Adelaide-based business communications specialist Telelink Business Systems reports that technology advances have slashed two thirds from the cost of telephone systems since 1998.

Telelink Business Systems managing director Alan McKibbin said the price-performance improvement in phone systems during the past decade was “staggering”. “What you get for your dollar today is amazing compared to what you received just a few years ago,” he said.

“The drop in hardware costs means that even the smallest business customers get access to systems that were previously only available at the top end of town – for a fraction of the price.”

The authorised NEC Channel Partner recently completed a head-to-head comparison of hardware costs for phone systems sold during the past decade with current systems. Results include:

• A small business phone system, with four lines and 16 handsets, that cost $14,110 in 1998 is now available for just $4847 (a 66 per cent reduction)
• An enterprise phone system with 30 lines and 160 extensions, has dropped in price from $66,700 in 2003 to $21,825 for a similarly configured system (a 67 per cent fall)
• Even since 2005, the cost of a 30-line PABX with 50 extensions has dropped by one third, from $30,630 to just $20,512 (33 per cent).

Telelink is a leading Channel Partner for NEC Australia, selling phone systems to customers ranging from small businesses to enterprises. Telelink is also an award-winning Telstra FixedNet Dealer.

Mr. McKibbin said Telelink’s most popular phone system was the NEC SV8000 IP Phone series. “It’s ideal for small-to-medium businesses that want a phone system to grow with their business,” he said.

“As well as the core call functionality of older systems, the SV8000s give you access to advanced features such as email, voicemail and mobile phone integration. Once companies learn how much they get for a comparatively modest budget, they become quite open to replacing their old system.

“The true beauty of an IP-based telephone system is that all communication traffic – computer and multimedia data as well as voice calls – travels over a single network, which reduces the initial wiring cost as well as the ongoing management expense.”

Mr. McKibbin said a major benefit of the SV8000 series was its “future-proof” design. “SV8000 systems have a scalable architecture that suits any business, whether they require a handful of lines or hundreds, supporting thousands of handsets,” he said.

“These new systems deliver high call quality, a track record for reliability and access to advanced telephony features that improve business productivity. As well as integrated voicemail and email, these include instant messaging, IP telephony and video-conferencing plus built-in support for mobility, both local ‘walkabout’ handsets and seamless mobile phone forwarding.

“These can be added as required to support business growth. The system’s future-proof design allows new services and applications to be added easily as technology advances.”

For details, view the Telelink website at www.telelinkbiz.com.au or call Telelink on 08 8139 0969.

For media assistance:

Call John Harris at Impress Media Australia on 08 8431 4000 or email jharris@impress.com.au.