IP telephony: Demand picks up, how to sell

What's the main reason companies go for IP-only systems? It's not features, it's not future-proofing and it's not lower call costs, Scanlan says.

"It's all about the person that sells it. If you've got a salesman that sells the benefits of a LAN... if I've got a customer that has a larger IT budget than a telco budget I might sell a pure IP system and score a LAN upgrade to house the phone system. That gives me a much larger sale number," Scanlan says.

"Yet there might be another [worthwhile] system. Siemens and Panasonic have a very solid upgrade system where you can change the box up to IP and take the handsets with you rather than forklift in a brand new system. A lot of customers like that because they've invested over the years and are reluctant to throw that money away."

Continuous upgrades to IP handsets is easier to afford and manage for customers than replacing the whole system in one go. They can keep their TDM network and squeeze the most from their hardware investments. This can make a big difference to the cost of moving to IP telephony, as handsets sometimes make up half the cost of the package.

"You can add IP handsets over the years and end up with a pure IP system at the end of it," Scanlan says. This method is also favourable to the reseller because it prolongs the length of the sale and consequently the depth of the relationship.

"In the hybrid world we strongly focus on utilising current technology. It helps you keep the customer, too, from a dealer point of view and it gives you a customer-upgrade path that you can keep earning an income stream off for many years to come."

Telephony vendors price IP handsets higher than TDM handsets despite the fact that there is little obvious difference in how they are made, according to Scanlan, who assumes the premium is "contrived".

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