What is the total cost of ownership for hosted UC services?
As is the case with any venture an organization may undertake, the larger the organization the lower goes the per-unit total cost of ownership (TCO). A UC solution is no different. Hosted UC providers are able to deliver their services for lower than an equally equipped premises-based solution provider and still maintain acceptable profit margins. Moreover, the TCO is a predictable flat monthly fee that is based on the number of current users.
How can you ensure that your hosted UC services are reliable?
Hosted service providers have a vested interest in their clients’ total satisfaction, if for no other reason than to improve the probability of their continued patronage. Conversely, the interest of equipment resellers of premises-based solutions in customer satisfaction diminishes as they take their money upfront. In fact, hosted service providers offer specific service level agreements that establish objective tools and processes to measure and verify compliance, along with appropriate incentives or penalties based on service performance and reliability.
Also, hosted service providers regularly implement their solutions for a number of clients each month. Through repetition, they have established process-led, repeatable implementation workflows resulting in more successful and timely deployments. Hosted UC service providers use the session initiation protocol open standard to deliver their solutions. Unlike premises-based solution providers, hosted providers are indifferent to use of network equipment, voice endpoints, desktop clients and mobile devices.
Finally, hosted service providers relieve their clients from having to hire and retain highly technical staff with special skill sets just to maintain and manage resources to support and operate customer premises equipment and applications.
What other big-picture benefits can be seen from hosted UC services?
Hosted UC service is delivered over any private or public IP network without requiring virtual private networks or multiprotocol label switching designs. Clients are able to easily maintain a distributed work force with unified presence and receive the same user experience.
Reduced energy consumption is something everyone is talking about. It is estimated that an individual premises-based IP telephony solution consumes about 20 to 30 amps. A hosted solution removes this consumption from the customer’s premises to the carrier’s and reduces the customer’s direct consumption due to telephony by more than 50 percent.
Finally, you’ll have single-vendor accountability. The hosted UC service providers are responsible for delivering the whole solution to their customers. There is no separation between providing access or UC components and there is no finger pointing. The one single vendor is ultimately responsible for ensuring uptime at all times.
Monty Ferdowsi is the president of Broadcore. Reach him at (800) 942-4700 or [email protected]. With more than 20 years of experience in communications technology, Monty has led Broadcore to bring advanced communications capabilities to businesses nationwide.