First time I heard about UBP (also known as USP – unique selling proposition) was reading on how a small business can differentiate from the rest, in a way that competition is not a problem to consider — that’s where the term Unique comes to a first plane.
Note, that’s not about differentiate from the competition, it’s about stays ahead or aside of the rest, just offering value on something different, something unique.
What is Unique about our offer ?
- the product edgeBOX is an Office-in-a-Box Server Appliance, a Unified Communications Solution that Provides All the Phone and Internet Communication / Data Services, a Small and Medium Size Business needs – your IT infrastructure in OneBox.
- the service and support comes with the Box remotely managed, it’s like “an over-your-shoulder” inside IT professional – the IT person comes within the BOX.
- the pricing is affordable and using a leasing model for two years under the warranty terms – your IT on a budget.
From all these combined came our marketing message: forget IT, we’ll do IT for you
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It’s more than a word game, what is indeed – it’s the wrapping of our proposal: “your IT infrastructure in OneBox: administration, configuration, updates, backup: forget IT, instead of making IT easier for you, we’ll do IT for you”.
Inspired and driven by two main concepts behind this project “Simplifying through Integration” and “Avoiding the Problems”
It’s the whole idea of combining and getting the best out of the two approach for IT improvement and remediation: Proactive Plus Reactive.
On a side note I want to remark, it was my daughter who connect the dots on this short, I’d say shot?, proposition that is now the back of my business card — shown below — thanks then.
This is a real scenario I went through while writing a proposal for a OneBox IT implementation.
I won’t mention any names just for discretion regarding my clients and respect to other suppliers, but figures are real.
I won’t say the edgeBox is the only or not even the best solution to save while improving, but it’s fair to say that in this [very common] case, the improvement cost of implementing an edgeBox solution were offset by far with the savings created.
Just have a look at this simple table and consider that a complete edgeBox deployment including … everything, was about 398 CAD a month under a leasing model.
Even though the value added on terms of IT improvements are by far above the cost of implementation, in this case they are getting all the benefit for free and holding some extra saving — that’s a sweat deal, isn’t it?
Leasing is an important part of our message and to provide that option we have partnered with
National Leasing a recognized leader in equipment financing across Canada.
Leasing is a good choice for SMB to spread their expenses over the lifespan of a equipment and associated services, specially under the warranty terms. Leasing have many advantages like conserving your cash using 100% financing, several income tax benefits, having a service contract included, easy to budget and plan for the future.
Just playing with some figures to have an idea, for up to 10 users an edgeBox deployment would look like:
- for $298 under $300 monthly payment you’d have an IT tech looking over your IT infrastructure, including your main IT servicing appliance – an edgeBox server.
- adding another $50 a month would included your state-of-the-art IP phones ready to ring
- and for just $395 under $400 a month would be the whole package, all above, even better IP phones and also a PoE Switch, UPS and some bonus
The whole solution – equipment, software and services – will perform like a high-end SUV, but just cost as an entry-level sub-Compact.
Please, call for more details at 1.866.666.SUNT
It has been two months of working, studying and dealing with the
edgeBox from Critical Links with the valuable support of Angelo Giancoulas, a Technical Solutions Specialist from
Graybar Canada the
exclusive Distributor for the edgeBox in Canada until we formaly become authorized VAR for the whole GTA in Ontario – the big and extended Toronto Area – we are celebrating this important step while polishing all the procedures for a seemless deployment of this Network Unified Solution.
As per Critical Links, the award-winning edgeBOX provides a single-box Office in a Box solution for SMBs that includes a full-fledged IP telephony system, smoothly integrated with email, contact database, calendars, security, VPN, file sharing, and more. The voice and data services integration improves employee productivity, simplifies installation, maintenance and upgrades, and dramatically reduces equipment, communications, and maintenance costs for SMBs. It is available on a range of scalable platforms for companies from 10 to 300 users. The edgeBOX can be fully managed remotely through a simple browser, which makes it specially suited for system integrators that want to get into the business of providing managed services to SMB customers.
Well, this is kind of a personal project, in fact a two projects combination: (leasing and integrating) an office-network in a single package-solution.
The idea of leasing dated back in 2002 and was kept in the sandbox since then — One Box project started back in March 2007 exploring available projects at that time, among then I remember Office in a Box from EdgeBox and IT in a Box from EmergeCore, the latter was a simple and amazing box (now discontinued, AFAIK), the former was just an ISO to install at that time and it didn’t work with our server platforms.
After spending a few weeks collaborating with our partners in Panama (some Linux tech out there) we gave up buying and started developing our own OneBox (Office NEtwork in a Box) — it was ready for it360 show in Toronto last year — we are now providing this solution on different flavours, time will tell what’s the main course:
1. Our own OneBox — an all inclusive cabinet, featuring an Intel server and ubuntu
2. A simplified fork thin-client-network OneBox — just a Linux Terminal Server serving Asus diskless PCs
3. Back on current EdgeBox SoHo/Office appliance — signing as their first VAR in Ontario
4. Also checking on Planet Unified Office Gateway — an all-inclusive appliance with a lot of potencial
On top of any of these solutions we are providing a leasing model 24/27 with or new partner National Leasing, so from now on our new clients will be paying a monthly and fair amount for their IT remotely managed platform.
That’s it — we are leasing IT remote managed services, all in One Box at your premises — and more to come.
