XO in the Game of Enterprise VoIP
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Also in the game is XO Communications, a nationwide provider of advanced communications services and solutions for businesses, enterprises, government, carriers and service providers. Its customers include more than half of the Fortune 500, in addition to leading cable companies, carriers, content providers and mobile network operators. Its infrastructure comprises an interesting amalgam of high-capacity nationwide and metro networks and broadband wireless, which helps XO offer customers a wide range of scalable, managed voice, data and IP services in over 75 U.S. metropolitan markets.
XO’s Director of Voice and Converged Services, Nic Jackson, says, “Our XO One Managed iPBX services business provide a managed solution that includes a PBX as well as network services, installation, maintenance and management of the end-to-end voice solution, which is great for enterprise customers.”
XO’s Eric Hyman, Director of Managed Services, says, “In fact, we have two product lines that support managed services in some type of hosted environment. The first one is the XO One iPBX. Our primary manufacturer of choice is Avaya, although we do work with Nortel (News - Alert) on occasion, and we’re in the midst of working on a trial with Cisco. In that environment XO carries the capital for the hardware and the maintenance. It’s a very different model and value proposition that you would probably encounter with anybody else. It has the ability to reduce IT capital expense — meaning staff headcount — and it enables the customer company to focus on its core business, while XO focuses on the hardware and network solution. By the way, XO One is a complete bundled solution, which means it includes not only the hardware, maintenance, and management of that hardware, but it also includes XO’s network. So it’s a single bundle from a single provider, allowing for a single point of contact to our customers for any and all telecommunications issues.”
“This product has had a steady upward trajectory,” says Hyman. “It’s a fairly successful product for XO Communications (News - Alert). I would say that Avaya would probably rank us as either Number 5 or 6 in terms of domestic resellers in the SMB space. So we have a very strong symbiotic working relationship with Avaya (News - Alert).”
“Second, we’re finding even greater success in multi-location deals,” says Hyman, “where customers are not only taking this hardware, but they’re adopting XO’s MPLS VPN product too. They also like to send voice over the MPLS VPN if it’s our IP Flex with the VPN.” (XO IP Flex is one simple bundle containing a complete package of communications solutions for a business, including the XO Anywhere feature for unified communications, local and long distance voice, Internet access and webhosting — all at a flat monthly rate consolidated on one invoice. XO IP Flex is available with Business Lines, Digital Trunks or ISDN-PRI connectivity.) |
