market sh - broadview networks · organizations to gain a competitive edge through operational...

M ARKE T I NS IGHT

Finding the Best Fit When Moving to Cloud UC SolutionsVendor Analysis: Broadview Networks

June 2016

CONTENTS

frost.com

Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................................................ 3

Introduction: The Move to Hosted/Cloud Communications ................................................................................ 4

Market Definitions .......................................................................................................................................................... 5

Market Highlights ............................................................................................................................................................ 7

Competitive Environment ............................................................................................................................................. 8

Broadview Networks ..................................................................................................................................................... 11

Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................................................ 17

Legal Disclaimer .............................................................................................................................................................. 18

The Frost & Sullivan Story ............................................................................................................................................ 18

All rights reserved © 2016 Frost & Sullivan

frost.com

3

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Businesses increasingly acknowledge that digital transformation is critical to ensure long-term viability and success. More specifically, moving information and communications technologies (ICT) solutions to the cloud enables many organizations to gain a competitive edge through operational efficiencies, greater business agility, and faster and more cost-effective access to advanced features and capabilities.

Hosted Internet Protocol (IP) telephony and unified communications and collaboration (UCC) services represent a fast-growing segment in the broader cloud communications market. User adoption is rapidly accelerating, while businesses struggle to manage increasingly complex UCC environments and look for more flexible technology consumption models. In response to growing customer demand, many well-established and emerging providers have launched and continually enhance compelling hosted IP telephony and unified communications-as-a-service (UCaaS) offerings. It is critical for business decision makers to thoroughly assess available solutions in order to make sustainable investments that best address their evolving needs.

At Least 120 Key Competitors

Most providers deliver a broad set of hosted applications, including business telephony (i.e., private branch exchange (PBX) features such as hunt groups, extension dialing, call park and call forward); voicemail; unified messaging; instant messaging (IM) and presence; audio, web and video conferencing; mobility; contact center; analytics and more. However, solutions vary in terms of feature packaging and pricing, service quality and reliability, customization and integration flexibility, and other important criteria. Business decision makers should also ensure that the service providers under evaluation present financial stability and a compelling technology roadmap, which are critical for a long-term partnership. Other key provider and solution characteristics impacting the customer experience include keen provider focus on business outcomes (versus technology specifications), efficient back-end (OSS/BSS) platforms and processes, and effective customer onboarding and on-going management. Prospective customers must consider these factors in their due-diligence process.

The North American competitive hosted IP telephony landscape remains highly fragmented with over 120 providers vying for market share. Market fragmentation is perpetuated by the continued entry of new market participants


Frost & Sullivan Market Insight 2016 Hosted Unified Communications Buyers’ Guide: Finding the Best Fit When Moving to Cloud UC Solutions

4

from various industry backgrounds, including telecom carriers, cable multi-system operators (MSOs), value-added resellers (VARs), specialized hosted IP telephony and UC providers, UCC solutions developers, and others. Fierce competition has resulted in significant merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in recent years. Going forward, service providers will continue to pursue M&A as means to accelerate growth and leverage synergies for greater profitability.

As the market consolidates and matures, broader market reach will become a critical factor for provider success. Eventually market share, growth rates, profitability, and reference customer accounts must also become key considerations in customer selection of cloud communications providers.

Providers are also expanding their channels in order to improve market reach, customer service, and support. They focus primarily on resellers with both voice and data expertise, IT skills that enable integration of communications with business applications, and a consultative sales approach. Prospective customers must assess provider channel strategies in order to develop sustainable partnerships as well as reduce risks and potential switching costs.

As the market evolves, new architectural alternatives become available. Emerging solutions based on multi-instance platforms are rapidly gaining traction and presenting a viable alternative to the more established multi-tenant, platform-based solutions. A variety of hybrid solutions are also available to address varying customer needs for reliability and cost management. Customers must weigh a number of factors when selecting among the different architectures, including cost, simplicity, security, customization, as well as reuse of existing terminals or integration with existing infrastructure based on the same vendor technology.

Going forward, small businesses and large enterprises will continue to have different requirements in terms of functionality, service reliability, and price. Therefore, IT decision makers must assess providers and solutions, taking into account provider focus on a certain customer segment and ability to address the specific needs of that target market.

Selecting the right solution and provider requires a complex and structured approach that goes beyond features and functionality. Businesses must carefully assess their options before making a final decision.

Broadview ranks among the top 15 North American hosted IP telephony and UCaaS providers. The provider has achieved a leading position in the North American hosted IP telephony and UCC services market through a sustainable growth strategy, highly effective execution, strong focus on product innovation, and the delivery of superior customer value. Businesses looking for reliable, market-proven cloud communications solutions may wish to short-list Broadview Networks for provider selection.

INTRODUCTION: THE MOVE TO HOSTED/CLOUD COMMUNICATIONS

Communications technologies have become a key factor for business success. Today’s business users rely on an ever-expanding arsenal of communications and collaboration tools to complete their business tasks. The move to converged networks and software-based communications has enabled businesses to cost-effectively deploy various capabilities, including telephony; email; audio, web and video conferencing; IM and chat; presence; social networking; mobility; file sharing and more. In spite of the growing importance of new communications tools, however, telephony remains essential and mission-critical to most organizations around the world. Therefore, it is frequently the cornerstone of businesses’ communications infrastructure strategies.

Telephony solutions have evolved considerably over the years. Traditionally deployed and managed separately from information technologies (IT), telephony solutions are increasingly integrated with other communications and productivity applications on the Internet protocol (IP) network. While converged communications provide significant cost savings and operational efficiencies, they also increase infrastructure complexity. Technology advancements, coupled with a more conservative IT investment culture, have given rise to new technology delivery and consumption models, including hosted IP telephony and UCaaS.


frost.comFrost & Sullivan Market Insight 2016 Hosted Unified Communications Buyers’ Guide: Finding the Best Fit When Moving to Cloud UC Solutions

5

Hosted/cloud communications deliver key benefits, as follows:

• Provide ready access to advanced communications and collaboration functionality

• Reduce CAPEX and streamline OPEX costs

• Facilitate the integration of multiple technologies and tools in an end-to-end unified communications solution

• More flexibly supports mobile workers and remote branches

• Free up internal resources for more strategic tasks

• Reduce the risk of technology obsolescence and sunk costs

• Provide access to superior technology expertise

• Allow the organization to focus on core business activities and thus improve business agility

Overall, cloud communications improve the business’s ability to grow revenues and increase profits.

Many business leaders are acknowledging the benefits of outsourcing communications solutions management to an expert third party and are considering a switch to hosted IP telephony and UCaaS. However, this nascent and rapidly evolving market has become inundated with multiple providers and solutions offering similar capabilities at comparable prices. Limited understanding of specific product capabilities and little provider differentiation are causing confusion among business decision makers and slowing hosted services adoption. Furthermore, providers are constantly developing their solutions and changing identity through mergers and acquisitions (M&A), which makes it even harder for business IT decision makers to quickly and easily identify the best fit for their organizations.

MARKET DEFINITIONS

Hosted IP Telephony (IP Centrex and Hosted IP PBX)

Hosted IP telephony (IP Centrex or hosted IP PBX) services are defined as network-based voice services whereby all call control, voice switching, PBX functionality, and network infrastructure related to service provisioning are owned, maintained, and managed by a third party (i.e., a service provider). Hosted IP telephony services are typically delivered over an IP connection and terminate at an IP endpoint. Mobile hosted IP PBX users are an exception as the service can be delivered over the cellular network and terminates on a mobile device.



6

A bundled IP Centrex/hosted IP PBX offering may include local and long-distance voice, call control and management features, a data transport line, and Internet access services. The service also provides administrators with a Web-based interface for managing moves, adds and changes (MACs), obtaining usage reports, and other tasks. Hosted IP telephony typically involves the use of shared service provider network infrastructure whereby several clients/customers are supported via the same softswitch or application server. Software instances may be shared or dedicated.

There are two types of hosted IP telephony solutions from an access point of view: over-the-top (overlay) solutions utilizing the public Internet, and managed hosted solutions delivered over private lines. Unlike public cloud services delivered over the public Internet, private cloud multi-tenant services delivered over a privately managed network offer superior security, QoS, and performance management as well as carrier-grade reliability. Service providers that also manage the access network can typically offer better service-level agreements (SLAs) than overlay service providers, such as Google or Skype, that have no control over the Internet connection.

Hosted Unified Communications = Unified Communications-as-a-Service (UCaaS)

• UC or UCC is an integrated set of voice, data and video communications applications, all of which leverage common user identity, and PC- and telephony-based presence information.

• A hosted UCC solution involves the delivery of pre-integrated, network-based applications.

• UCC solutions simplify communications for end users by giving them ubiquitous and seamless access to various tools.

• Tightly integrated UCC solutions improve operational efficiencies by enabling centralized solution management through a single admin portal, providing a consolidated view of all UCC tools.

UCaaS solutions are sometimes defined by the number of integrated applications sharing presence information and a common/unified user interface. For example, certain service providers have integrated the BroadSoft BroadWorks hosted IP telephony platform with Microsoft Lync (recently re-branded as Skype for Business) in order to enable a common/unified user interface for both messaging and calling. In such scenarios, the telephony capabilities are supported on a multi-tenant platform, whereby both the hardware and the software components are shared across customer organizations.

In other instances, UCaaS refers to a specific architecture, typically founded upon a virtualized suite of UCC applications hosted in a data center and leveraging a shared hardware infrastructure, yet offering dedicated software instances to individual customer organizations. Examples of this type of architecture include Alcatel-Lucent OpenTouch Cloud Solution, Cisco Hosted Collaboration Suite (HCS), Mitel MiCloud, NEC UNIVERGE Blue Cloud Services, and Toshiba VIPedge. In such scenarios, customers may only be deploying certain elements of the solution (e.g., telephony); however, vendors and service providers use the term UCaaS or cloud UC to refer to the underlying multi-instance architecture.



7

MARKET HIGHLIGHTS

• The North American hosted IP telephony and UCaaS market is experiencing rapid growth as businesses increasingly move their communications and collaboration solutions to the cloud. A 2015 Frost & Sullivan survey of 1,786 North American IT decision makers shows that 35% of surveyed businesses have already deployed telephony solutions in the cloud and another 49% will move their telephony solutions to the cloud by the end of 2018.

• Market growth will remain steady over the forecast period from 2014 to 2021 at compound annual growth rates of 26.7% in terms of installed users and 28.6% in terms of revenues (without access). Although growth rates will gradually decline year-over-year due to the larger installed base, the number of annual net-new users will increase consistently throughout the forecast period.

• Primary drivers for user adoption of hosted communications remain faster access to advanced features and capabilities, and ability to supplement limited in-house IT staff. Budget and resource constraints continue to drive hosted services penetration among small and mid-size businesses. Maturing technologies and business models, as well as concerted service provider efforts to penetrate larger businesses, are driving adoption of hosted communications among larger distributed organizations.

• Hosted services have appeal across all industry verticals, with services-oriented businesses such as real estate, legal, consulting, and information technologies (IT) being among the most active adopters. Retail businesses and the public sector are showing growing interest in hosted IP telephony and UCaaS services.

• The large installed base of customer premises communications solutions assets that need protection, along with continued customer concerns over cloud security and reliability, will curb growth in the near and medium terms. Other adoption restraints include customer confusion due to the fragmented nature of the competitive landscape and lack of strong differentiation among service provider offerings. Rapid market evolution is also compelling businesses to adopt a wait-and-see approach until technologies and business models mature, and service providers demonstrate financial viability.

• Service bundles are becoming increasingly comprehensive with more features available as part of tiered packages, with few advanced functionalities (e.g., contact center, third-party app integration) still offered a la carte for an additional charge. Desktop and mobile soft clients continue to gain traction as user interfaces improve and more providers include these in standard packages.

• Average bundle prices will remain stable or slightly decline over the next five to six years, despite price pressures at the low end. Providers will continually enhance their service bundles with advanced features and capabilities such as IM and presence, PC/Mac-based soft clients, enhanced mobility, video, web collaboration, and contact center. Increasingly, service providers will differentiate through the user interface and the ability to integrate with third-party communications and productivity applications.



8

COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT

The North American hosted IP telephony and UCaaS services market is undergoing major changes as it approaches mainstream adoption. Increasing customer awareness of cloud communications is driving adoption, yet is also leading to greater scrutiny of service quality and reliability.

Heightened customer requirements along with the proliferation of cloud solutions with little differentiation is compelling providers to seek mergers and acquisitions to gain efficiencies, economies of scale, and better compete in the marketplace. In spite of intensifying competition, however, the still-untapped North American cloud communications market continues to present considerable growth opportunities for both existing and new market participants.

Provider success in the hosted IP telephony market, as in most other industries, is determined by both strategy and execution. Certain providers have failed due to lack of a viable strategy and a sustainable business model; yet others have been unable to sustain competitive growth rates due to poor execution in spite of their seemingly compelling vision.

UCaaS

Contact Center Providers

Five9, InContact,Interactive Intelligence

• Partner with cloud PBX vs. build• Differentiated advanced contact

center capabilities

On-premises Solution Vendors

ALE, Avaya, Cisco, Mitel, NEC,ShoreTel, Toshiba, Unify

• Rich PBX functionality & integration capabilities replicated in cloud

• On-prem to cloud migration; hybrid• Multi-instance security, customization

MSO/ Cable Operators

Comcast, Cox, Rogers

• In-region SOHO/SMB focus so far; emerging focus on enterprise

• QoS through network ownership

Telecom Providers

AT&T, Bell Canada, CenturyLink Verizon, Windstream, XO

• Strength in network and QoS• Diversified portfolios• Broader footprint • SIP trunking capabilities

Pure-play UCaaS Providers

8x8, CoreDial, Fonality, Jive, Nextiva, RingCentral, Dialpad, Fuze,

Star2Star, Vonage, WEST

• Nimble, innovative• Feature-rich solution bundles• Proprietary vs. third-party platforms• Started in SMB, moving up market

Cloud/SaaS Providers

Facebook, Google,Ooma, Slack, Twilio

• Cloud-savvy• Bridging consumer and SMB• Integration/bundling with

conferencing, contact center,team collaboration

Software / IT Vendors

Microsoft, NWN, Oracle, Vantage

• UCaaS an extension to existing business SaaS suite

• IT expertise to communications-enable business and productivity apps



9

Competitive pricing, plug-and-play solutions (easy to use and administer), and efficient sales and provisioning are among the factors that have played a key role in the adoption of hosted IP telephony services in the small business customer segment. Advanced features, as well as flexible customization and integration options, determine hosted services appeal in the medium and large business segments.

Most hosted IP telephony providers, regardless of their market focus, have rushed over the years to enhance their solutions’ functionality in order to deliver superior and differentiated value to their customers. This continues to enable them to compete more successfully against premises-based solutions as well as against each other.

However, with relative feature parity in standard hosted IP telephony offerings, service providers strive to differentiate through more unique capabilities such as analytics, advanced contact center, more extensive regulatory certifications, more compelling user and admin interfaces, or more creative services packaging and pricing.

Equipment rental (in particular desktop phone rental) was a differentiating capability in the past that has now become more of a standard option across service providers. Certain providers, however, still pitch a greater value proposition based on fully managed offerings that include infrastructure costs and management as part of the monthly service fees. Overall, industry wide, the trend has been to make both all-inclusive as well as more modular offerings available to address the broad spectrum of customer needs and technology consumption preferences.

There is also increasing awareness of the need to focus on other aspects of the business in order to increase customer satisfaction, reduce churn, and improve other performance metrics. Therefore, there is an increased effort to ensure greater infrastructure reliability by building geographically redundant data centers.

Providers are also making significant efforts to improve their quotation and provisioning systems in order to streamline, simplify, and speed the sales and implementation processes. They are also enhancing their onboarding, training, and customer support capabilities to ensure greater customer satisfaction.

Furthermore, providers are looking to address customer concerns over cloud solution security and reliability. Frost & Sullivan’s 2015 survey of 1,786 North American decision makers reveals that 86% of respondents rank security as important or very important when selecting a cloud solution provider. Reliability ranked second-highest among cloud provider selection criteria with 79% of respondents identifying it as important or very important.



10

Total Hosted IP Telephony and UCC Services Market: Competitive Structure, North America, 2015

Number of Companies in the Market

120 with hosted IP telephony and UCC services revenues greater than $5 million

Competitive Factors

Network reach/geographic coverage; service management demark; SLAs on network reliability, availability, quality; continuity (failover, redundancy and disaster recovery); pricing; channel ecosystem; salesforce knowledge; customer service; technical support; depth and breadth of product portfolio (access network, mobility, IM and presence, web collaboration, video, contact center, managed data and security); simple, transparent and efficient billing and service provisioning

Key End-user Groups

Small businesses; increasingly medium and large businesses Small sites within large distributed organizations Legal, consulting, IT, real estate and other professional services firms; retail; manufacturing; government; education

Major Market Partici-pants

8x8; AT&T; Broadview Networks; Comcast; CoreDial; Fonality; Fuze; Jive Communications; MegaPath; Mitel; Nextiva; NWN IT; RingCentral; ShoreTel; Star2Star; TDS Telecom; Verizon; Vonage; WEST; Windstream

Other Notable Market Participants

Alteva; Bell Canada; Birch Communications; Bright House Networks; CallTower; CenturyLink; C-Spire; Consolidated Technologies; DSCI; EarthLink; Evolve IP; Fusion; Intermedia; LightPath; Masergy; NEC; NetFortris; Telepacific; Vantage Unified; XO Communications

Distribution Structure Direct and through VARs, systems integrators, agents, and other partners

Notable Acquisitions, Mergers, Divestures,

and Restructuring

Vonage acquired iCore and Nexmo ShoreTel acquired Corvisa RingCentral acquired Glip Jive Communications acquired FonAngle Communications and Easy Office Phone

Another key market trend is the emergence of various hybrid and blended architectures whereby a component of the infrastructure—an edge device with varying degrees of intelligence—is placed at the customer’s premises, but most of the applications reside in the cloud and the entire solution is managed from the cloud. These blended/hybrid solutions provide greater reliability as well as reduced costs in some instances. They also represent a viable alternative to subscription-based pricing options increasingly introduced by premises-based solutions vendors.

Overall, a combination of vision, technology innovation and solution differentiation, superior customer service, and strong performance metrics are likely to enable providers to deliver superior customer value and accelerate growth and expand market share over the next five to six years.



11

BROADVIEW NETWORKS

Core Offerings

Price OptionsKey Features/ Capabilities

Phone Terminals Supported

Key Performance Metrics

OfficeSuite

Average price per user/month: $23.95 (including unlimited local and LD minutes)

Complete package: $34 (including access line, unlimited local and LD minutes, phones, routers and switches)

• Full PBX functionality

• Business telephony features

• Voicemail, voicemail to email (unlimited mailbox)

• Online fax/fax to email

• Auto attendants (unlimited)

• Twinning/simultaneous ring

• Mobile soft phone (iOS, Android)

• Contact center (ACD)

• HD Meeting audio, video and web conferencing (unlimited calling for up to 25 participants)

• Call recording

• Desktop console (IM/presence)

• Geo diversity

• Enhanced dial tone

• MyOfficeSuite portal

Mitel 5000 series

Polycom 6000 series

Polycom VVX series

Broadview DECT phones

Phone rental available

As of December 2015:

• 250,000 total

users on the

OfficeSuite

platform

• Approx. 150,000

active retail users

on OfficeSuite

platform

• $83 million total

annual cloud

revenues

• $290 million total

company revenue

• 300 master

agents; thousands

of distribution

partners

nationwide



12

COMPANY BACKGROUND AND CURRENT PERFORMANCE

Broadview Networks is a cloud services company serving businesses of all sizes nationwide. The company offers hosted unified communications services on its proprietary OfficeSuite UCaaS platform. The platform supports both Broadview’s retail hosted PBX offering OfficeSuite, as well as white-label services offerings through partners. Broadview also licenses the platform to providers who deploy and manage the hosted IP telephony solution on their own network.

Unlike other services, the OfficeSuite platform is completely cloud based. It employs unique technology to utilize the cloud for all call processing and data storage, making user profile information and features and services accessible via any device of the user’s choice, under any local office conditions. It accomplishes this using SilNet, rather than SIP or open-source software.

In addition, Broadview offers a broad portfolio of adjacent cloud-based business services, including hosted email solutions, backup and recovery services, public servers, application redundancy, and private cloud/data center solutions. Broadview also provides network voice and data services, including MPLS and VPN private networking options, traditional voice lines and services, and SIP trunks.

Broadview has approximately 750 employees serving 20,000 businesses across multiple industries. Over the years, it has greatly increased its focus on cloud services and in 2015 reported revenues from its cloud business, combined retail and wholesale, of approximately $83 million. At the end of 2015, Broadview reported an installed user base of 250,000 total cloud users and 150,000 active retail users on the OfficeSuite platform. Broadview’s cloud business has been growing at double-digit annual growth rates over the past five years and is well positioned for future growth as the provider continues to convert non-cloud customers to cloud services as well as attract a growing number of net-new customers. In 2015, Broadview reported that more than half of new sales were cloud-based services, accounting for a company-record 61% of its total new sales in Q4 of 2015.

Broadview’s broad and diversified communications portfolio provides a convenient one-stop shop for business customers. Its ability to bundle OfficeSuite with private lines, broadband, MPLS, SIP trunking, and other services enables it to offer more holistic business communications solutions. Broadview prides itself on its back-office systems, which provide cost efficiencies and the ability to better serve customers.

Broadview reports continued improvements in several performance metrics: profitability, monthly recurring revenue per customer, customer retention, customer satisfaction, an increase in average customer size, expanded product set, carrier relationships, and channel expansion.

Broadview touts its strong focus on network and service reliability. It ensures redundancy in all elements of its hosted communications solutions: power, network, Internet, servers, staff, etc. OfficeSuite runs on server pairs with an average of 10,000-12,000 endpoints per pair. Pairs are configured in high-availability mode with sub-30 second failover and restoration from the primary server to a hot-standby secondary server in the event of any trouble. Servers reside in Broadview data centers located in the United States. Broadview offers SLAs based on 99.99% availability; however, actual performance exceeds minimum thresholds. As of March 2016, Broadview reports 99.999% (five 9s) availability for its core network and the OfficeSuite service over the previous 12 months. If a customer experiences an outage of 30 minutes or more, they are eligible for 5% credit on monthly recurring charges. Customers can also choose to have their service automatically fail over to a redundant access connection to help ensure local availability.

During major natural disasters such as Hurricane Sandy, Broadview’s network remained operational 100% of the time, allowing customers to safely re-route calls to various locations (e.g., home, other company branches) whenever their primary locations lost access to Broadview’s network due to local challenges (e.g., loss of power).



13

Broadview provides secure chat, video and audio communications. It is in the process of receiving key regulatory compliance certifications and will sign customers’ HIPAA BAAs.

SALES MODEL

Broadview leverages approximately 120 sales staff across all channels. Direct sales account for slightly less than half of new sales. Broadview employs dedicated teams, which focus primarily on new customer acquisition, up-selling, conversion, renewals and customer retention. Operations staff, on the other hand, typically provides additional value to existing customers based on needs identified during routine interactions. Approximately 300 agents and channel partners account for one-third of new sales overall, but represent a key element of Broadview’s cloud expansion nationwide. Approximately 19% of Broadview’s sales can be attributed to the wholesale channel.

Since 2013, Broadview has focused on expanding agent or channel distribution. It has brought on new sales management to carry on this task more effectively. Broadview has also re-focused efforts on select strategic partnerships, including with traditional telco resellers, VARs, as well as vertically oriented companies such as dental software vendor Henry Schein.

8x8, Avaya, Broadview, Interactive Intelligence, Microsoft, Mitel, NEC, RingCentral, ShoreTel, Fuze,

Toshiba, Twilio

ALE, Avaya, BroadSoft, Centile, Cisco, GENBAND, Metaswitch, Microsoft, Mitel, ShoreTel, Unify

AT&T, CenturyLink, Comcast, Frontier, Verizon, Windstream

Telco, VAR, SI, Reseller, IT Consultant, Agent (2nd Tier)

LBiSat, Verizon, XO

Telco, VAR, SI, Reseller, IT Consultant, Agent

(2nd Tier)

Alianza, BroadSoft, CoreDial, GENBAND, Star2Star

Direct Sales

End Customer

Intelisys, TBI

PORTFOLIO DESCRIPTION AND ANALYSIS

OfficeSuite, Broadview’s flagship cloud phone system and UCaaS services offering, is comprised of a broad array of features and capabilities, including PBX, voicemail, voicemail and fax to email, key system features (e.g., call park, paging, intercom), auto attendant, IM and presence, group chat, HD audio, web and video conferencing, call center with analytics, call recording, basic mobility (simultaneous ring/twinning), mobile clients, a toll-free phone number and service, and MyOfficeSuite portal. The service bundle typically includes unlimited local and nationwide domestic long-distance calling minutes and may also include Internet access and multi-site data networking options. Broadview also supports traditional fax machines through analog connections.

Unlike most other providers, Broadview offers an unlimited number of auto attendants to customers at no extra charge. Another key benefit of Broadview’s OfficeSuite cloud solution is the integrated contact center with skills-based routing, native multi-location support, call recording stored in the cloud, and advanced reporting and analytics.

Among the most advanced features in the OfficeSuite portfolio is HD Meeting, which enables users to host unlimited online meetings (including application or desktop share), HD video conferences, and 100-participant audio



14

conferences from any device. Users can see other participants’ presence status, as well as record any video or audio media. Meeting organizers and participants can use any desktop phone, PC or Mac computer, iPhone, iPad or Android device to host or join a meeting. The application features dynamic voice detection, which highlights the person talking. HD Meeting integrates with Outlook and Google Calendar, making it easy and convenient to schedule and initiate conference meetings. Starting a meeting is easy—users can find others in their contact lists and initiate a conference call with just a single click.

The entire OfficeSuite system can be set up and managed by a centralized customer administrator and employees through Broadview’s widget-based MyOfficeSuite portal. MyOfficeSuite is available on the web, on the desktop with a dedicated application, and on Apple and Android smartphones and tablets. MyOfficeSuite provides administrators with total control of the platform, while providing employees with direct access to features and services. This level of employee access ensures Broadview customers achieve the productivity and efficiency gains associated with UCC.

MyOfficeSuite provides end users with convenient access to voicemail and email message logs, call twinning and call forwarding settings, and the HD Meeting application, among other features. The app also lets users see other parties’ availability status and click to call, chat (peer to peer or group) or participate in a conference call. MyOfficeSuite is customizable, allowing users to arrange their menu items in a way that best suits their needs. Using WebRTC, MyOfficeSuite sends users notifications about voicemail and email messages. A feature called MyAssistant enables users to start an instant chat with a support person and let him/her take control of the user’s desktop in order to address any issues.

MyOfficeSuite provides additional capabilities for customer IT staff and system administrators, as well as any other authorized party. It enables admins and other users to conveniently manage MACDs, as well as system and feature settings (e.g., auto attendants; incoming call routing; phone, fax, HD Meeting and email licenses; and call groups). It also provides access to billing, trouble tickets and connectivity tests—capabilities that solution admins manage on a regular basis. Unlike traditional (TDM-based) telephony systems, which came with different management tools for different functions (e.g., provisioning, monitoring), and provided dedicated portals for each app, MyOfficeSuite allows admins to manage all functions, apps, and features through a single interface.

An important differentiated MyOfficeSuite capability is its greater flexibility in terms of system management permissions and authorizations. It gives end users unprecedented control over their communications features and settings. It allows supervisors and managers to provision functionality to users, thereby enjoying greater autonomy and better ability to match user needs with various communications tools. This also allows users throughout the organization to avoid provisioning and other service bottlenecks related to IT staff shortages or work overload. By delegating some of the solution management tasks to others, IT admins gain operational efficiencies and reduce costs. MyOfficeSuite also helps improve departmental and individual user accountability. It can help limit user access to certain features and settings to reduce security and other risks.

Broadview includes business intelligence tools built into its MyOfficeSuite platform. The system includes a real-time slider to help companies define the right date range for reporting, filters that group employees in “departments” for granular analysis, 16 additional real-time filters, as well as the ability to label and save reports once they are created. Customers can also export the data so they can be further analyzed. Broadview includes several pre-built reports to get a customer started.

Broadview continually enhances OfficeSuite features and capabilities to deliver greater customer value. In 2015, it launched differentiated intelligent (selective) call routing, which allows calls to be routed and rejected based on calling party ID or geography. For example, a call from a pre-defined caller ID can always get routed to a mobile phone. Other calls may just get dropped based on caller ID.



15

Broadview also recently enhanced its fax capabilities, enabling users to both send and receive faxes online. Through this new feature, users can fax from any Internet-enabled device, even a smartphone.

Broadview also continually improves the call center functionality on the OfficeSuite platform. It provides advanced reporting and analytics, skill-based routing, native support for multi-location call centers, call recording (stored locally or in the cloud), and customizable evaluation tools.

Broadview delivers additional value to customers through integration with popular third-party applications (e.g., business email, calendar, salesforce.com, Google Apps and Skype) and through click-to-call from any web page or app. It uses standards-based APIs to integrate with other vendors’ solutions.

Broadview secures OfficeSuite calls using either encryption from the handset through to its own network or by utilizing a dedicated, private MPLS connection from the customer’s site to its network. Using MPLS connections also allows the company to further guarantee call reliability and quality.

Broadview has historically focused on delivering fully managed hosted communications solutions, which encompass the IP PBX and UCaaS functionality, access line, SIP trunk and minutes, as well as managed routers, switches and endpoints, and managed security. While several Broadview competitors also offer a phone rental option, few bundle router and switch costs into their monthly charges. Broadview’s all-inclusive option is particularly appealing to businesses that have limited access to capital financing for their IT and communications solutions or operate on budgets that favor OPEX spending (e.g., education and government organizations).

Broadview is now offering OfficeSuite Professional, an all-inclusive service bundle comprised of PBX, phone number, an advanced voicemail box with speech-to-text transcription and fax to email, real-time presence, twinning, click-to-call for the web and PC, unlimited nationwide calling, secure company-wide chat, MyOfficeSuite apps for smartphones and desktop devices, and extension dialing—all for only $23 per user per month. With OfficeSuite Professional, each account also receives a free toll-free number, an OfficeSuite HD Meeting account to host unlimited audio, video and web conferences, and online faxing capabilities. The service uses any broadband Internet or MPLS network access service, both of which can be purchased through Broadview for locations nationwide.

A key Broadview differentiator is the greater usability of desktop phones. With their unique technology, these devices are programmed by either administrators or employees themselves to allow faster and more convenient access to various features through a single push of a button. This design is much more appealing for the business users than competitor phones, which typically use complex menu trees.

Broadview supports multiple phone models from third-party vendors such as Mitel and Polycom, as well as its own line of phones. Customers can choose to use their own phones, purchase new phones from Broadview, or have phones included as an operational expense in their monthly services charges. For customers who choose to include the cost of the phone as part of the service, Broadview typically offers free same-day replacement in case of phone damage. All phones purchased from Broadview come with a one-year warranty and free same-day replacement during the warranty period. Customers can also choose to have an analog line for fax machines or to use as a back-up phone line.

Unlike other providers that only offer one phone number (Direct Inbound Dial or DID) per account and charge customers for each additional DID, Broadview includes a DID for every OfficeSuite seat/license/employee at no additional cost. Thus, every employee can have his/her own phone number at no additional cost, or the company can hold phone numbers in inventory for other uses while employees leverage extension dialing off the main number. Should additional DIDs be needed, they are available for $5 per month.



16

Strengths ConcernsAs a diversified communications provider, Broadview offers business customers a one-stop shop for multiple services and solutions.

Broadview currently provides hosted communications services only in North America, which limits its ability to serve multinational corporations.

Financial stability and improving performance metrics ensure service longevity and encourage long-term customer relationships.

Broadview wholesale and retail models may create conflicts of interest with partners, which may impact customers if partners choose to discontinue their relationship with Broadview.

Focus on service reliability and a fully managed offering make Broadview an appealing partner for customers with high uptime requirements.

BOYB option allows businesses greater flexibility in choosing their Internet provider.

Broadview’s user-friendly desktop phone design can help reduce training costs and boost user satisfaction.

Ability to apply a rental/pay-as-you-go model to all hardware and software required for the service is appealing to businesses looking to eliminate all upfront capital expense.

Complete system management through the cloud (with no data stored on the phones) and call encryption from the handset to Broadview’s network (when using the Internet) provide greater security.

Broadview offers an unlimited number of automated attendants as part of the standard OfficeSuite offering, which can benefit certain types of businesses.

Customers looking to enhance team collaboration within the organization can benefit from Broadview’s multimedia conferencing solution integrated with the rest of the UCC functionality.

Businesses looking to outsource both their communications and customer care capabilities can leverage Broadview’s integrated solution.

CUSTOMER RECOMMENDATIONS

Best Fit

• A fully managed OfficeSuite offering delivered over Broadview’s MPLS network is most appealing to businesses looking for high service availability and those who wish to convert all costs to OPEX.

• Businesses looking for a cloud solution that is easy to deploy, manage and use may find Broadview OfficeSuite quite compelling. Clients attest to the greater simplicity of the system, which requires almost no training. The solution allows users to control all of their settings through a very simple and intuitive web-based interface that promises to aid in adoption and utilization. The phone design is also deliberately simplified to allow convenient access to features and capabilities.

• Businesses looking to eliminate security threats related to data stored on local devices may find Broadview’s system that is managed 100% through the cloud a good fit.



17

Caution

• Broadview OfficeSuite uses Mitel and Polycom phones to achieve its unique capabilities and enable greater ease of use. Other SIP-based phones, including cordless handsets and desk phones, are available but have a different level of functionality. Businesses looking to purchase or use phones from other manufacturers may find Broadview’s services less appealing.

• Similar to the majority of hosted communications providers with no premises-based telephony background, Broadview cannot provide the benefits of multi-instance solutions based on PBX technologies. Businesses switching to Broadview’s cloud solutions will most likely need to replace existing phone terminals with new ones. Similarly, customers looking to preserve investments in premises-based solutions at some business sites, while deploying cloud communications at other sites, may not be able to integrate those for a seamless experience and more consolidated infrastructure management as well as they could with multi-instance platforms.

BENEFITS

Applicationsas utilities

over internet

Manipulate &configure

apps online

Nosoftwarerequired

Onlinedevelopment &

deploymenttools

Resourcesavailable

on Network

On-demand-self service

Costeffective

Highefficiency,

reliability &flexibility

CONCLUSION

Hosted IP telephony and UCaaS provide businesses with considerable benefits, including more flexible, cost-effective and rapid access to advanced communications capabilities and greater technology expertise. Businesses considering the move to hosted communications must first assess their existing infrastructure, IT staff skill sets, security and reliability thresholds, and end-user needs in order to align their technology roadmap with broader business objectives. The next step is to develop a short list of hosted communications providers that most closely match their requirements. In order to future-proof hosted communications investments, businesses must evaluate service providers and solutions based on a comprehensive set of criteria, including features and functionality; ease of use and management; infrastructure and endpoint requirements; reliability and security; total cost of ownership; integration capabilities; solution value for the price paid; and service provider track record, vision, and financial viability. A pragmatic, structured approach to hosted communications deployment can ensure a higher return on investment through reduced costs and greater business benefits.

With its comprehensive services portfolio, consistent service quality, and commitment to technology innovation, Broadview Networks represents a viable option for businesses evaluating hosted communications providers and solutions.

[email protected]

SILICON VALLEY331 E. Evelyn Ave., Suite 100

Mountain View, CA 94041

Tel 650.475.4500

Fax 650.475.1570

SAN ANTONIO7550 West Interstate 10,

Suite 400

San Antonio, TX 78229

Tel 210.348.1000

Fax 210.348.1003

LONDON4 Grosvenor Gardens

London SW1W 0DH

Tel +44 (0)20 7343 8383

Fax +44 (0)20 7730 3343

AucklandBahrainBangkokBeijingBengaluruBuenos AiresCape TownChennaiDammamDelhiDetroitDubaiFrankfurtHerzliyaHoustonIrvineIskander Malaysia/Johor BahruIstanbulJakartaKolkataKotte ColomboKuala LumpurLondonManhattan

MiamiMilanMoscowMountain ViewMumbaiOxfordParisPuneRockville CentreSan AntonioSão PauloSeoulShanghaiShenzhenSingaporeSydneyTaipeiTokyoTorontoValbonneWarsaw



18

LEGAL DISCLAIMER

Quantitative market information is based primarily on interviews and therefore is subject to fluctuation. Frost & Sullivan is not responsible for incorrect information supplied to us by manufacturers or users.

Our research services are limited publications containing valuable market information provided to a select group of customers. Our customers acknowledge, when ordering, subscribing or downloading, that Frost & Sullivan research services are for customers’ internal use and not for general publication or disclosure to third parties.

No part of this research service may be given, lent, resold, or disclosed to noncustomers without written permission. Furthermore, no part may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the permission of the publisher.

For information regarding permission, write to: Frost & Sullivan 331 E. Evelyn Ave., Suite 100 Mountain View, CA 94041

© 2016 Frost & Sullivan. All rights reserved. This document contains highly confidential information and is the sole property of Frost &

Sullivan. No part of it may be circulated, quoted, copied or otherwise reproduced without the written approval of Frost & Sullivan.

THE FROST & SULLIVAN STORY

Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, enables clients to accelerate growth and achieve best-in-class positions in growth, innovation, and leadership. The company's Growth Partnership Service provides the CEO and the CEO's Growth Team with disciplined research and best-practice models to drive the generation, evaluation, and implementation of powerful growth strategies.

Frost & Sullivan leverages over 50 years of experience in partnering with Global 1,000 companies, emerging businesses and the investment community from more than 40 offices on six continents.

Frost & Sullivan helps our clients “Accelerate Growth” by:

Delivering the broadest industry and market coverage of any research and consulting firm globally, 10 industries, 35 sectors and 300 markets—ensuring our clients not only understand their industry challenges and opportunity but growth opportunities in aligned industries and an understanding of competitive pressures from previously unknown sources,

Providing a 360 degree perspective—integrating 7 critical research perspectives to significantly enhance the accuracy of our clients’ decision-making and lowering the risk of implementing growth strategies with poor return,

Leveraging our extensive contacts within chemicals and materials value chain, including manufacturers, distributors, end-users and other industry experts,

Ensuring our clients maintain a perspective of opportunities and threats globally through our 1,800 analysts in our 40 offices—making sure our clients receive global coverage and perspective based on regional expertise,

Researching and documenting best practices globally—ensuring our clients leverage proven best practice answers to tough business challenges for successful growth, and partnering with our clients’ team, in addition to delivering our best practices research and experience, to ensure success.

[email protected]

SILICON VALLEY331 E. Evelyn Ave., Suite 100

Mountain View, CA 94041

Tel 650.475.4500

Fax 650.475.1570

SAN ANTONIO7550 West Interstate 10,

Suite 400

San Antonio, TX 78229

Tel 210.348.1000

Fax 210.348.1003

LONDON4 Grosvenor Gardens

London SW1W 0DH

Tel +44 (0)20 7343 8383

Fax +44 (0)20 7730 3343

AucklandBahrainBangkokBeijingBengaluruBuenos AiresCape TownChennaiDammamDelhiDetroitDubaiFrankfurtHerzliyaHoustonIrvineIskander Malaysia/Johor BahruIstanbulJakartaKolkataKotte ColomboKuala LumpurLondonManhattan

MiamiMilanMoscowMountain ViewMumbaiOxfordParisPuneRockville CentreSan AntonioSão PauloSeoulShanghaiShenzhenSingaporeSydneyTaipeiTokyoTorontoValbonneWarsaw

Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, works in collaboration with clients to leverage visionary innovation that addresses the global challenges and related growth opportunities that will make or break today’s market participants. For more than 50 years, we have been developing growth strategies for the Global 1000, emerging businesses, the public sector and the investment community. Is your organization prepared for the next profound wave of industry convergence, disruptive technologies, increasing competitive intensity, Mega Trends, breakthrough best practices, changing customer dynamics and emerging economies?

For information regarding permission, write: Frost & Sullivan 331 E. Evelyn Ave., Suite 100 Mountain View, CA 94041


market sh - broadview networks · organizations to gain a competitive edge through operational...

Documents