Columbus to Enter Jamaican PBX Market with Cloud-Based Solution

According to a recent news report from the Jamaica Observer, Columbus Business Solutions will soon challenge major players in the Jamaican business telephone market.

CBS will reportedly be offering a hosted PBX solution to businesses of all sizes throughout the country. This Internet-based technology will not only allow the CBS to be flexible and meet the needs of individual businesses, while also allowing it to offer monthly subscriptions to telephony services -- subverting a large drawback of traditional PBX systems that required long-term contracts. Michael O'Neil, a Bloomberg IT analyst, spoke about the company's new system and how it will fit with businesses in a changing marketplace:

"Customers now understand and expect more flexible pricing options," O'Neil said. "For example, if you run a five-person company today, but you plan on having 20 people in five years, you need to buy a 20-person PBX system."

In that statement, he highlights the main drawback of traditional PBX. It can be valuable for companies that know they need large systems and can, within reason, predict their needs for the future. But small, growing, or rapidly changing businesses can find themselves stuck with products that no longer fit their needs. They either end up paying more for systems that are too large to begin with or they end up canceling contracts, renegotiating terms, or just finding themselves without enough capacity several years into their existence.

O'Neil explains that businesses inherently desire to take advantage of systems that work with, and can adapt to, their needs. Naturally, this gives CBS a leg up on the competition, including LIME -- landline, Internet, mobile, entertainment -- a major player in the business telephony market in Jamaica.

LIME has found itself under fire, alongside Digicel, for blocking VoIP applications that supposedly create illegal connections between users. LIME has reportedly blocked VoIP services within Jamaica, and Digicel is reportedly blocking services within several countries throughout the Caribbean.

Bad publicity for LIME could give CBS an additional leg up. It may not need the help, however, because its offering of monthly rates and adjustable terms could provide businesses just what they need in a market that has long told them that flexibility is not an option.

Edited by Adam Brandt