The time is right for an IP-capable but phone-oriented network approach such as Panasonic's ECS, said an IDC analyst. To support the new system for SMBs, Panasonic will add more outside systems integrators, particularly in VoIP and IT.

NEW YORK, N.Y. - Small to mid-sized businesses (SMBs) are large in number, and they're looking for solutions that can help them deal with "the overwhelming volume of information for voice, data, IM, e-mail, voice mail, and e-mail," maintained an IDC analyst, speaking at the press launch of Panasonic's new Enhanced Communications Solutions (ECS).

ECS will use IP-capable digitial PBXes, Windows-based management software, and integration with outside systems ranging from flat panel TVs to home monitoring systems for delivery of integrated voice, data, and video information through phones and other handheld devices.

Panasonic VP Bill Taylor suggested in remarks at the press event on Thursday that ECS is a natural extension of Panasonic's long-time leadership position in phone sales, especially with SMBs.

Moreover, in interviews with BetaNews later that day, Panasonic officials said they plan to further adoption of the platform by offering interest-free loans to SMB customers, providing a new Web-based support site called "Big" to dealers, and adding new outside systems integrator (SI) partners, particularly in VoIP and other areas of IT.

Panasonic's KX-NCV200 Applications Platform with its new KX-NCP1000 PBX mounted on-board.

About one out of two workers in the US is employed by an SMB, said William A. Stofega, IDC's program manager for VoiP services, during a presentation. Although definitions of SMBs vary, Stofega said he was referring to organizations of under 200 employees.

About 40 percent of these SMBs are professional/business service companies such as law and architectural firms. Others are spread across fields such as retail/wholesale sales, healthcare, education, manufacturing, and banking/finance/insurance.

Many of these organizations want to "integrate voice with other applications," according to the IDC analyst. "They have the same needs as large enterprises. But they feel underserved, misunderstood, and skeptical," Stofega said.

Often, SMBs are overwhelmed by a seeming "tsunami" of servers, desktop PCs, mobile phones, e-mail systems, video conferencing platforms, and other communications tools that they don't have enough time to fully explore or comprehend. Consequently, "customer service is hypercritical," according to the analyst. Solutions need to be customizable, too, because SMBs "do not want to pay for bundled components they never use."

Interest is also emerging among SMBs in voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) applications, although so far, VoIP is more popular among "medium businesses" of 50 to 200 employees than "small businesses" of under 50, he told the reporters.

About 18.1% of medium businesses are already using VoIP. Another 15.7% are "moving forward selectively" with trials. Some 10.2% plan to start implementing VoIP over the next 12 months, while 29% are just starting to look at VoIP, with no actual VoIP plans at present.

At the press event in New York City this week, Panasonic showed how its new IP-cable digital PBXes -- the KX-NCP500 and KX-NCP1000 -- might be integrated with phones and other technology to meet SMB needs across scenarios such as home offices, retail stores, the hospitality industry, law firms, and conference rooms.

For example, Panasonic's new KX-NT700 conference phone, also introduced on Thursday, can be used in a conference room to amplify sound and record phone calls.

Slated for release in about three weeks, the conference phone features "high-definition" sound touted as providing better quality than a cell phone or a typical phone line. The small desktop unit also comes with an SD memory slot for recording calls.

Because business credit is tighter than usual lately, Panasonic is helping qualified SMBs interested in ECS solutions to get financing with zero interest and no down payment, said Richard Huebner, Panasonic's manager of national accounts, speaking with BetaNews at the event.

Panasonic is also providing dealers with on-site implementation assistance, free phone support, and the new "Big" Web site, which offers tools running the gamut from a product configurator to an online ordering form, said Stephen Robinson of Panasonic's Dealer Service Support arm.

At the same time, the company is expanding its network of outside SIs, especially in VoIP and other areas of IT, according to Michael S. Chase of Panasonic's CSD division. "But it will have to be a good fit for both the integrator and Panasonic," he noted.

One systems integrator on hand at the press event said he has produced a VoIP application by integrating Panasonic's digital PBX with Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) trunking from Broadvox. Priced starting at $150 per month, the system brings together VoIP with e-mail capabilities for SMBs.

David Byrd, vice president of marketing and product management at Broadvox, told BetaNews that the SIP protocol greatly improves voice communications over IP networks by imposing management on otherwise random voice packet delivery. Essentially, SIP trunking links a digital PBX to an Internet telephone service provider on the Internet, which then provides connectivity to the traditional public switched telephone network (PSTN). Byrd pointed to Skype as another recent adopter of SIP trunking from Broadvox. As previously reported, for a retail point of sale (POS) application, system integrator Quadrox has integrated its WebCCTV network digital video recording technology with Panasonic's NCP switch, network cameras and routers. For a home office app, Panasonic's NCP switch and cordless phones have been integrated with flat panel TVs and Control 4's home automation system to let users control lighting, environmental settings, and video entertainment systems from their phones.