Customer service levels in the VOIP market are constantly increasing due to continuously changing customer requirements in a competitive marketplace.
So says Riaan Pietersen, head of the enterprise division at TeleMasters, who notes that, to be sustainable, any serious telco must constantly update its offerings and technology.
"This is expensive and takes dedication. To ensure survival, telcos have to keep adapting to market requirements and keep up with business trends."
For instance, he explains, one advance is the integration of legacy PBXes with cloud-based virtual PBXes, allowing for a system that attracts zero capex, as well as being future-proof, scalable and feature-rich.
Another example of where the market is going is cellular integration with fixed-line platforms, whereby sales and management are always reachable, whether on their landline extensions or cellular phones, by dialling one number only, Pietersen adds.
He also believes that if a VOIP provider focuses on enhancing a customer's value proposition to its own clients, the customer may be able to increase sales or retain more clients.
"This, in turn, might push up the company's revenues. This positive impact on the bottom line will potentially outweigh any VOIP savings."
He also believes that another important point to consider is that, within a few years, telephony rates will be dramatically lowered and VOIP savings won't bring about a tremendous reduction in overheads for these firms.
Pietersen also points out that IT directors and managers need to understand what is on offer from VOIP suppliers, including the type of connectivity (ADSL, Diginet, fibre, wireless, satellite, etc); how the VOIP supplier will connect to the existing infrastructure or PBX; what equipment is used by the supplier, what the SLAs are; if the VOIP supplier is a licensed telco with its own interconnect agreements or if it is merely a reseller of someone else's product; if the VOIP supplier offers full redundancy; if the supplier has a measuring tool for call quality (MOS); and what the hidden costs are, if any.
If these issues are clear and proven to the IT department, their contributions should be minimalised and without much risk or additional workload, he stresses.
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