Just when the retailers thought it would be in vogue to hawk telephone systems alongside Ebay where pretty much anything sells, Dell Computer is on the act too, selling what they advertise as "Affordable Enterprise-Class Phone Systems by Fonality."
Just when the retailers thought it would be in vogue to hawk telephone systems alongside Ebay where pretty much anything sells, Dell Computer is on the act too, selling what they advertise as "Affordable Enterprise-Class Phone Systems by Fonality."The Fonality solution is hosted -half hosted and half premise according to the ad. Half hosted or not, it's HOSTED. Using Dell's online quote system, I started the questionnaire and on the second or third question, "How many simultaneous calls does your company make?" I answered 150. Error Message: The Fonality VoIP System currently supports up to 100 concurrent calls per location. Please re-enter your maximum number of calls.
For call centers that they advertise as "ideal for businesses with 5-125 employees per location," I guess it wasn't sporting of me to answer 150, unless a call center limits itself to 100 concurrent calls. So maybe I'm not being fair, but when I smell marketing, I follow it--so I did and in reading Dell's linked "VoIP Without Hype, What Businesses Need to Know" further, more hairs on my neck raised. Here's why.
First, this document plays "good cop against bad cop" and twists users into a buying argument. VoIP calling is FREE and cited as "seductive," but the message doesn't tell businesses to avoid these claims, but encourages a follow-the-pack mentality. Next, there's quality and they do point out that five nines doesn't exist but use the graphics and the context of quality as an implied benefit by using their service which still can't meet five or four nines. In the next chunk of information they discuss using two separate networks, one for voice and one for data. Sounds like my argument except- not the transport. This isn't convergence but it is a load-balancing act that leaves users with the hope that while one T1 fails that the other won't, and no one will be willing to bet which one does fail. The final rub is Fonality deems itself as offering a Hybrid IP-PBX solution. Sorry guys but you're not offering a Hybrid IP-PBX, but I would agree that your solution is hybrid. Pending the outcome of the bandwidth for dollars race to charge companies going over their allotment of usage on the net, hosted providers may be facing another obstacle.
What I see coming ahead is more of the same. When the propaganda doesn't fit the reality, the messages change. When messages change the hope is that they will stick. But this message doesn't strike a chord, but it hits a nerve and my gut says leave it be. My buddy Eric raised a good question in Is It Just Me? Maybe five nines on the net is a pipe dream but does this mean that marketing hype will lead businesses into using "party line"-like service? VoIP pie has been dangling out there a long time in front of businesses and marketing hype is exactly what causes it to spoil.
