The vendor, which makes the bulk of its revenue from installing and running computer infrastructure, sees managing its client’s VoIP services as the logical next step, which will move it into head-to-head competition with telecoms companies such as BT, Verizon, and Colt, as well as its traditional rivals.
Stuart Ebdon, head of vendor strategy at Fujitsu Services, told Global Computing Services: Voice has become an application, which is why we are starting to see traditional systems integrators compete in this space. He said Fujitsu’s main competition in VoIP services comes from the services arms of telecom operators such as BT Global Services, as well as IT services vendors such as IBM and EDS.
Fraser McNichol, convergence product manager at Colt Telecom, which launched a managed VoIP service in February, said IT services vendors got a headstart in providing VoIP services. He said: Systems integrators and data services firms got into VoIP services much quicker than the telecom operators as they had control of the client’s LAN environment, which is where the majority of the changes need to be made for a move to VoIP. The incumbent operators were also held back by their competing voice products.
Clients taking up Fujitsu’s offer will pay an initial installation fee of 25 pounds ($47) per desk, plus a monthly handset charge of between 4 pounds ($7.50) to 15 pounds ($28), and a monthly per-user charge of 21 pounds ($40) for the VoIP service. The package, which is initially being sold to mid-sized and large clients in the UK, includes all internal, external UK fixed and mobile calls, voicemail and helpdesk support, plus unlimited moves and changes to the system.
Ebdon said deployments would normally begin with a consulting engagement to assess and test the readiness of the client’s existing network infrastructure. He said Fujitsu has already rolled out the service internally, and said it has demonstrated on a base of 4,000 users that it can deliver a payback on initial investment within six months.
Fujitsu is not the first company to offer a fixed-price managed VoIP offering, although it may be the first from an IT services background to do so. In February, Colt launched a service in partnership with Avaya which includes a one-off cost of 14 pounds ($24) per user, and then a flat-rate pricing package of 17 pounds ($30) per user per month, for unlimited local, national and international calls within countries covered by Colt’s European network.
Colt said it sells against IT services vendors by talking up its ownership of the WAN network across which the VoIP services are delivered, as well as the strength of its relationships with its existing voice clients. McNichol said: It is a very consultative selling process, as we have to audit the client’s existing assets and develop an ROI model based on each customer’s requirements. Relationships count for everything on these sorts of engagements.
Fujitsu plans to launch the fixed-price VoIP managed service in continental Europe in 2007 depending on the uptake of the UK service. Ebdon hopes to have between 20,000 and 30,000 users signed up to the service within the next year, and said the financial services and utility sectors are showing strong interest in the potential cost savings of switching to VoIP services. He believes that large government agencies are likely to be slower adopters of VoIP as they have already negotiated very aggressive prices for voice services with their existing suppliers.
Fujitsu Services will sell the VoIP service as a standalone offering as well as a part of its broader infrastructure services offering. The company is one of Europe’s largest providers of managed desktop services, and is also planning a fixed-price PC management service along similar lines to the VoIP offering.
