Comment QoS and manageability in a small business setting (Score 1) 152
We've been using Vonage in my business (Micro Office Solutions), a provider of managed office space to small businesses and individual entrepreneurs. It really lets us keep prices low, both because we didn't have to pay for the setup of a PBX (we can pay for equipment as we go) and because the ongoing operational costs are lower. We have a dedicated data line with a semi-guaranteed data rate and latency, so QoS problems have been very minor. The manageability is a bit of a pain because we have more than 20 phone lines and plan to get up to 200 eventually. That means you have tons of little boxes in the server room, plus the management of billing is difficult because the bills have to be directed to individual tenants. As VoIP sees significant adoption, I am hoping that VoIP service providers will start to tackle the manageability issues that are important to small to medium-sized businesses.