Verizon Introduces Small Business "Mobile First" Service

Verizon has introduced a “unified” small business communications system that is “mobile first,” and unifies desktop and mobile communications.

“One Talk” from Verizon is the “only” mobile-first communications solution in the U.S. market designed for small businesses and simplifying small business communications decisions, Verizon argues.

Some might argue that Sprint has been crafting unified mobile-desktop approaches to business communications for at least a decade, though.

So the Verizon offer arguably resurrects in slightly different form a Sprint mobile-only approach adopted about five years ago, pioneered a decade ago and reflecting a similar mobile-only approach.

Verizon says “One Talk” is the first mobile solution that includes business calling features typically only available on traditional desk phones, and allows customers the flexibility to buy only one service to meet both needs (mobile and desktop).

One Talk supports both Android and iOS devices, plus One Talk-capable office, lobby, and conference room phones.

The advantages, aside from single numbers, might include reduced need to buy desktop phones. Ability to support both a business number and the customer’s own personal phone number on one device also are said to be advantages.

One Talk supports:

• High Definition (HD) Voice, video calling, Wi-Fi calling and messaging
• Auto receptionists, hunt groups, and executive assistant line sharing, all of which work uniformly over mobile devices and One Talk-capable desk phones
• One service provider, one bill, one support team and one partner for all mobile and fixed communications
• A graceful evolution path for established businesses, who can migrate branch or satellite offices to One Talk to simplify their communications, reduce cost and mobilize their business

“We designed One Talk to be flexible, to meet the needs of the 39 million employees working in small businesses across the U.S., and to scale to medium businesses as well,” said Mike Lanman, Verizon SVP, IoT and enterprise products.

One Talk is available nationwide, while cable companies are limited by regional geographic footprints and struggle to support out-of-network employees.

Premises-based solutions available from cable, telecommunications and cloud service providers require customers to buy two solutions, one for mobility and one for wireline services.