Choosing the best collaboration solution for your organization is a daunting task. Not only do features and cost have to be weighed, but the short and long term effects must be taken into account.
Don’t be fooled by the first quote
Tread slowly when you see a quote with a super low price. Usually it’s a sign that some additional features might have been cut to save on the cost. These hidden costs could rear their ugly heads at a later date.
While it may be tempting to always go with the lower quote price, there’s a smarter way of determining which collaboration solution to implement.
How smart people calculate savings
Typically when making a big technology purchase, a company is looking to maximize what it can get out of it over the life of the purchase. Smart people use total cost of ownership (TCO) to “level” the playing field.
Sure, something cheap might look appealing in the short term because it doesn’t hurt he budget, but what if it breaks in the second year? Or what if in year 3, you need to add new users?
Below is Analysys Mason’s 5-year TCO comparison of 3 competing collaboration solutions for 500 users.
Overall, the Cisco BE 6000 was $21,000 less than Avaya’s Aura for Midsize Enterprise and $40,000 less than the ShoreTel 12.
On average you’re looking at saving $30,000 with the BE 6000.
Click here to get the full report
Competition is good for the market. I’m excited to see what Avaya’s and ShoreTel’s response is to the BE 6000.
For more on communication and collaboration solutions, check out:
https://www.intelinetsystems.com/solutions/voip-phone-solutions
