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

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 onboard more customers and help them navigate through their journey to digital transformation. Unified communications are 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.

Brochure: Yeastar vs. Panasonic PBX Solution

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 location.

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!

Evaluation Guide

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User Login

Instantaneously receive user login credentials via email once the extension has been deployed by the adminstrator.

Log in conveniently via any web browser for access to the user portal.

Event Center

Determine what events and logs are to be recorded and/or have notifications sent.

Specify particular notifications to be sent to respective authorized personnel.

User Login

Access and manage user settings for softphone application and voicemail.

Manage call routing and presence status for your individual extension.

Retrieve or download your personal call logs and recordings.

User Login

Receive your log-in credentials and set-up guide via email, sent by your admin.

Log-in on any web-browser to get started with PBX set-up.

Configure contacts and personal settings from the web portal.

Auto Provision

Add, remove, or modify IP phone settings from your web interface.

Upgrade IP phone firmware conveniently from your PBX.

Upload various default setting parameters specific to respective IP phone models for greater convenience during set-up.

Contacts

Store, retrieve, and share company contact details easily on your PBX.

Have detailed contact information for your vendors and clients conveniently stored .

Bulk add a list of contacts instead of having to key details in individually.

PBX Monitor

Monitor the status extensions, whether they aren idle, in use, or unavailable.

Know whether your SIP Trunk running properly, or experiencing problems.

Monitor the number of call conferences currently running on your PBX, and their individual durations.

Maintenance

Check for and download firmware upgrades to ensure that your PBX is always up-to-date.

Perform back-ups to prevent data and settings from getting lost.

Perform troubleshooting on your own to debug.

Call Detailed Report

All call log activities are stored, with the option of having audio conversations recorded by default or for specific extensions.

Filter by date, time, or extension number to retrieve specific call logs or recordings

Playback call recordings directly from the PBX or download to store externally.

User Permission

Set up vaious groups of users for allocation to certain sets of access rules.

Determine what features a certain group of extensions can or cannot access.

Determine if users can access, play-back, or download call logs and recordings from the pbx.

Portal Login Page

Receive your administrator log-in credentials and set-up guide via email.

Log-in on any web-browser to get started with PBX set-up.

Installation Wizard will guide you through basic configurations.

Security

Restrict a general group or specific IP addresses to prevent unauthorized access to your PBX.

Determine specific the range of SIP ports for connection between your PBX and endpoints.

Restrict country codes for outbound calls either company-wide or on certain extensions.

Voice Prompt

Upload and designate customised audio recordings at multiple levels of a call journey.

Upload recorded music to fill the silence that would be heard by callers on hold.

Upload customised voice prompts to create a professional call experience.

General

Customize general call preferences either company-wide or for individual extensions.

Set-up feature dial codes for convenient user navigation to specific call features.

Determine how voicemails are retrieved, and also upload custom voicemail recordings.

Call Features

Add multiple automated responses to be played at different phases of a call journey.

Designate specific extensions to ring concurrently based on an external caller's dial pattern.

Customize messages and waiting times to keep external callers engaged when put on hold.

Call Control

Have calls received on specific SIP trunks routed to designated extensions within the PBX.

Set-up dial patterns so that outbound calls are routed to their intended destinations.

Determine how calls are routed and received at different times of a day.

Trunks

Register multiple SIP trunks on a single PBX as needed.

Provision SIP trunk settings and dedicate them to particular extensions.

Bulk add DDIs on each SIP trunk, for allocation to an individual or groups of extensions.

Extensions

View, deploy, add, and remove user extensions within your PBX system.

Allocate and deploy specific extension numbers to respective users via email.

Set-up default ring and presence status settings for individual users.

User Login

Access all company contacts made available to you by the administrator.

Create your own personal contacts list for easy reference and dialing.

Bulk import contact details for convenient data entry.

Extensions

View, deploy, add, and remove user extensions within your PBX system.

Configure default call and user settings for individual extensions.

Customize allocation of user extensions to specific ring groups.

Integrations

Integrate various CRM software for better customer service and satisfaction.

Enable transcription of audio messages into text with integration of third-party transcription service.

Enable API for integration with various third-party integrations for advanced performance such as call center and hotel reception services.

Paging and Intercom

Create different types of paging and intercom broadcast groups for selected extensions.

Set a time schedule to automatically start your broadcast.

System

Provision email SMTP and template settings for event notifications to be sent out.

Manage storage allocation and duration of various types of data being stored on the PBX.

Determine the types of event notifications to be sent out, and the parties receiving them.

IVR

Add various audio voice prompts to be played according to different call scenarios.

Add voice prompts on multiple levels for more effecient and precise inbound call routing.

Voicemail

Customize default voicemail settings for each user extension.

Add various voicemail messages for allocation to different call scenarios and users.

Provision specific rules to how voicemail messages are played over the PBX system for better caller experience.

Reports and CDR

All call log activities are stored, with the option of having audio conversations recorded by default or for specific extensions.

Use intuitive visual call reports, to check various call statistics over extensions, trunks, queues, ring groups, and more.

Call reports can be viewed and downloaded directly from the PBX, or scheduled to be sent via email to respective parties.

Security

Restrict a general group or specific IP addresses to prevent unauthorized access to your PBX.

Limit the number of otbound calls users are allowed to make within a time period to protect against toll fraud.

Restrict certain country codes for outbound calls either company-wide or on certain extensions.

User Login

Determine extension ranges for different functions.

Define use of different voice prompts depending on call scenarios or intended function.

Provision basic and advanced SIP settings to be used on the PBX.

Recordings

Record all calls made on specified trunks, including inbound and outbound calls.

Recordings

Record all calls made on specified extensions, conferences, or call queues.

Maintenance

Check for and download firmware upgrades to ensure that your PBX is always up-to-date.

Perform back-ups to prevent data and settings from getting lost.

Perform troubleshooting on your own to debug.

Trunks

Register multiple SIP trunks on a single PBX as needed.

Different types of trunks can be created, Caller ID can be customized.

Conference

Pre-set conference settings and dial-in passwords for security, and allow internal users to send conference invites to external parties.

Speed Dial

Create multiple speed dial numbers to respective external numbers frequently used for outgoing calls.

Speed dial is activated when the set prefix (default or customized) is dialed.

Ring Group

Create multiple ring groups and determine custom ring strategies and failover settings for each.

Call Queue

Create different call queues with specific ring strategies and failover settings.

Static agents permanently answer calls in queue, while dynamic agents can log in and out. Allocate different extensions to each group.

Determine what actions are to be allowed for Mangers or Agents to manage on the Queue Panel.

Call Control

Have calls received on specific SIP trunks routed to designated extensions or destinations within the PBX.

Set-up dial patterns so that outbound calls are routed to their intended destinations.

Determine how calls are routed and received at different times of a day.

Contacts

Store, retrieve, and share company contact details easily on your PBX.

Organize company contacts into dedicated phonebooks and determine accessibility rights to extension groups for each.

Bulk import a list of contacts instead of having to key details in individually.

Role and Client Permission

Pre-defined user roles within the PBX are conveniently available for allocation, or create your own set of permissions.

Restrict users from viewing specific extensions, departments, or extension groups with Extension Visibility.

Allow or resrict specific users from managing or viewing certain company contacts

Auto Provision

Pre-defined setting parameters specific to respective IP phone models are conveniently available for easy set-up.

IP Phones can be quickly provisioned to your Yeastar PBX with just the pre-defined template and device MAC address.

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