NEC VoIP tool helps resellers find SMB opportunities

NEC has announced an IP telephony assessment service in a bid to provide resellers with a leg-up into the SMB market.

The vendor will embark on a media campaign to offer the free assessment tool to SMBs Australia-wide, NEC manager of product development, Alex Gatiragas, said.

"The assessment we've put together suits both the enterprise and SMB markets, but the majority of our channel partners deal with SMBs," he said.

Businesses would log their interest with NEC before being asked to download an application to at least two PCs. This simulates VoIP traffic on the network. The results of the test would be provided to the businesses' NEC reseller for further discussion or, in the case of it not having a reseller, NEC would select one.

"The assessment will work as both a market stimulator and lead generator," he said. "We'll be introducing channel partners to new clients."

The assessment is currently used in a different format by Toyota and the Victoria Government to assist the day-to-day management of its VoIP networks.

"Based on some pilot sites, the feedback so far is that this is a great tool for partners to show how keen NEC is on the VoIP market," Gatiragas said. "It will definitely help them move customers from traditional telephony."

In the case of a customer having a network that was unsuited to VoIP, channel partners would also have the ability to piggyback off the assessment to install new hardware or troubleshoot faults.

"We think we've got the timing right on this because the larger enterprises have adopted IP telephony, and the time is right for SMB to start investigating it," Gatiragas said. "The assessment also shows that we're investing in our channel market."