Top 5 Observations for SMBs Considering Skype for SIP

The big news today is the Skype announcement about supporting SIP for business users. With this launch, it appears Skype will have a product similar to the Junction Networks PSTN Gateway service. With a single Skype ID, an owner of a SIP-capable IP PBX will be able to leverage Skype's In and Out services, making and receiving calls to and from landlines and mobile phones. Calls to Skype users seem to be out of scope. As a long-time proponent of open standards, it is great to see Skype recognizing SIP as the de facto VoIP standard. However, this is just a pinkie toe dip into the ocean that is SIP.

1. Hosted PBX vs. IP PBX + PSTN Gateway
The first question I was asked today regarding this announcement was "Are you worried about Skype coming into the market?" My answer was an emphatic "No." Skype is a VoIP pioneer and powerhouse for consumers. Supporting SIP makes sense and confirms our recognition that SIP is the standard of today and the future. OnSIP customers have known this for some time and are leveraging the full capabilities of SIP while abandoning the PBX altogether. Skype’s new service requires a premises-based PBX system. We see lots of our own PSTN Gateway customers switching to our OnSIP Hosted PBX platform.

2. Capital Expenditures high for IP PBXs
The FierceVoIP article linked above states that 438,000 IP PBXes shipped in 2008. It's now 2009 and companies have a greatly reduced capital budget. With a Hosted PBX like the OnSIP customers save large amounts of money by avoiding a PBX purchase and ongoing total cost of ownership expenses related to management and upgrades of a PBX.

3. Easy setup with Hosted PBX
With a Hosted PBX all the configuration is done online via a WWW interface. We had a customer last week who had to literally abandon their PBX because it crashed and the original technician had long since left the company. No one knew how to restart it or even where it was physically located. With the OnSIP hosted solution, that is never even close to a problem.

4. SMBs need Technical Support
SMBs need technical support. For many SMBs the "tech" person is also the accountant, the receptionist and/or the owner. It is rare when a SMB has dedicated technical staff. Connecting to the myriad VoIP PBX brands out there is no easy feat. Asterisk is clearly dominant, but there's 3CX, Avaya, Nortel and Cisco just to name a few. Each PBX handles the little things like DTMF and "Early Media" a little differently. Those are all lessons we've learned over the last five years that Skype will just now have the pleasure of exploring.

5. SIP is the way
Junction Networks has always allowed free SIP calling. Hopefully this SIP gateway will mean that Skype customers will have a SIP address that's reachable from the outside. Our vision has always been that SIP will create a perfect storm of inexpensive (if not free) communications options for businesses. SIP is the promise of that future and Skype seems to have caught on.

Right now the product is available as closed beta (by invitation only). Hopefully it will stick around.