Ericsson thinks small with BusinessPhone
New version for SMEs to be distributed by Nimans
Ericsson Enterprise has launched a new version of its BusinessPhone system through the channel to target SMEs.
BusinessPhone Compact is a pre-packaged start-up system, which the vendor is shipping through comms distributor Nimans. Ericsson claimed it will give resellers a more lucrative alternative to rival systems.
Although BusinessPhone has been on sale for two years, Ericsson claimed its latest incarnation includes new software and features designed specifically to appeal to SMEs.
"The philosophy has always been to offer big-system capabilities at a size and price that makes sense for SMEs," said Stephan Vekeman, sales manager for converged solutions at Ericsson Enterprise.
Paul Emson, Ericsson business unit manager at Nimans, said the ideal customers for this sort of product were businesses with three to 50 employees.
"These are hard customers to sell to, but one way to get a foot in the door is to have a bundled package, or some killer application they can immediately see the point of," he said.
"The feature that lets businesses use their mobiles as an extension of the company phone system would sway most small-business buyers and could stop them losing customers through lost phone calls."
Nimans has planned a series of reseller road shows to help train the channel to sell the systems.
Bernie Thornton, managing director of IT and comms supplier Thornton Communications, based in Southampton, said: "The real attraction of this system is that a small company can keep upgrading it without pain. You can start off with eight extensions, and build up to 300 extensions from one investment."