subject: All You Need To Know About The Changing Face Of Call Accounting [print this page] All You Need To Know About The Changing Face Of Call Accounting
The Call Accounting industry is split into two broad lines of business, Software Tools to retrieve call record data and create reports, and specialists who use the information provided by the Programs to actively manage a position.Call Accounting suppliers are again segmented into 2 camps, International suppliers and Local players. Local suppliers, are those who's operational area is restricted to within their home country, they tend to offer lower cost services, but lacking the financial backing of their internationally based rivals are at a definite disadvantage. As a result most local companies market their services only through local small firms.Firms acquire business either through resellers like PBX companies and other industry consultants or by forming relationships directly with end users, but there aren't very many international or local firms who choose the later route, preferring to leave their intermediaries with the responsibility of servicing the end user. There are some instances of local suppliers surviving and thriving by direct marketing, however this is not the general rule. Players usually have long running arrangements with their marketing channels, and often can often be rigid in the interests of standardization.Call Accounting is a specialized industry. By and large PBX firms acknowledge that, while they are specialists in their own field, they are not experts in call accounting. To meet this need there is a growing trend for PBX firms, large and small, to outsource Call Accounting roles to those with appropriate skills, or for end users to work directly with a specialist company.With telecommunications solutions becoming progressively more complex a new type of specialist is developing. These are specialists who have broad skills in the technology and use top of the range software to enable their professional services.There are three basic variations of product:Stand alone program, handed to you on a DVD for upload into a PC.Bureau services, you enter into contract with a supplier who hands you complete reports, a turnkey service.Web hosted applications, a new offering that marries the best features of stand alone and bureau service solutions.However, most call accounting specialists are now moving to Web hosted Call Accounting applications because of their very low cost, high reliability and extensive feature list. These applications give an end user access to call record data reports from any location and provide a high degree of service at a low cost. They also empower a consultant to review a client's reports without actually attending the site. This unlocks huge efficiencies previously unattainable, having the effect of minimizing the consultants charges, making their professional services more enticing and accessible to a larger audience.
