* Innovations occurs in the enterprise before it reaches carrier nets
We’ve long maintained that telecommunications innovation occurs in the enterprise before it reaches the carrier networks. For example, traditional PBX calling features were always about two years ahead of carrier-provided Centrex and the same parallel seems to be generally true for the IP-PBX compared to the carrier-hosted IP telephony services.
We contend that even in the case where the same set of IP telephony features are available inside the central office (hosted) version of the IP-PBX, sometimes carrier centric issues such as billing systems and provisioning support might stand in the way of carriers offering the full IP telephony feature set.
Infrastructure suppliers such as Nortel (with its Multimedia Communications Server or MCS) and Siemens (with its Openscape/Lifeworks approach) have tried to help service providers close this feature gap by offering duplicate functionality in their central office and enterprise software versions.
Service providers have tried to close the gap by offering premise-based IP telephony equipment on the customer site. In fact, the lion’s share of enterprise telephony deployments are premise-based networks supplied either by the equipment manufacturer directly or through sales channels that include the service provider as a supplier.
Systems integrators have also offered the enterprise a “way out” of this dilemma by offering premise-based solutions that include integrator-managed facilities. And even value-added resellers (VAR) seem to be joining the competition by offering to provide both loop-facilities management and equipment management for telephony solutions.
Now it looks like the IP-PBX manufacturers are also reaching out to meet the needs of enterprise customers. For example, in May Avaya announced its managed and hosted VoIP service that includes Avaya’s products delivering IP telephony, contact center, and the company’s messaging platforms. Under the service, Avaya provides IP PBX features to the end-user for $25 per month, and its contact center solutions are priced between $50 and $100 per seat.
Avaya’s approach is sensible because Avaya is likely the best in the business at managing Avaya’s own products. It also makes sense because, unlike Siemens and Nortel which purpose-build carrier grade equipment, Avaya’s experience is with enterprise infrastructure.
However, Avaya is also competing with the systems integrators, service providers, and VARs that sell Avaya’s equipment. To counter this possible downside, Avaya also provides its service as a private-labeled brand for other service providers. With Avaya as a partner, perhaps its service provider channels can keep up with advanced service public offers. But in either case, if Avaya’s equipment is in the design then Avaya wins. And the enterprise customer who wants Avaya’s features in their enterprise network has one more choice of service providers.
