SMBs want, and get, a lot of service choices - Part 3

Some larger users, however, might not be so willing to hand off all the responsibilities. 

"They push off to a reseller saying ‘We need a phone system. Get it set up for us and show us how to manage it,'" she said. "The products we build are well suited for that. If you don't know anything about phone systems and you don't know anything about voice-over-IP you should still be able to set it up and make your phone calls really, really quickly." 

At the very extreme end of the model is Cbeyond, a company that believes an SMB wants control and provides it. 

"We're not a hosted PBX provider. We consider ourselves a managed service provider in that we manage some of the applications on their behalf, but they provide the on-prem equipment for their core communications. The small businesses really want to have that control," said Paul Gies, senior director of business development.  

Cbeyond uses a network of about 2,500 value added resellers (VARs) to help small businesses with their equipment needs, then it steps in and provides all the services that run on top of that equipment. It also delivers its own T1 network connection so "nothing touches the public Internet." 

Small businesses, which are good businesses in these bad economic times, are like Rodney Dangerfield: They don't get no respect from the local telephone companies who have long concentrated on their bigger enterprise cousins. 

"They're not treated like a business; they're treated like a consumer and the offers that are made to them are consumer," said Gies. "We go in with business-grade solutions tailored specifically to their needs. It may be a little more expensive, but that's a message that small business owners can really appreciate." 

Rather than pushing these SMBs away from doing more, the bad economy is actually pushing them forward. 

"There's a flight to value and value is what we pitch our customers," Gies said. "They're looking for how these applications are going to help them run their businesses more efficiently." 

Rees agreed. Even as enterprises turn their backs on more services or stay in neutral-much to the dismay of the bigger providers-SMBs are surging forward. 

"This market has been very resilient through this downward recession," Rees said. "We've had some churn or cancellation due to some businesses going out of business, but that was inevitable; but we've seen a corresponding increase on the sales side of new businesses approaching us for service because they're looking for ways to cut costs."