If your organization is using a poor-performing phone service, you may experience a lack of productivity and efficiency from your employees.
Additionally, your organization may become a victim of a cyberattack by using an unsecured phone solution.
An SBC can help secure your network and improve your phone service so your organization can avoid cyberattacks and experience fewer call drops and breakups.
Coeo has delivered thousands of SBCs to customers to help improve network security and phone service performance and knows how important a reliable and secure phone solution is to an organization.
We want you to understand the cost of SBCs so you can determine if they are a good solution for your organization.
By the end of this article, you will know the factors that affect the cost of an SBC.
The factors that impact the cost of an SBC
If your organization is looking to implement an SBC into your network for better security and to improve your phone solution, you need to understand the factors that impact the cost before following through with purchasing one.
The factors that affect the cost of an SBC include:
The type of phone solution you are using
The first thing to factor into the cost is the type of phone solution your organization is going to use.
There are different types of phone solutions that your organization may be using and since different types of phone solutions have different requirements, features, and variables, the phone solution you use can be a factor that impacts the cost of an SBC.
No phone solution is typically more expensive than the other, however, there are some differences between solutions that can affect the cost. The different types of phone solutions that affect the cost of SBCs include:
On-premise PBX
An on-premise phone system is a physical phone solution that resides on the premises of the user's location and is used by the customer.
Since the phone system resides at your organization’s location, you and your team are typically the ones in charge of monitoring the phone system internally.
While on-premise phone systems can be unique across solutions and carriers, they usually do not have many requirements that some additional phone solutions require that would add to the cost of an SBC.
Cloud PBX
A cloud-based PBX phone system is a phone solution that is delivered entirely over the internet.
Cloud-based phone systems are delivered by a third-party phone service provider and are connected to the internet to make and receive calls rather than a traditional copper wire phone line.
Since cloud-based phone systems are connected to the internet, users must be aware of cyberattacks such as toll fraud if their phone system is not secure.
If your organization wants to add security to your SBC for better security over your cloud PBX, it will come with an extra cost. However, some cloud vendors require security services for cloud-based PBX solutions anyway.
Additionally, most cloud-based PBX solutions require a transcoding SBC that will come at a higher price than regular SBCs.
Transcoding is the conversion of call media from one encoding algorithm (also known as a codec) to another.
Transcoding helps bridge the differences in capabilities between the calling and called parties’ phone systems.
Analog lines
Analog phone systems are phone systems that consist of traditional landlines.
These phone systems take audio signals and translate them into electronic pulses on a wire that is transferred from one line to the next.
Since analog lines use traditional landlines, they require a hardware SBC which can affect the overall cost of your SBCs since hardware is traditionally more expensive than software.
Preferred SBC consumption model
SBCs can be delivered in a variety of ways that can affect the overall cost of your SBCs. The way your organization wants your SBCs to be consumed will factor into the cost of them including:
Type of SBC
The first consumption factor that affects the cost of your SBCs is the type of SBCs you are choosing to use.
If your organization chooses to go with hardware SBCs, it may cost you more money since hardware is almost always more expensive.
However, if your organization chooses to use software SBCs, such as cloud-based or on-premise, they may be less expensive.
Type of purchase
Another factor is the way your organization purchases SBCs. If your organization wants to own the SBCs it will come with a higher upfront cost.
However, if you opt to lease your SBCs, they may come at a lower monthly recurring charge.
There may also be additional charges if you decide to break the lease or if there are damages of any kind once the lease is up.
Management
Your organization can manage your SBCs internally using your IT team, however, if you want a provider like Coeo to manage your SBCs for you, it will come with an extra cost that will factor into the total cost of your SBCs,
SBC requirements
Lastly, if there are any additional requirements your organization wants out of your SBCs, they can also impact the overall cost of your SBCs. These requirements include:
Transcoding
As mentioned earlier in the article, if your organization’s phone system requires transcoding, this will increase the cost of your SBCs.
If your organization has a WebX or cloud phone solution, the system will require transcoding on the backend so your organization will need a transcoding SBC.
However, some on-premise phone solutions do not require transcoding so depending on the solution your organization has, you may not need to pay for transcoding.
Additional encryption
Next is to determine if your organization’s phone system needs additional security encryption.
The SBCs can include TLS encryption for an additional charge to provide better security to ensure your organization can establish a security stance and avoid cyberattacks such as toll fraud.
Highly available solution
A highly available solution means that your phone solution has an active failover so if one of your connections or appliances fails, it will maintain active call integrity.
If your organization wants a highly available solution, you will need an enterprise appliance which is a very specific feature offering that comes with an additional cost.
Installation and provisioning process
Some organizations are comfortable enough to install and provision their phone solution internally.
However, if you want Coeo or your phone provider to install and provision your solution for you, it will come with an additional cost.
Next steps to purchasing SBCs
Now you understand the factors that affect the cost of an SBC. Since the cost of an SBC depends on many different factors, understanding the factors that go into the cost will help you determine the total cost of your SBCs.
No one wants to deal with a poor-performing phone service that hinders internal and external communication due to call breakups and drops.
In addition, if your phone solution is not secured, your organization can end up a victim of a cyberattack such as toll fraud.
Coeo knows how important a reliable and secure phone service is and has delivered thousands of SBCs to customers to improve their phone solutions.
We want you to understand the cost of SBCs so you can determine the approximate price your organization will pay for SBCs.
If you would like to speak with our team to learn more about the cost of SBCs or ask any questions you may have you can schedule an appointment.
Now that you understand the factors that go into the cost of SBCs, read this article below to learn about cloud communication:
