Itec, a leading provider of telecom and office automation solutions, has partnered with iConnect Telecommunications and ECN Telecoms to offer its customers a set of Internet Protocol telephony (IP) solutions that can help them drive down their telecom costs by up to 30%.
The company adds these IP telephony solutions to a telecom product portfolio that includes installation and support of PBX hardware as well as provision of least-cost routing (LCR) services. Itec has selected iConnect as its IP telephony partner of choice for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and ECN as its partner for larger organisations.
“Icasa’s moves to drive interconnect fees across the board, combined with the fact that geographic number portability is now a reality, mean that the time is now ripe for us to move more aggressively into the IP telephony space,” says Ryan Miles, chief operating officer at Itec Distribution. “We are able to help customers migrate away from legacy PBX solutions and LCR onto new IP telephony platforms that could help them to save up to 30% on their monthly phone bills.”
Icasa’s recent announcement that it will push the mobile interconnection rate down to 65 cents by July 2010, 50 cents in July 2011 and 40 cents in July 2012 essentially means that the LCR industry no longer has a big role to play in the market, says Miles. But, at the same time, moves to bring fixed-line interconnect tariffs down means that IP telephony is more attractive to companies than ever before, he adds.
Itec is now able to replace Telkom as the primary voice service provider at customer sites – it can help clients to migrate from Telkom’s analogue voice service onto an IP telephony platform and retain their existing landline numbers, Miles says.
Louise Hepburn, product manager at Itec, adds: “We have chosen two partners so that we can offer companies of different sizes solutions that are tailored to their specific needs. iConnect’s iVoice solution provides SME clients with a high quality, low cost solution on all fixed line call types while ECN offers robust, enterprise-class services for larger companies with thousands of voice users.”
One way that Itec will differentiate itself from the competition is by taking a consulting-led sales approach that aims to optimise clients’ telecom spending while ensuring that that they have a voice solution that meets their needs, she adds.
The company can help clients to reduce the number of service providers and suppliers they work with by offering them a one-stop solution provider that offers PBX installation and support, cabling, and IP telephony services. Itec will run a no-obligation 90-day proof of concept on the IP telephony solution for new clients so that they can establish that the cost-savings and quality of service of the Itec voice solution meet their needs.