Lessons Learned from the Exit of Another Big-name PBX Manufacturer

With decades of experience in the PBX market, the Japanese giant, Panasonic has recently decided to close the Panasonic Business Communications business (PBX, SIP, and Scanner categories) in a time frame of two years.

The email from Carlos Osuna, Head of Business Communications Business Unit at Panasonic, Panasonic further explains several factors that drove the decision of ceasing manufacture.

First and foremost, the market has been changing drastically in recent years with the rise of cloud-based solutions, and Panasonic has found a “technological mismatch” between its factory resources and such market trends. It is also stated in the announcement that “shift to new types of demand (Teams, Zoom, etc.) significantly accelerated by Covid-19” makes their business “unstable and unpredictable”.

For resellers and customers of Panasonic PBX Solutions, though there is little change in the immediate future as Panasonic will still support their existing installed base, upgrades and replacements do need to be put into consideration as a priority.

Important Lesson Learned – Keep up with the Times to Stay Relevant

1. Cloud is the inevitable trend.

Modern businesses are bullish about their continuing use of cloud technology, and the global pandemic has given another big boost to cloud migration. Business communications is no exception. More and more are opting for cloud-based VoIP or Unified Communications solution for various reasons, such as its CapEx pricing model, immunity to obsolescence, geographical flexibility, on-demand scalability, etc.

According to the Eastern Management Group, a dollar of cloud sales pulls through 0.36% of additional sales and cloud acceptance has facilitated larger UCaaS sales. For service providers, cloud adoptions present new potential sales possibilities and a transformation of your business model by building a sustainable, growth-orientated recurring revenue stream, which will ultimately enhance your overall business value.

2. Unified communications is transforming the industry.

Unified communications is about making a wealth of communications channels, such as voice, presence, instant messaging/chat, video conferencing, data sharing, etc., into a single point of access. The idea behind this is that employees can access the same communication system on multiple devices with multiple tools, creating a consistent and unified experience for everyone.

Unified communications set a solid foundation for facilitating a digital workplace, which is embraced by the more agile modern workforce. There is a growing number of UC-savvy resellers and service providers introducing UCaaS to on-board more customers and helpe them navigate through their journey to digital transformation. Unified communications is reshaping the industry and a whole new landscape of opportunities has opened up for every market player.

3. Hybrid work is becoming the new normal.

In 2020, the global pandemic has forced the adoption of new ways of working and challenged us to reimagine the workplace in the future. Remote working is no longer a temporary solution, and a hybrid way of working is here to stay.

According to a survey conducted by HubSpot, 43% have a harder time participating in meetings when everyone is remote. For remote workers to be more productive, 40% reported needing more technology and tools. Communication and collaboration are extraordinarily important for a geographically dispersed workforce.

Last month, Microsoft’s CEO revealed that Microsoft Teams now has 115 million daily active users, over a 50% rise from the 75 million reported six months ago. Zoom’s most recent figures suggest the platform has 300 million daily meeting participants, soaring from just 10 million in December 2019. New technology is increasingly bridging communication gaps, any outdated systems that work in silos will no doubt become a thing of the past.

Your Transition Doesn’t Have to Be a Headache

As Panasonic stated in the announcement, many telecom resellers may have also felt “a sharp decline of the market” and the increasingly fierce competition. As cloud-based adoption, UC, remote working, and other market trends are gaining momentum, providers who fail to keep up are gradually losing prospective customers. More and more are on the look for alternatives to adjust, adapt, and transform their business now. Act now to avoid a last-minute panic.

1. Cloud PBX Service with Fast Time-to-Market

If you are ready for a cloud-based solution and prefer to launch your owner service instead of reselling it from third-party providers, we offer a complete solution to help you jump-start.

Designed with a multi-instance infrastructure, our solution incorporates Yeastar Management Plane (YMP), a centralized service delivery platform, and easy-to-deploy dedicated Cloud PBX instances for your customers.

It only takes minutes or even seconds to create cloud PBX instances on YMP, and you can customize the number of extensions and concurrent calls on each instance. YMP also provides on-demand scalability to help you craft personalized solutions and pay-as-you-grow pricing models for every type of business opportunity. All it takes are a few clicks.

What’s more, you can go with either a turnkey solution or bring your own infrastructure, and even co-brand with us. If you’d like to learn more, here we have listed answers to several frequently asked questions about our cloud-based solution, or you can just schedule a demo to experience it yourself.

2. On-premises Solution Enhanced with Cloud Services

For those who have been solely relying on Panasonic for years, we understand that it could be challenging to design a transition plan since it forces you to step out of the comfort zone and make a fundamental transformation in your business. If you are not that ready for an overhaul, we also offer on-premises VoIP PBX systems, and better yet, coupled with cloud services to extend its capability.

Our on-premises solution can serve SMEs with either both entry-level requirements and higher expectations. In particular, it introduces a value-added cloud service to enable a hassle-free remote working environment in minutes with industrial-grade tunneling and encryption technology. Without complex configurations, your customers can easily take their own devices to connect with colleagues and clients irrespective of locations.

Live Demo See Yeastar S-Series VoIP PBX in Action

Both the cloud-based and on-premises options work well with SIP-based phones and can be connected with analog phones through VoIP gateways. There’s no need to worry about your existing inventory of Panasonic phones and you can break free from vendor lock-in and include more phone brands in your portfolio.

3. Unified Communications for More Unlocked Potential

Unified communications is where the future lies. At Yeastar, we develop Linkus UC Clients, incorporated with our on-premises and cloud-based PBX systems, to deliver a solid unified communications solution.

With Linkus UC Clients available on Microsoft Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android, all the features of a desk phone can be realized through users’ mobile devices and desktops. Better yet, it allows your customers to easily access a comprehensive suite of calling, conference, voicemail, presence, enterprise contacts, collaboration from a single interface using mobile phones, desktops, and web browsers. The Linkus Web Client also allows for integrated video conferencing. Prime for the future hybrid working trend, Linkus makes the office wherever your customers need it to be and enables a flexible yet versatile way of business communications.

Evaluation Guide: Explore What Yeastar Has to Offer

Since we can offer both on-premises and cloud-based solutions, we will provide you with unbiased advice without the hype to help you determine the best fit for your business. If you want to learn more about your option and what Yeastar has to offer to help you equip and future-proof your business, here is an evaluation guide for you. We have included resources such as product and solution descriptions, case studies, partner programs, and training, etc. Click here to download now!