Robert Messer’s excitement about the possibilities of VoIP technology is contagious. The CEO of VoIP value-add distributor ABP (News - Alert) Technology has built his company from a one room executive suite office to a 7,000-square-foot distribution/support/training center with 16 employees. The company recently held an open house to christen its new space and invited Epygi among others to stimulate conversation with resellers.

 

A career entrepreneur, Messer has thought a lot about what it takes to be a success in the VoIP space.

 

“Resellers tend to have varied levels of experience with VoIP and need support for themselves and the clients who depend on them,” says Messer. “They need education about the business benefits as much or more than technical training.” He states that ABP supplies support based on each reseller's experience and needs.

 

ABP is comfortable proposing Epygi products to resellers, in part, because of the products’ flexibility in a wide variety of environments. The Quadro PBX scales to meet the needs of the entire spectrum of small to medium business. “Because Epygi products are inter-operational and complaint with SIP standards, they can be used with a variety of different products, which is a value-add,” says Messer.

 

“Value,” he says, “is a kind of deluded term to throw around, but the channel must be able to relate the benefits, or value, of the applied technology to the goals of small business.”

 

Messer explains that the VoIP market has evolved differently from, say, the PC market with regards to channel support. In the PC world, a support system came before product penetration. Because of the relative ease of entry into the VoIP world, innovation (and divergent methodology) has outpaced adoption by the channel.

 

Race- to-the-bottom pricing has hampered channel growth to a certain extent.

 

“The manufacturers and the market have commoditized faster than the channel can absorb,” Messer relates. The traditional approach of building a cheaper PBX (News - Alert) is no recipe for success. Selling a $500 product with $1500 in services isn’t the right price. “Just because a lower price is technically feasible, doesn’t mean it makes good business sense.”

 

What does make sense is grasping the challenges of this market and meeting them head-on. Resellers who only stress lower costs to their customers are missing the real value of a VoIP system that empowers users with control and customization. No longer bound the restrictions of an ordinary phone, even the smallest business can collaborate with vendors, contractors and customers regardless of location. A small business can compete with much larger enterprises by giving the appearance of omnipresence.

 

Resellers can enlarge their opportunities by broadening application of the technology. The IP platform, for example, can alleviate an ever mounting need for home and office security by combining voice and video to create affordable protection for entrances and vulnerable areas.

 

“Imagine the reduced fuel consumption and CO2 emissions with a culture of teleworking even a couple of days a week,” muses Messer. “VoIP removes the constraint of location by making 'anyplace' a port on your PBX.”

 

 

Epygi Technologies designs and manufactures IP-PBXs, voice over IP gateways and conference servers. The company’s Epygi's Quadro PBX appliances represent significant opportunity for ABP VARs in the SMB and SOHO space, as well as those that support enterprise branch offices and teleworkers.

 

To learn more about Epygi’s products, designed to make selecting VoIP solutions easier, please visit the company’s TMCnet.com channel, Selecting VoIP Solutions.