ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Allworx Corp., a Windstream (NYSE:WIN, news, filings) company, has announced the results of a new survey that explores the perception and usage of business phone systems among Small and Medium-sized Businesses (SMBs). The study revealed that the majority of SMBs have low awareness of the technology trends in business phone systems and most are not utilizing advanced phone features that are widely available today.
The survey, conducted by Hanover Research, was fielded among 427 capital equipment purchase decision makers or influencers at businesses with 5-499 employees in the U.S. across 22 vertical industries.
The survey identified a number of key insights regarding the usage and perception of business phone systems among SMBs:
• The vast majority of SMBs are unfamiliar with telecommunications terminology such as IP telephony, hosted PBX, IP PBX, virtual PBX, SIP trunks or Unified Communications.
• Despite the rise of email, video, and social media, 74 percent said that voice communication remains extremely or very important to their business operations.
• The top five phone features used most by SMBs are: 3-way calling (60 percent), intercom (42 percent), conference call bridges (41 percent), music on hold (40 percent) and calling other locations using extensions (37 percent).
• The top five most desired phone features by SMBs are: voicemail as email attachments (38 percent), remote desk phones (25 percent), music on hold (25 percent), 3-way calling (24 percent), and mobile client for the desk phone (24 percent).
• Nearly one in two SMBs plan to evaluate a new business phone system in the near future – with 86 percent of them planning to do so within the next three years. Sixty-four percent of them cited old or outdated voice equipment as the primary reason.
“Twenty years into the advent of the VoIP technology, business phone systems have become more intelligent and capable than ever before. These results tell us that there is a real opportunity to help educate SMBs on how they can optimize their business phone systems to increase efficiency, boost productivity, and do more with less ,” said Chris Hasenauer, vice president and general manager of Allworx.
To learn more about the survey results, download the infographic by clicking here.
About Allworx
Headquartered in Rochester, N.Y., Allworx is an award-winning maker of VoIP communication systems for SMBs and a wholly owned subsidiary of Windstream. Allworx provides a complete portfolio of VoIP systems, IP phones, network switches and advanced software options to help SMBs create solutions tailored to meet their unique needs. Allworx has deployed more than 40,000 VoIP systems and more than 600,000 IP phones across more than 25,000 business customers to date. Allworx is available to SMBs through a network of 1,000+ independent resellers in the U.S., Canada and Latin America, and also as Windstream IP Simple, a managed monthly subscription service that combines Allworx with VoIP and data services from Windstream. For more information, please visit www.allworx.com.
About Windstream
Windstream, a FORTUNE 500 and S&P 500 company, is a leading provider of advanced network communications and technology solutions, including cloud computing and managed services, to businesses nationwide. The company also offers broadband, phone and digital TV services to consumers primarily in rural areas. For more information, visit the company’s online newsroom at news.windstream.com or follow on Twitter at @WindstreamNews.
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