For traditional business telecom vendors, sales of traditional PBX and key systems have slowed dramatically. Competition among Internet service providers has been fierce and profitability is down. Demand for LAN and WAN implementation has leveled off and network integrators are seeking ways to add revenue.

If your business resembles any of these scenarios, there's an excellent chance that broadening your portfolio to include VoIP will fatten your coffers. But you can't succeed doing it willy-nilly. You need a take hold plan and supportive partners.

IP voice is beginning to speak volumes

Consider this: Palo Alto, California-based Radicati Group recently forecast that nearly three-quarters of business phones will be VoIP-enabled within the next three years. And we're not talking just big enterprise. The fastest growth will be among enterprising small businesses.

The kind of businesses that need the cost savings and productivity benefits of VoIP have been largely overlooked by the big manufacturers (Cisco, Nortel, Alcatel-Lucent and others). They make up 90% of all business and create more jobs than the combined Global 1000. They're independent banks, family retailers, small manufacturers, local legal firms and doctors' clinics. In short, they're your current customer base.

You have the relationship, you've gained their trust. In truth, you're invested. You really want to play a part in their success. You'll get a warm feeling when you guide them to cost savings, better relationships with their customers and simpler, more efficient operations. And you'll be especially touched when they spend more money with you.

You can earn with network VoIP readiness assessments. You can share in subscription services. You can deliver smart hardware and applications. You can maintain their lifeline to the outside world. You can literally be "the phone company" to a privileged few.

Yes, you can VoIP enable

All you need is a supportive partner that will help you make sense of a tricky new technology and deliver a complete solution for your customers. Whether you're IP-enabling their existing phone system or moving them headlong into the future of communications, you need the confidence that they will never be unreachable on your watch. And, it would help if you knew how to earn a little profit and maybe score some recurring revenue with this awe-inspiring stuff.

Epygi can be that partner. We can empower you with the resources, the technical expertise and the sales know-how to excite your customers without hype or over-promising. And we make bullet-proof, fail-safe gateways and IP PBXs you can boldly recommend.

No less than the mighty Microsoft expects 100 million business users to make VoIP calls on its Office Communications software within three years. That's more than double the size of the current VoIP market. They even have two versions of their Office Communications software in beta testing.

Start now. Get the ammunition you need to make the business case. They're going to migrate with or without you.