October 2000

BY SCOTT WILLARD

Phone. Fax. Voice mail. E-mail. Remote networking. Internet access... If you're a small business these days, you probably need it all! However, implementing and managing the full spectrum of communication tools, and paying the cost of entry, plus future upgrades and expansion, can often be enough to make a business give up the ship.

Meanwhile, fueled by the New Economy, new-business formation continues to explode. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, about 898,000 new firms set sail in 1998 -- the highest number ever, and a 1.5 percent increase over the record 885,000 a year earlier. Sixty-six of the companies listed in Inc. magazine's 1998 Top 500 List -- the magazine's annual rating of the fastest-growing private U.S. companies -- are businesses with less than 20 employees.

COMMUNICATION: CRITICAL
For most small companies, especially those competing with much larger organizations, effective communications is the second most critical selling point after the product. But how does a small business put in place a reliable communication system that is easy to use, low maintenance, and capable of meeting future needs, while at the same time keeping its head above water when it comes to cost? There are several options. A telephone answering machine for voice messages is affordable, but not scalable beyond ten or more mailboxes. A stand-alone PBX will do the job, but at a price of over $20,000, it is beyond the reach of many small companies. These solutions only address basic communication needs, forcing the small business to seek out separate solutions for everything from dial tone and faxing to connecting to a data network.

Internet access, remote networking, and e-mail are critical needs as well. According to a recent IDC study, 41.2 percent of small businesses are now doing business online, compared to just 19.7 percent two years ago. The study indicates that small businesses overwhelmingly view the Internet as key to the management and operation of their businesses, helping to level the playing field with their larger, more established competitors. Simply adding modems and secondary lines as new employees come on board in order to keep everyone wired is a bit like trying to bail water out of a sinking ship. You expend so much energy just to keep afloat you never really get anywhere.

On top of all this, we can't forget about the trend toward unified messaging and convergence -- the ability to read your voice mail and listen to your e-mail. With an increasingly mobile workforce and customer base, anytime/anywhere access from any device is beginning to take its place on the must have list.

Once this communication mish-mash is all installed, who then will manage and handle the varying levels of technical support? Who troubleshoots when something goes wrong? Paying an IT manager's salary, if one can be found in this tight market, is often prohibitive for a smaller operation. Many small businesses find themselves up a creek without an IT paddle.

INTEGRATED COMMUNICATION PLATFORMS AND YOU
The best bet for small businesses is an integrated communication platform that enables employees to access all of their communication tools at the desktop from one user-friendly device that works with basic user interfaces and is supported by one vendor for one-stop technical support and troubleshooting. These integrated communication platforms, designed with the small business in mind and capable of managing both voice and data connectivity, are typically available at an entry point considerably lower than a stand-alone PBX and a small fraction of the cost of enterprise-level communication systems.

Flexion Systems' BusinessGuardian X300 is one example of the new integrated communication platform. The X300 enables companies a single connection to the public network for voice and data communication, offering powerful network management and familiar Windows-based applications. Designed for companies with up to 112 employees, the BusinessGuardian X300 is a solution for small businesses that wish to deliver e-mail by phone and voice mail from the PC. Flexion's ConvergenceLoop technology enables businesses to manage voice and data on one line, eliminating the expense of leasing one line for voice and a second for data. The X300 supports several means of WAN connectivity, from BRI and PRI ISDN to ATM broadband which makes it capable of receiving high-quality, high-speed (up to 4.5 Mbps) DSL-ready broadband for voice and data.

Small businesses can learn more about the Flexion BusinessGuardian X300 and other low-maintenance, low-cost, all-in-one communications platforms through an IT or communications consultant. These devices are generally sold via convergence resellers and competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs) that target the small business market. Flexion, for example, has strong sales and support relationships with TelePacific Communications, a CLEC with primarily West Coast coverage, and 2nd Century Communications, which provides services to small businesses nationwide. Flexion has also established the BusinessGuardian Authorized Reseller program to deliver its end-to-end solution through a highly trained reseller force.

FLEXION AT WORK
It was through the Business-Guardian Authorized Reseller program that Korn, Waterman & Simon (KW&S), a 10-person law firm based in Tucson, AZ, discovered Flexion and the BusinessGuardian solution. When the firm moved to a new building, they decided to explore various communication options in order to eliminate some of their past frustrations. Phone messages were getting lost, and the partners were spending increased amounts of time queuing up at the fax machine to send out lengthy legal documents. In addition, seemingly everyone was put in the unwelcome role of playing computer troubleshooter.

Rather than choosing another traditional PBX phone system, managing partner Gary Korn went to a consulting group to determine what would be the best solution for KW&S. The advice: Go with an integrated communication platform designed specifically for a small business. Ultimately, Korn purchased the BusinessGuardian X300, which provided him with Internet access, full PBX functionality, unified messaging, faxing capabilities from the PC, and remote access to voice and e-mail. The BusinessGuardian X300 uses Microsoft's Windows NT or 2000 Server architecture for many of its key features, such as PC faxing, voice messaging, and auto attendant. With a strong suite of support and management tools, the solution even provided for quick set-up, configuration, and remote support.

The benefits were immediate. The X300 provides PBX functionality while acting as a single gateway to the outside network, integrating all incoming and outgoing voice calls and data connections. Faxes are now sent directly from PCs, and e-mails are replacing fax and paper-based messages. KW&S partners can even use their cell phones to access e-mail while traveling or driving to work each morning. Another popular feature at KW&S is the addition of pop-up menus that allow complete call management from the desktop and integration with the firm's contact database. Anyone from secretary to principal is able to easily transfer telephone calls and build conference bridges. The system proved itself accessible when a lawyer visiting from out of town was able to access a phone line to join in on a teleconference. Korn simply ran a wire to another part of the office building and set up the telephone line -- an impossible task with a traditional phone system.
Mr. Korn is particularly pleased with the convenience and cost savings of the BusinessGuardian X300's unique ability to merge voice and data. The designated 15 lines for voice and eight for data eliminate the need for separate phone and T1 lines. The firm is saving over $300 a month through voice and data convergence alone. Based on a modular, scalable design that will grow with KW&S and take advantage of future technological advances, the X300 will continue to prove its worth to the firm.

"The BusinessGuardian X300 is a cost-effective, easy to use, feature-rich solution that has enormously improved and simplified how we communicate within the firm and with our clients," says Gary Korn. 

Scott Willard is the vice president of sales for San Francisco-based Flexion Systems, a provider of managed business solutions for the growing company. Flexion designs, manufactures and markets Flexion BusinessGuardian, the brand family name for its one-stop communication and IT solutions designed specifically for the rapidly growing small-business segment. 

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