As a market-leading VoIP solution, 3CX is an ideal platform for business communications. It also happens to be very competitive commercially.
In extreme cases, Akita’s 3CX VoIP phone solutions have saved organisations up to 80% compared to what they were previously paying. Even more typical savings, however, can still be substantial.
Below, we’ve taken a recent quote we produced and compared our 3CX offering with a well-known incumbent phone provider. The result shows how we were able to deliver savings of more than £4,150 over a three-year term.
Connectivity: 15% Cheaper
The first piece of the puzzle was connectivity – an integral part of any VoIP system.
Connectivity is a blind spot for many organisations. Service levels have improved, while prices have fallen in recent years.
So, if an organisation hasn’t reviewed its connectivity arrangements for a while (and many are now outside of contract), it’s often an area ripe for savings.
System Costs: 35% Cheaper
Despite being a full-featured system, 3CX is highly competitively priced, even for organisations with a relatively small number of users.
Part of this comes down to how Akita deploys 3CX. By cloud-hosting our PBX solutions, we remove the need for additional on-site infrastructure. This also delivers energy benefits, although those haven’t been factored into this comparison.
Licensing is another route to savings. Unlike the competitor, 3CX is licensed per account rather than per device. That means a single licence can cover a mobile phone, laptop and desk phone.
Our understanding was that this flexibility wasn’t available with the competing solution.
Maintenance: Included
Under the competitor’s VoIP package, the organisation was being charged a separate maintenance fee, totalling more than £800 over three years.
As one of our managed services, Akita includes maintenance within our 3CX system costs. As a result, this entire line item disappeared.
Service Charge: Non-existent
The competitor also applied a service charge, believed to be linked to connectivity. With Akita’s 3CX VoIP phone platform, there are no additional service charges.
For transparency, our 3CX pricing did include a one-off setup fee covering installation and configuration. Even so, over a three-year term, our total installation costs were still 28% cheaper than the competitor’s ongoing service charge.
Call Package: Tailored And Competitive
The competitor’s call costs were only a few pounds per month: not terrible, but we could do better.
3CX includes unlimited UK landline and mobile calls as part of the package (subject to fair usage). As a global telecoms provider, 3CX also offers very competitive international call rates.
Call charges are an area where organisations can easily get stung. Overly rigid packages, particularly where international calls are involved, can quickly inflate spend. Care is, therefore, needed to ensure call plans genuinely match business requirements.
Hardware: 75% Saving
The competitor charged a monthly rental fee for handsets. This model almost always costs more over time.
One-off handset purchases are typically under £150, and the devices themselves are robust and unlikely to wear out. In most cases, there’s little justification for a leasing agreement, even when free replacement is included.
Over a three-year term, renting the handsets was four times more expensive than owning them outright – an easy win.
Contract Length: Savings, Not Tie-ins
Our VoIP quote was based on a three-year contract term. This strikes a sensible balance: long enough to offset installation costs, while still allowing regular reviews of the market, particularly around connectivity.
It wasn’t clear how long the customer had been with the incumbent provider, though it was likely more than three years. We’ve seen some telecoms contracts stretch to five years or more, which, in our view, rarely delivers best value.
Summary: It Could Be Time To Review Your Telecoms
When presented with the reduced cost of their telecoms services, the customer was initially sceptical. The numbers looked too good. That scepticism didn’t last long.
Features and value are exactly why Akita chose 3CX as our VoIP solution. Combined with our expertise in cloud technology and managed support services, delivering a professional, well-run telecoms service comes naturally.
This example is far from a one-off. We’ve helped many organisations achieve meaningful savings on their telecoms without compromising on capability.
So, whether you’re considering a new VoIP phone system or simply reviewing your current telecoms costs, get in touch to see how we compare:
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