SMBs and Serious Skype at VON Berlin

Premises-based solutions for SMBs get better and better. They're plug and play, robust, and phones can be managed the same way as PCs. Meanwhile, Skype goes from strength to strength and gets an executive skin.

The small and medium business (SMB) sector is huge-fifty percent of the gross national product in many countries- but it's been a hard nut to crack for vendors. Systems were perceived as being too complex, technical resources were limited, and the sales process was too long and therefore unprofitable.

Service providers did not exploit this opportunity. One reason for this is the bursting of the telecommunications bubble. That situation has changed. Outsourcing is an attractive option, but there is an obvious downside-you're almost locked in. At the same time, system vendors have made enormous strides, and premises-based systems are almost outof- the-box solutions.