Defeat the Power FUD

By David Byrd, VP of Sales and Marketing, Broadvox

Selling SIP Trunking to SMBs and Enterprises involves three basic value propositions:

Selling against SIP still seems to focus on voice quality and availability. However, there is one bit of FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt) thrown around that I want to take off the table forever – power outages. The idea that a business should avoid VoIP/SIP Trunking because of power outages is ridiculous. Perhaps, if the business is in Bangladesh or Iraq, power outages might be a concern. However, in the U.S., avoiding the savings associated with IP communications for that reason makes no sense.

First, most office phones today will not work when the power is off anyway. Most businesses have purchased feature-rich phones with LCD or other types of displays that require them to have AC power. In some cases, there may be battery backup available to cover a few minutes of outage. The usual backup for a power outage, as it relates to phones, is the cell phone, to maintain communications.

Second, let’s say I am the usual SMB out there making a living selling product directly to consumers. When the power is lost, my back-end systems shut down. I lose my Internet access, POS devices, touch screen payment systems, PCs, monitors and servers that support either my sales or operations activity. The reason why I lose all of this is that it is not cost-effective for me to invest in full battery backup for my entire operation. Figures from the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) show that within the U.S., the average power company customer loses power for only 214 minutes every year or just less than four hours per year. The average length of downtime for a given customer is 106 minutes. Therefore, a business can expect two significant power outages per year totaling less than four hours.

Unless the business makes the investment to provide an alternative power source to maintain operations during a power outage, the type of phone system TDM or IP makes no difference. Using power outages as reason to avoid SIP Trunking or the benefits offered by ITSPs such as Broadvox makes no sense.

Stop listening to this FUD.

Have a great weekend and look for a new recipe on Monday.

David Byrd is vice president of marketing and sales for Broadvox, and is responsible for marketing and channel sales programs to SMBs, enterprises and carriers as well as defining the product offering. Prior to joining Broadvox, David was the Vice President of Channels and Alliances for Eftia and Telcordia. As Director of eBusiness Development with i2 Technologies, he developed major partnerships with many of the leaders in Internet eCommerce and supply chain management. As CEO of Planet Hollywood Online he was a pioneer in using early internet technologies to build a branded entertainment and eCommerce website company partnered with Planet Hollywood. Having over twenty years of Telecom sales and marketing experience, he has held executive positions with Hewlett-Packard, Sprint and Ericsson.