Vox, an integrated ICT and infrastructure provider and South African Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise (ALE) channel partner, has announced the availability of the ALE OXO Connect Evolution PBX solution. This complete unified communications solution is designed to provide SMEs with an optimised and affordable Internet protocol-based system that has built-in access to the cloud-based ALE Rainbow collaboration service.

“Even though ALE has traditionally been seen to be an enterprise-only telephony provider, it has several offerings targeted at SMEs. Unfortunately, the price point has been a challenge, especially when compared to other proprietary and open-source brands available to South African small businesses. The release of OXO Connect Evolution is about to change this,” said Natalie van der Merwe, senior product manager for PBX at Vox.

With worldwide small to medium business IT spending set to grow by 4.6% this year, there is significant growth potential for solutions providers that can deliver enterprise-class products at competitive rates. And thanks to the digital transformation efforts undertaken by SMEs globally, solutions that integrate the cloud, mobility and managed services, while enabling collaboration, will be the ones that attract the most interest.

“With more than half of South African businesses classified as SMEs (less than 100 users), the majority of Vox customers are SMEs looking for more effective ways of benefiting from a connected business environment. According to the IDC, 60% of SMEs around the world will have mobile worker support in place by 2021 to empower employees with the tools they need to work on core business systems while still serving customers wherever they are. OXO Connect Evolution has been designed from the ground up with all these factors in mind and delivers a true enterprise offering at a price point that is affordable for SMEs,” she said.

Furthermore, unlike competitor offerings that sacrifice functionality for a friendlier SME price point, OXO Connect Evolution delivers a feature-rich environment that is secure, reliable and scalable as the business grows while still being affordable.

Collaboration services

“And by linking to the ALE Rainbow cloud-based unified communication service, SMEs have access to additional collaboration services that deliver functionality that includes audio and video calls, screen and file sharing, content management, and chat irrespective of the location of employees. This is a user-friendly way of harnessing digital technologies to become more efficient and deliver the best possible business value to an organisation,” said Van der Merwe.

OXO Connect Evolution provides SMEs with the dedicated collaboration, communications and networking environment needed to create a unified digitally connected experience for employees and customers alike.

“Small business, big Impact — a profound statement in context of addressing some of the challenges in rebuilding our South African economy. ALE is committed to addressing this market with communication solutions enabling collaboration to deliver SME growth and sustainability while meaningfully contributing to job creation and innovations to boost our economy. In addition to providing solutions to this key segment, we are actively engaging entrepreneurs in underserviced geographies to partner in delivery of these solutions,” said Ravin Naidu, Alcatel-Lucent territory sales leader and GM.