5M IP Phones and Counting
The amount of time it takes Cisco Systems to sell one million IP phones continues to shrink. The company said yesterday it only took five months to go from four million phone sales to five million sales - compared with seven months for the previous million sales. But let's put things in perspective: five million phones is a drop in the bucket when you consider there are likely two billion or three billion of phones in the corporate world. Still, VOIP is starting to take hold as carriers migrate their networks to IP, while an increasing number of consumers subscribe to Internet telephony service - albeit using traditional handsets. Should IP phone makers be discouraged the market is still so small? No. The reality is it's going to take time for VOIP to migrate from the network to the desktop. It would also help if prices for IP phones dropped (although I hear Cisco offers big discounts for companies who buy switches and routers) and if the market began to discover the power of IP features. A more significant development is that Cisco expects to have IP telephony equipment sales of more US$1-billion this year.
May 11th, 2005 at 10:15 am
List price on the 7960 (4 line, large display) is around $550 CDN. 35-40% discount is reasonable depending on the size of the purchase. This brings the phone well in line with what you'd pay for a traditional PBX.
As for extra discounts if you buy routers and switches… You generally deal with a channel partner who you negotiate a discount rate with (it is rare to buy direct from Cisco) . If you buy more gear, you can get a better rate. So, indirectly, yes, if you buy Cisco routers and switches, you'll get a better rate.
Sean
May 13th, 2005 at 1:10 pm
Were looking at an office move in a few weeks time and want some simple to use IP Phones anyone got any recomendations?