In any economic climate it is important to make sure that businesses get value for every dollar. When buying phones from a third party, be aware of the businesses’ needs at the phone level over and above the hardware purchase. It is important to know the risks involved in purchasing phones from a third party.

CompuVoIP’s approach covers all costs associated with hardware and labor in setting up the phones. CompuVoIP’s primary business driver is not supplying hardware or configuration costs. Although the hardware and implementation is critical to the service, CompuVoIP is most concerned that implementation establishes the sound foundation for a best-in-class service.

• Boot ROM files must be installed on each phone. This is pre-imaged by our vendor if you buy the phones from CompuVoIP.
• Firmware files must be upgraded on each phone. This is done through CompuVoIP’s custom automated system.
• Each phone must be manually set up with a provisioning server. This is also done through CompuVoIP’s custom automated system.
• CompuVoIP’s vendor scans the MAC addresses for each phone and provides CompuVoIP with an accurate spreadsheet to build the configuration file for each phone. Without this, the customer would need to manually document the MAC address of each phone. When done manually, this is a very tedious process and prone to errors that can lead to complications in the install.
• Lastly, due to the volume of CompuVoIP’s purchases, CompuVoIP customers are provided with overnight RMA (replacement of the phone) for 30 days and phone warranty for a full year. Replacement phone requests are easily submitted by phone or via CompuVoIP’s online ticketing process. Many third party vendors who offer reduced prices do not provide these services. It is a good idea to ask this specifically when shopping a third-party,

Risks and increased costs over and above the hardware purchase in buying the phones through a third party:

⇒ Increased errors due to the customer’s manual entry of MAC addresses in the phone configuration spreadsheet.

⇒ Increased labor costs associated with the customer’s manual entry of MAC addresses in the phone configuration spreadsheet.

⇒ Increased complexity in dealing wit another vendor instead of dealing with a single point of contact.

⇒ Increased risks due to unknown consistency of outside hardware distributor. If this vendor changes product lines and does not continue to support your chosen phone model, hardware support may suffer. Most phones have a life of approximately eight years.

It is CompuVoIP’s desire to see your implementation go as smoothly as possible. We feel it is important to pass this experience on to our clients so decisions can be made with the best information available.