SMB Converged Networks

• Selling voice and data convergence to SMB
• Head to head: Voice versus data
• A question of application
• How do you demonstrate value?
• Is brand important?

A question of application

Whether a reseller is coming to voice and data convergence from an IT or a voice background, LAN Systems sales manager, Leigh Howard, suggested they both need skills in another area - applications. "There has been a lot of talk about vertical markets but how many of you have just replaced a digital dial tone with an IP dial tone that adds no more value to the customer?" he asked. "Wasn't the dream of IP telephony all about integrated data applications? At the SMB level, aren't there a myriad of applications being developed that are great for a small dental practice or a school? Surely the job of the integrator is to integrate."

As an example, Howard talked about an attendance register application he saw demonstrated a couple of years ago.

"As soon as little Johnny comes into class, the teacher ticks him off on the handset," he said. "If he doesn't show up it sends an automated email to his father." The idea drew a mixed response from our panel of resellers. CommSys managing director, Mal Smith, pointed out that such partners were not easy to find because they tended to be small companies. "If a vendor gave me a brochure that listed the developers working on a particular type of software I would be calling them," he said. "That would be very handy."

But Total Computer Technology boss, Robert Brown, dismissed the concept as a lemon. "We had such bad experiences that it turned me off the idea," he said. "We have had developers in our offices and their work has fallen in a heap. If they can't do it in my office, why am I going to recommend them to a customer?"