Traditionally Call Accounting Is Terminally Ill.

Resellers have been pushing the same old software packages to their customers for close on 10 years. Yes, they supplier may have tarted it up a bit, put a modern presentation onto an old piece of software, but that is where it stops. The service is still delivered in the same old way, a box drop at the customer premises, followed by cursory training. It's the same way we have done it for more than 10 years, in the same period of time technology has moved on, but not call accounting.

A piece of software delivered (box dropped) to the customer, installed and all of a sudden the customer is now a fully qualified telecommunications expert, able interpret the information in the reports and take appropriate action. Some people call this Tele-management software, well, Management 101 suggests that management happens when someone receives accurate information, interprets the information and takes actions that create value. Software on its own cannot do this. If you are a call accounting reseller, ask yourself how many of your customers are able to do it?

The issues are twofold. Reliability of stand alone call accounting software is at best flaky. When the reseller relies on the customer to report when something is wrong you can expect at least 50% of the installed customer base to be not fully operation at any given point in time. And what choice does the reseller have, he can't send a technician to the customers premises every day to check.

Now lets consider the skills issue. Your call accounting client is not often a born again telecommunication expert. He may be a respected doctor, an evil divorce lawyer, or a semi-retired accountant. But my point is, the customer is involved with his own customers and using his own skill set to earn a living. The customer is not going to divert attention away from the core business to be involved in the unfamiliar act of managing telephones. Picture this, you are sick so you call the doctor, he tells you there are plenty of help pages on his website and an FAQ section, when you're finished go to the web store and order the drugs you need. This doctor will not keep private patients, they will go where they get service. A Call Accounting reseller who wants to grow his business need to deliver a level of personal service, doing this will soon elevate you to the lofty position of Trusted Advisor, you will cease to be just another stressed out PBX techie.

Does this mean your technician should visit the customer daily to check the call accounting systems are working. Fortunately not.

The solution lies in using modern system architecture to deliver reliable, maintainable call accounting services. The old fashioned, unmonitored software package deployed at customers premises is dead - stone dead. Professional service delivery is the answer, being a trusted advisor is the key to happy customers and a full wallet.

The new technology is Web Based Call Accounting, enterprise grade software, deployed on a powerful an Internet platform and monitored 365 days of the year. Resellers, step into the managed service business.

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