From PBX to aaS. From plain pipes to smart data-funnels

At TLF 2023, Aveek Roy, Vice President of International Sales - IMEA, Sangoma drilled deep into the imperatives and opportunities of ‘Reinventing Business Communication’

With 14 years of responsibility in strategic positions, Aveek Roy, Vice President of International Sales - IMEA, Sangoma has a unique view of the ever-changing landscape of this industry. He used it well as he outlined his keynote at TILF 2023 with a thought-provoking big picture- that business is being ‘redefined’.

The world is changing. Previously, travel was a common phenomenon, but now everything is moving to WFH and hybrid work models. We are allocating our resources in a different manner- as per a new work culture. Technology has to connect people sitting in villages, in hill stations, in a big city- irrespective of geography. Earlier, size mattered- big phone, big car etc. Today as the screen size gets bigger, the device gets smaller. And even as average cost per MB is becoming lower- the ARPU cannot become lower. We need to find ways to increase consumption – like we see how video consumption is increasing. 

Roy spelled out how to go about these new shifts.

Data - The Trump Card, Customer- The King

We should make communication so transparent and easy so that people get rid of friction. Gradually all the bandwidth is becoming a pipe. Data is the new revenue, he explained.

The new business model, hence, is purely to be based on data. VoIP, remote extensions, easy access to video and presence, workflow availability, Bots, contact centres, enhanced CRM integrations – that’s the new way forward. Previously business communication used to be a PBX. We have transitioned to a complex world with new abilities. As we move ahead, more and more complexities are being added.

He also interpreted how all this is changing ‘the customer’. They need security, SD-WAN etc.- and as they expand more, they need different answers for different locations. Some where they need DaaS, some where they need a contact centre and some where they need collaboration tools.

Soft clients, video meetings, various CRM connectors, multiple application stores, DaaS- all these services are not available to enterprises that are still on old telephony systems. But as they come on IP, they change. Their consumption changes. Their bandwidth-needs change. It is important to make the right choice- as per what’s important to you. Cloud, VoIP, UCaaS – you have so many options. You have to plan it as per your future.

Baggage- The Weak Hand

While painting a rosy picture of ‘what’s possible, Roy also a good picture of the flip side of VoIP and Cloud- like limits on bandwidth availability, data security and other issues. We need infrastructure to enable cloud telephony to its best possible level. Therefore, you have to choose well between on-premise or complete Cloud solution. This choice will hinge on the work you do, its criticality and security requirements.

Choose well. One of the major goals- is to fast-track transition of enterprises to IP- and provide them ways of increasing consumption with tools that are available only to a select-few now due to cost or access factors. We need to help all these enterprises.