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Broadband and Mobile Featured Article
May 02, 2008
Microsoft Response Point for Small Business
By Gary Kim Contributing Editor
Some people aren't going to like Microsoft's (News - Alert) Response Point phone system for small business. Of course, those people run interconnect companies that make a living installing and maintaining phone systems.
There are more than 40 vendors targeting the small business phone system space, says Alan Weckel, Dell'Oro Group senior analyst. None except Nortel (News - Alert), Avaya and Cisco having more than a 10 percent share.
Look for Microsoft to move up onto that list (my prediction, not Weckel's). Its Response Point system advances the user interface beyond anything I've seen up to this point, with a relatively simply--but powerful--approach: it's a voice system, use voice to control and program the features.
Response Poin uses voice-activated commands, set-up wizards and other user interface enhancements to get as close to a plug-and-play, reconfigure on the fly system as one can get at this point.
"Fifteen percent of small businesses move offices each year," says Ben Brauer, Microsoft senior product manager. "Often they have to buy a new phone system."
"With a Response Point appliance, you just need to unplug it, drive it to wherever you are going, plug back into the wall, put phones into the LAN
jacks, and the system will discover all the phone sets, and re-provision all the profiles."
"Someone who has no IT background can install the software," he says.
Response Point with service pack one can save customers with 10 to 19 employees an average of $8,000 in their first year, according to AMI Partners. Businesses with between 25 to 49 employees will save on average about $25,000 in the first year, says AMI Partners.
In a study, AMI Partners found that the one-time upfront savings to buy a phone system was about $4,000. The rest of the savings were based on annual operating cost reductions in monthly service fees, connecting fees and calling charges, compared to a standard phone system (TDM).
The list price of the basic system is $2,500 and includes four to five phones. Response Point currently is compatible with phones from Aastra, D-Link and Quanta.
Gary Kim (News - Alert) is a TMCnet Contributing Editor.
Don’t forget to check out TMCnet’s White Paper Library, which provides a selection of in-depth information on relevant topics affecting the IP Communications industry. The library offers white papers, case studies and other documents which are free to registered users. Today’s featured white paper is Best Practices for Implementing a First Contact Resolution Program in the Contact Center brought to you by Enkata.
There are more than 40 vendors targeting the small business phone system space, says Alan Weckel, Dell'Oro Group senior analyst. None except Nortel (News - Alert), Avaya and Cisco having more than a 10 percent share.
Look for Microsoft to move up onto that list (my prediction, not Weckel's). Its Response Point system advances the user interface beyond anything I've seen up to this point, with a relatively simply--but powerful--approach: it's a voice system, use voice to control and program the features.
Response Poin uses voice-activated commands, set-up wizards and other user interface enhancements to get as close to a plug-and-play, reconfigure on the fly system as one can get at this point.
"Fifteen percent of small businesses move offices each year," says Ben Brauer, Microsoft senior product manager. "Often they have to buy a new phone system."
"With a Response Point appliance, you just need to unplug it, drive it to wherever you are going, plug back into the wall, put phones into the LAN
jacks, and the system will discover all the phone sets, and re-provision all the profiles.""Someone who has no IT background can install the software," he says.
Response Point with service pack one can save customers with 10 to 19 employees an average of $8,000 in their first year, according to AMI Partners. Businesses with between 25 to 49 employees will save on average about $25,000 in the first year, says AMI Partners.
In a study, AMI Partners found that the one-time upfront savings to buy a phone system was about $4,000. The rest of the savings were based on annual operating cost reductions in monthly service fees, connecting fees and calling charges, compared to a standard phone system (TDM
). The list price of the basic system is $2,500 and includes four to five phones. Response Point currently is compatible with phones from Aastra, D-Link and Quanta.
Gary Kim (News - Alert) is a TMCnet Contributing Editor.
Don’t forget to check out TMCnet’s White Paper Library, which provides a selection of in-depth information on relevant topics affecting the IP
Communications industry. The library offers white papers, case studies and other documents which are free to registered users. Today’s featured white paper is Best Practices for Implementing a First Contact Resolution Program in the Contact Center brought to you by Enkata.
