We’ve all yearned for world of unified communication where all of our voice and message traffic moves smoothly to our mobile device. And that would let us get rid of the lowly desk phone.
We might not be stuck with these museum pieces, but the desk phone is here to stay.
Many people consider the desk phone an archaic annoyance that takes up space and creates interruptions. Combine our desire for Unified Communication (UC) with the fact there are many professionals who never use a regular desk phone, and things should be bleak for companies that make desk phones.
Sales are Growing
Why, then, did Cisco just announce they sold a record number of new phones last quarter? And, Vonage says they are selling new phones hand over fist. Other UC and VoIP vendors are doing well, including Telnexus! One has to wonder — why hasn’t the desk phone joined the fax machine on the junk heap of office tools?
It turns out there are plenty of forces at play keeping the desk phone around, at least for those businesses that maintain a physical space.
- Real-time beats messaging every time. Being available via a regular phone call is important for millions of consultants, lawyers, accountants and others who depend on verbal consultations. And, millions of small businesses continue to staff their phones to deliver local services when their customers need them the most.
- People need separation from work. It feels good to not get an office call on your personal device. It turns out the some greedy IT people who invented an idea called BYOD were wrong, and people don’t want to let their work intrude on their personal devices. Look where that got Hillary Clinton!
- HD Voice sounds better than ever. The latest VoIP phones make crystal-clear connections, which makes someone sound like they are right there in the room with you. A desk phone with HD voice and speakerphone capability makes participating in a virtual workspace easier and more natural.
- Voice costs are contained. A business saves from 10% to 60% on their old phone bills when they convert to VoIP. With seat-oriented pricing and unlimited domestic usage communication costs are contained. Most organizations are upgrading their voice networks to a cloud PBX system like Telnexus Cloud PBX.
The Desk Phone is Here To Stay
At Telnexus, the Yealink T23g is our most popular desk phone.
So, get used to the old-fashioned-looking desk phone remaining an office fixture. The good news is that VoIP gives network owners the ultimate in flexibility. After an old PBX system is upgraded with Cloud-managed HD Voice digital phones it is like having little army of new computers working to move an organization forward.
Credits: Jon Arnold in Internet Telephony (registration required)
