Broadview Takes Its OfficeSuite VoIP Service to a Nationwide Audience

| Sep 21, 2009 | Business Network Services - U.S. | Competitive Intelligence Report

| Analyst: Bruce Washburn

Current Perspective: Slightly Positive
Vendor Importance: Moderate/High
Market Impact: Moderate

Event Summary

September 17, 2009 – Broadview is extending OfficeSuite, its network-hosted VoIP service, to nationwide availability. Broadview's OfficeSuite service includes VoIP phones at the customer premises and network services, including options for dedicated Internet access and private networking. The OfficeSuite product includes auto attendant, hot desking, simultaneous ring and voicemail with voicemail-to-email conversion. Customers receive a voice calling plan and online user/administrator portal, and the CLEC also includes OfficeSuite training for new customers.

Analytical Summary

• Current Perspective: Slightly positive on Broadview’s launch of its OfficeSuite VoIP service nationwide, because the CLEC can use the service to try and grow its larger, multi-site accounts that have some out-of-footprint locations. Though a large CLEC, Broadview's footprint covers just 20 markets in ten population-dense northeastern and mid-Atlantic states, so a national IP-based voice/data offer can help the carrier serve more geographically distributed customers

• Vendor Importance: Moderate to high to Broadview, because the carrier, like many of its peers in the telecom industry, is fighting slowly declining revenues due to the economic downturn. Also like some of its peers, Broadview concluded that a network-hosted, national services strategy supported through wholesale partnerships was relatively simple and inexpensive to launch, and did not require a high level of in-person, ongoing managed CPE support.

• Market Impact: Moderate on VoIP competitors, because Broadview's entry into the national scene creates yet another competitor looking to extend beyond a home base through the use of a channel partner strategy. Broadview's national entry may not affect AT&T, Verizon Business and Qwest much, but its nationwide bid for agents and resellers will clash with competing interests from national providers such as PAETEC, Covad, MegaPath and Speakeasy, even though their VoIP offers differ.

CLIENTS ONLY

Current Perspective

Competitive Positives and Concerns

Recommended Vendor Actions

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Recommended Competitor Actions

• VoIP service providers that rely on building partnerships with agents, VARs and other channels should be on the lookout for Broadview looking to expand on the national scene with OfficeSuite. Competitors need to make sure they are providing solid performance incentives across several tiers, and solid in-person and online partner support for ordering, installation and ongoing customer service.

• National and large regional voice providers can position Broadview as providing just one service – made possible through third-party partnerships rather than direct – and no in-person support outside of its ten-stated northeastern and mid-Atlantic footprint. They can show off a broader range of services, and talk to customers about on-site installation, configuration and ongoing maintenance of equipment: They can say that outside its footprint, Broadview has no local resources.

• Competitors in general can point out that Broadview had about $500 million revenues and 70,000 business customers at year-end 2008, so clearly it had plenty of room to grow the business in its population-dense footprint. They can suggest that Broadview's declining revenues and national productd show a competitor that is becoming less competitive at home, and that is losing its focus while casting about for greener pastures elsewhere.

Recommended End User / Customer Actions

• Current customers of Broadview that are satisfied with the CLEC's track record should check out what the company can do to add any out-of-region locations via OfficeSuite. The OfficeSuite product is a comprehensive package of network-hosted voice and Internet/IP-VPN services and a rich collection of calling features, all backed by SLAs, and a CLEC's promise of high-touch customer service and support.

• Customers with some locations inside and others outside Broadview's 20-market/ten-state service area likewise can investigate what the CLEC might be able to do for them. These businesses may benefit from OfficeSuite's unlimited site-to-site calling seamless and hunt group/extension dialing support across all locations, but they may also need to check whether Broadview offers unlimited calls between its premises-based VoIP services and OfficeSuite.

• Multi-site businesses with locations inside and outside Broadview's territory that want a premises-based solution – whether to accommodate existing key systems/PBXs, or to move to newer IP-PBXs – will need to give Broadview a pass for now. The CLEC supports these services inside its footprint, but has not announced out-of-footprint managed/premises-based voice or data services.

CLIENTS ONLY

Current Perspective

Competitive Positives and Concerns

Recommended Vendor Actions

| Client access - Full report in Business Network Services - U.S. | More information

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