A lack of transparency and needlessly fragmented cost structures are causing businesses to pay dramatically over the odds for telephony systems in what amounts to a “Great Telephony Rip-Off”, says teliqo’s Russell Lux.

Telephony providers are increasingly using headline-grabbing low line rental and call charges to appeal to business customers. Lux, however, believes that many organisations will be in for a rude awakening when they see how much they are being charged.

“As the old adage goes, if a deal looks too good to be true, it usually is. The per-minute call costs might be superficially attractive, but dig beneath the surface and you are likely to find a whole host of additional up-front capex and recurring costs,” he said.

“The traditional model is simply no longer fit for purpose. Before you even pick up the receiver to make a call, you will have paid any number of suppliers separately for all sorts of hardware – and there’s installation, project management, and training. And if that is not bad enough imagine the layers of margin being added at every stage in the supply chain,” Lux continued.

It is not just cost where Lux believes that a lack of transparency is a cause for concern, as he calls for providers to simplify the terminology they use to describe their services.

“A lot of the time, the people within organisations with whom providers have the first contact, and the people making the final purchasing decisions, will not be experts when it comes to telephony. There’s no sense in blinding them with science – describing and explaining features and services simply and clearly is the key to gaining their confidence,” he said.

“It’s time to end the Great Telephony Rip-Off,” Lux concluded. “The modern telephony system for the modern business comes at a single low flat monthly rate that covers all the hardware, training, and features that a customer needs – fragmentation and hidden costs need to be consigned to history. By choosing a provider that hosts its service on its own infrastructure, organisations can save thousands in CapEx, benefit from having a single supplier and point of contact, and be absolutely clear about what they are getting for their money. Our message is simple: buy direct and knock out the supply chain and its ever increasing cost and complexity.”