eOn Communications Corporation announced Business Connect, a new hosted business class telephone service for small businesses. Business Connect offers an alternative to traditional on-premise telephone systems, enabling customers to take advantage of telephony features and functionality without the expense of implementing and maintaining customer premises equipment.

 

Business Connect provides a virtual telephone system for a monthly fee, connecting users in multiple locations and providing voice mail, auto attendants, conference bridges, 4-digit dialing, follow-me forwarding, and other business applications, as well as unlimited local and long distance calling within the U.S. and Canada and low international calling rates. Customers need only a high-speed Internet connection and a “voice-ready” data network to get started. (Business Connect is based on a carrier-grade VoIP soft-switch manufactured by Sylantro Systems (News - Alert)).

 

eOn is offering seven Service Plans, including Premium Connect (advanced features plus add-on features for business executives and mobile employees), Basic Connect (advanced features for heavy calling environments), Office Connect (basic features for light to moderate calling environments), Basic Connect 5 Line Office (complete, affordable offering for 5-person office), IP Connect (VoIP network service for customers with existing PBX (News - Alert) or key system), IP Connect Fax (fax service over broadband) and Disaster Recovery (call redirection to other locations). Customers can choose the calling plans and feature options on an individual user basis.

 

Subscribers to Business Connect can select from a variety of IP telephones and desktop devices, including eOn’s eNterprise SIP Business Telephones (eOn 7032IP pictured), as well as SIP phones from Polycom and Linksys (News - Alert).

 

Available now from eOn partners, Business Connect subscriptions are priced from $7.95 per month per extension, depending on the Service Plan chosen. Calls within the network are free of charge, and off-net calls are charged at 2.7 cents per minute.  Unlimited domestic long distance can be purchased for $15 per month per user.

 

In conjunction with the Business Connect hosted offering, eOn has implemented the Business Connect Partner Program designed for system integrators, phone system interconnects, data Value Added Resellers and IT consultants looking to add a hosted VoIP solution to their existing product offerings. The partner program provides incentives such as up-front and residual commissions, sales and customer support, advertising and promotional support and a partner portal with sales tools, margin analysis, TCO analysis and more. See www.eoncc.com.

 

TelecomTactics Takeaway: eOn’s Business Connect hosted offering for small businesses offers an alternative to traditional on-premise telephone systems, enabling customers to take advantage of telephony features and functionality without the expense of implementing and maintaining customer premises equipment.

 

Business Connect subscriptions are priced from $7.95 per month per extension, depending on the Service Plan chosen (eOn offers seven Service Plans selectable on an individual user basis). U.S. businesses considering a hosted solution are motivated primarily by the financial benefits of the solution, according to Telecomweb’s January, 2007 InfoTrack for Enterprise Services Report. Top reasons for considering a hosted solution include predictable monthly cost, lower total cost of ownership and no or little capital expense requirement. Small businesses, in particular, are also motivated by ease of adoption and self-paced migration toward VoIP and convergence.