Zultys fights uphill battle

VoIP firm offers leasing option to allay customer fears

Voice over IP (VoIP) start-up Zultys has claimed that voice vendors are scaring customers away from IP telephony solutions.

"Sales are a little slower than we would have hoped," said Robert Duncan, European vice-president of sales at Zultys. "Customers have said that two or three companies are coming in to put the fear in about VoIP."

Teddy Theane, director of UK channels for Zultys rival QuesCom, agreed that the market for pure IP telephony solutions was tough. "We are not seeing customers replacing their PBX to switch to IP telephony," he said.

"Most people look at the cost of pulling out their systems and the disruption to their network and get concerned."

Zultys is offering resellers the option of leasing its products. Customers can put down 40 per cent of the cost of a system and pay the balance in instalments, owning the system after 36 months.

"Leasing is not quite as attractive to resellers as an up-front deal," Duncan said. "But if the deal would go to the competition, then it's a lot better than losing the order entirely."

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