Apptix offers leasing program for hosted VoIP service 7 November, 2007 By Chris Talbot

Targeted at SMBs with up to 1,000 employees, the Apptix Voice hosted VoIP service is mostly a managed IP telephony service, but it does have some on-premise routing equipment (mostly for quality of service functions). That can lead to an up-front cost that many SMBs aren't able to easily meet, said Jackie Funk, director of marketing at Apptix. The new Hosted VoIP Leasing Program is meant to break the cost down over a period of 24 months (or more).

The leasing program follows up on the launch of Apptix Voice in March 2007.

"We really saw that as the next step in building out a complete suite of on-demand business solutions," Funk said about Apptix Voice.

With the start-up costs acting as an inhibitor to the adoption of Apptix's hosted VoIP service, the company developed the leasing program, which offers SMBs the ability to pay for the on-premise hardware on a monthly basis over period of about two years. A five-user equipment purchase (including phones, and shipping and installation charges) would cost about $1,590 (U.S.), which Funk said could be a big cash outlay for a business of that size. Based on a 24-month lease, the cost per month would come to $76.44 (plus subscription fees for the service itself).

"The major reason for most customers going to a hosted solution is a lower total cost of ownership," said Leigh Henry, director of product management at Apptix. With the leasing program, customers aren't hit with a big up-front fee, but they can still take advantage of the service.

"What we heard from our customers is they wanted to obtain our products and services, but specifically when it came to voice, it was, in a lot of cases, out of their price range," Funk said.

Everything but the monthly subscription fee can be rolled into the lease and paid for over time.

"This leasing program was put together with that in mind and it allows them to spread out the costs of everything related to their voice service," Funk said.

Apptix expects a lot of customers will take advantage of the leasing program, she added. "It's a great way for them to be able to enter into an agreement with us and get this functionality," Funk said.

To entice potential customers even more, Apptix has launched the "Getting Started with VoIP" program, which offers two free months of service to customers who sign up before Dec. 31, 2007.

"We're really trying to be aggressive. We're confident in our services," Funk said. Also, for customers who want a higher-quality phone, Apptix is now offering Polycom high-definition phones.

Although Apptix once was more of a channel-centric business, with approximately 80 per cent of its sales going through the channel, the company has taken a stronger direct sales approach in the last year. Now, approximately 90 per cent of its business is through direct sales, which Funk said is complemented by the indirect channel.