[asterisk-biz] RE: Bottom end of the market for an Asterisk PBX ?

Wed Jul 5 06:37:19 MST 2006

Hello Steve:

Good insight.
Can you please clarify what you mean by 1:7 ratio?
Thanks.

On 7/5/06, Stephen Wingfield <steve at bicom.us> wrote:

>
> With a ratio of 1:7 you can typically support 800+ users on the same
> server
> for under 4000 USD investment (or 5 USD per customer for the hardware).

Good insight.
Can you please clarify what you mean by 1:7 ratio?

----- Original Message -----
> From: "Curt Shaffer" <cshaffer at gmail.com>
> To: "'Commercial and Business-Oriented Asterisk Discussion'"
> <asterisk-biz at lists.digium.com>
> Sent: Tuesday, July 04, 2006 12:50 PM
> Subject: RE: [asterisk-biz] RE: Bottom end of the market for an Asterisk
> PBX
> ?
>
>
> >I would have to agree here as well. Just because you can install * on a
> >good
> > cheap system does not mean that you want to. I really think if Asterisk
> is
> > going to be a competitor in the VoIP market we really need to make sure
> it
> > shines. We can not just be "throwing" together a system that will get
> the
> > job done. We need to plan these installs, give good quality phones and
> > provide redundancy if possible. When was the last time the company's
> > POTS/PRI lines went down? When they pick up the phone they expect, and
> > rightfully so, for it to work. I all too often hear people getting by
> with
> > just the essentials and I would bet that there are a lot of unhappy
> > customers out there with it. I know of a few personally where the
> company
> > now has a bad taste in their mouth about VoIP because some "Asterisk
> Guru"
> > came in and saved them thousands on their phone system. What they were
> > left
> > with was choppy quality because of lack of QoS and horrible echo. And IP
> > termination, which was supposed to save them money, was sub par and down
> a
> > lot. Lack of needed configuration and bad choice of providers? Probaby,
> > but
> > they ditched the system and dubbed VoIP as a technology that is not
> ready
> > for prime time. This really gets me going....arg!
> >
> >>From what I have seen and been selling is features. Even to small
> > businesses. Yes you will get a system that is a little cheaper than
> Avaya,
> > Cisco or 3Com, although this is getting not to be the case with items
> such
> > as Avaya's new phone that acts like a small PBX. Yes you MAY be able to
> > save
> > some money on long distance with LCR. But, this IVR will allow you to
> > field
> > phone calls via the phone system and provide customers with valuable
> > information without a person spending time on the phone with them. This
> > find
> > me follow me will make sure someone can always reach you. This
> > conferencing
> > will save you on expensive bridges and hosted solutions. This XML app on
> > your phone will allow your employees to log into your time card app.
> This
> > system will integrate your voicemail and email into the same inbox. This
> > is
> > all about convergence! Anyone can beat the cost of a traditional PBX
> these
> > days, yes even Cisco with their new Call Manager Express! You need to
> make
> > the customer feel, and you won't be lying, that they need a full system
> > and
> > to invest in this. Show them the real money savings! Even a high end
> > Asterisk system is cheaper then most of the others.  I'll get off my
> soap
> > box for now. I just hate when people make probably the least important
> > things about Asterisk the most important and vis a vis.
> >
> > Someone mentioned a model like hosting. I think if your customers are
> > really
> > concerned about pricing of the system, despite your good sales tactics,
> > then
> > this may be the best idea. At that point you can provide the redundancy
> > they
> > need and maintain everything on your end. The only problem I see here is
> > you
> > want to make absolutely sure that you are not the cause of failure. This
> > would mean clustering, this would mean battery backup with generator
> back
> > up
> > on that. This would be a reliable high speed connection for both you and
> > them, think about what the phone company does to make sure you have dial
> > tone even when the power is out! What about E911! You don't want to be
> > responsible for a person dying(like happened near here in Maryland,USA).
> > But
> > it could be done. I do believe with the architecture that should be
> built
> > on
> > this model, it would take some time to get your return on investment but
> > if
> > this is where most of your clients would like to be then it may be worth
> > it.
> >
> >
> > Just my 2 cents.
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: asterisk-biz-bounces at lists.digium.com
> > [mailto:asterisk-biz-bounces at lists.digium.com] On Behalf Of C F
> > Sent: Monday, July 03, 2006 11:34 PM
> > To: Commercial and Business-Oriented Asterisk Discussion
> > Subject: Re: [asterisk-biz] RE: Bottom end of the market for an Asterisk
> > PBX
> > ?
> >
> > Yeah sure think again. There is no way that you can sell a system with
> > 5 phones for $1500.00 just the phones (at around $160 per phone for a
> > decent business phone) will cost you $800.00.
> > You think ppl buy these things like they buy bread? think again.
> >
> > On 7/3/06, Nikolai Manek <manek at nikotel.com> wrote:
> >> Hi,
> >>
> >> You want to charge $5000 for a small biz Asterisk server? Yes, you
> >> definitely need to rethink your strategy. I would rather think that
> $1500
> > is
> >> the absolute maximum. For very small companies (5-15) you can put a
> > Asterisk
> >> on a Linksys router with Linux. I think there are some projects you can
> >> Google up who are doing it. And then your customers will figure out
> very
> >> quick that they can get your PBX for a couple hundred bucks including
> >> service from someone. Why don't you set up some Astersik servers
> yourself
> >> and offer hosted Asterisk? This way you can charge a monthly fee, your
> >> customers don't have the headache of running their own server and you
> >> will
> >> make over time your $5000 without overcharging people (which is IMHO
> not
> > the
> >> way to do business). You might want to google around and see what other
> >> people are charging. But my educated guess would be that a small
> business
> > is
> >> very much willing to pay let's say $20 per seat per month and have
> their
> >> service hosted with you. On top you are selling the minutes at approx.
> >> 55%
> >> margin in the UK for international calls and probably 70% for domestic
> >> calls. Then you can make money and your customers are very happy too.
> You
> >> can bill the service with our new Asterisk billing solution (it's free)
> >> (www.remwave.com) which will be released by the end of the week or any
> > other
> >> billing platform. I am also thinking that a hosted solution is better
> for
> >> your business bottom line since it will enable you to have a consistent
> >> revenue stream.
> >>
> >> Best
> >>
> >> Nikolai Manek
> >> http://www.remwave.com
> >>
> >>
> >> On 7/3/06 6:30 PM, "asterisk-biz-request at lists.digium.com"
> >> <asterisk-biz-request at lists.digium.com> wrote:
> >>
> >> > Bottom end of the market for an Asterisk PBX ?
> >>
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Regards,

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