -
Current Use of Voice Communications
Internal communications tops the list at 75%, followed closely by customer/client communications at 74%. -
Top Business Phone Features Used
Three-way calling ranks highest, at 60%, followed by intercom, at 42%, and conference call bridges, at 41%. -
Business Phone Features Most Wanted
Getting voice mail or email attachments ranks highest at 38%, followed by remote desk phones, at 25%. -
Most Widely Used Voice Service Delivery
T1 lines are still the most widely used by 20%, followed closely by cable, at 18%. -
Importance of Voice Communications
A little less than a third (31%) rate voice communications as extremely important, while 43 percent said it was very important.
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Why Metrics Matter to the Channel Small and midsize companies are interested in new phone systems, but often don't know how they work, according to a survey of 427 purchasers of capital equipment at SMBs that Hanover Research conducted on behalf of Allworx, a unit of Winstream that sells voice over IP (VOIP) phone systems. The good news from a solution provider's perspective is that almost half the respondents said they would consider a new phone system, largely because they were using outdated equipment. The bad news from a channel perspective is that the awareness of modern telecommunications technologies is fairly limited. "After 20 years of VOIP, most SMBs have not been keeping up with the innovations in business phone systems," the report indicates. "But voice communication remains critical to SMB operations. There's still a huge opportunity to educate SMBs about how they can optimize business phone systems to increase efficiency, boost productivity, and do more with less." In fact, 25 percent were not even aware of the type of technologies they were using for delivery of voice services, but, on the upside, 74 percent, recognized how important phone systems are to their businesses.