Fonality Consolidates Product Lines into Three Tiered Editions

By Sandra M. Gustavsen
Analyst, Business VoIP

Small and mid-size business (SMB) phone solution provider Fonality formally introduces new company branding and a new way to purchase Fonality (News - Alert) solutions that applies to both hosted/cloud and on-premises deployments. Now all product lines, including the company’s earlier trixbox Pro and PBXtra premises-based systems and the Connect/Connect+ hosted/cloud services, are available for a monthly subscription price. The earlier product brand names will no longer be used, but the technology, features and deployment options (cloud or premises-based) remain intact and are now offered more simply as three tiered Editions: Fonality Essentials, Fonality Professional and Fonality Ultimate.

Paying a monthly fee is the norm for a hosted/cloud service, but it is not common when purchasing an on-site telephony system that involves installing system equipment and related components. However, Fonality sees “pay-as-you-go pricing” as appealing to any business, regardless of the deployment model. A business can bypass upfront capital expenses and concentrate on what’s most important – running their business. (Note that customers still have the option of a one-time payment model for on-site equipment and/or software if required.)

Fonality solutions target SMBs that have 10-250 employees, and currently, the company has more than 27,000 businesses and 275,000 users in 99 countries using its products. Fonality recently revamped its partner program to reduce complexity and potential partner conflict as the company looks to increase channel-generated revenue to more than 50 percent of its business in 2014 (more on this here).

New Tiered Editions

The new Fonality Professional and Ultimate Editions can be deployed in the cloud or with a Fonality-provided appliance server on-site; the more basic Essentials Edition is a cloud-only deployment.  The Professional and Ultimate editions can also be privately hosted or sold as software, similar to the legacy trixbox product. Customers with more than 25 users are able to switch deployments up to once a year at no charge (cloud to on-premises, or vice versa).  Pricing varies by the add-ons selected, and Fonality offers a built-in discount based on the number of users.

• The basic “Essentials” Edition is available as a hosted/cloud service only and includes over 100 standard phone system features, as well as some more advanced capabilities such as voicemail-to-email notification, find me/follow me, on-demand call recording,  basic call center queuing (unlimited queues), hunt and ring groups and a Web-based control panel. Pricing starts at $19.99 per user per month.
• The “Professional” Edition, available as a hosted/cloud service or an on-premises deployment, builds on the Essentials features, adding support for Fonality’s Heads Up Display unified communications client application (desktop, mobile and Web versions), an integrated softphone and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) integration. Optionally, customers can add always-on call recording and more advanced call center features such as skills-based routing, advanced agent and queue reporting, coaching tools (Barge, Monitor and Whisper) and real-time queue details. The Professional Edition also supports the new video conferencing and screen sharing capability (see below) for a retail price of $15 per user per month (often available at a lower promotional rate).  Pricing starts at $29.99 per user per month.
• The most advanced “Ultimate” Edition, available as a hosted/cloud service or an on-premises deployment, includes all of the Essentials and Professional features, as well as three additional productivity applications: paperless fax, voicemail transcription and the company’s new HD video collaboration with screen sharing across desktop and mobile devices for up to 25 participants. This package also includes more advanced call center features (skills-based routing, advanced agent and queue reporting, Barge, Monitor and Whisper and real-time queue details).  Always-on call recording is optional. Pricing starts at $45.99 per user per month.

Fonality solutions are compatible with third party endpoints from Polycom (News - Alert) or Yealink. Several entry-level phone models are included in the bundled price at no extra cost, giving customers a significant cost advantage versus competing solutions that often charge separately for the end user phone. In addition, Fonality provides customers with unlimited support and hardware replacement as needed for the lifetime of the subscription.

New Web-based UC Client

Fonality’s Heads Up Display (HUD) unified communications client allows users to conveniently manage all communications from a single interface, including phone calls, voicemail, unified messaging, directories, conferencing, call recording, presence status and group chat, plus take advantage of file sharing and video conferencing (more on the new video plug-in below). The HUD client can be downloaded to Mac and Microsoft (News - Alert) Windows computers, smartphones or tablets (Apple iOS or Android), and now is available as a Web-based application easily accessible from the Web browser of any device. HUD is included for every user at no additional cost with the Professional and Ultimate Editions, an advantage over many competing solutions that may charge extra for a desktop client.  HUD is not available for the Essential Edition.

New HD Video Collaboration

Fonality introduces a new HD Video Collaboration plug-in for the HUD unified communications client application, eliminating the need for a separate, more expensive video conferencing or online meeting service. Up to 25 participants can participate in face-to-face meetings from any Mac or Windows computer with a webcam and can share screens and record meetings. The feature will be available soon for mobile devices (iOS or Android (News - Alert)) with a front-facing camera. Fonality HD Video Collaboration is included with the Ultimate Edition ($45.99 per user per month) or can be purchased as an option for the Professional Edition at a retail price of $15 per user per month (often available at a lower promotional rate).  Video conferencing is not available for the Essentials edition.  As a special promotion, Fonality is offering a free trial of HD Video Collaboration with the new Web client version of HUD.

Edited by Maurice Nagle