When a Phone Is Not a Phone

I got an email from my corporate IT guy last week with the subject "OCS Phones". I thought - cool, IT is going to send me one of those Microsoft USB phones to use in my home office. Now I consider myself a pretty progressive guy when it comes to UC technology but I was surprised by what I saw when I opened the email (or perhaps more surprised by my own expectation).

There were no phones to choose from...just headsets to connect to the PC - a bluetooth one and a corded one.

I should have known better. I, of all people, immediately assumed he meant "phone" as in dialpad, handset, craddle, buttons. Old habbits die hard I guess but it got me to thinking...

People have a strange relationship with their desk phone; this love-hate thing that's been going on for years. On one hand, I hear people always complaining about the phone on their desk. It doesn't matter if it's an IP phone or digital or even analog. On the other hand, people can't seem to live without them.

The hate part I can understand. Trust me, in my day I've seen some pretty nasty phones, like the Rolm "deadwood" for example. It had dialtone that sounded like finger nails on a chalkboard! In general, the deskphone takes up extra space; it's corded to the wall; it has an annoying ring; a menacing, flashing light that never seems to stop; it's hard to use any of the features on it (even tranferring a call is brutal). If you're an IT or Telecom professional it's even worse. I can't tell you how many times a budget request for a telephone system upgrade has been denied by a CFO because of the phones...

"Well, do the phones work" asks the CFO.
"Yes, of course they do." answers th IT professional.
"Then what do you need more money for?" retorts the CFO.

Damn those phones!

Then there's the love story - for whatever reason people love their phones. There is some sort of emotional connection that exists. People love the fact that every time they pick up the receiver they hear dial tone; that there is always a voice mail behind the red flashing light; that the phone will always be there for them...even after a nuclear holocaust!

But wait, perhaps I have mistaken love for addiction or fear. Maybe people don't really love their desk telephones...maybe they are just so used to having them that they can't imagine making a call without them! That would explain why, as soon as you suggest that they don't need a physical phone any more, people wig out. "You'll have to pry it from my cold, dead hand" is often the reaction you will hear from such a purpostorous suggestion.

The point to all of this is that Microsoft has a unique story here (in this case, being new to voice is a good thing). For those users that are progressive and want to use the familiar Microsoft interface to make phone calls they can do so easily from their mobile device or PC. For those that still need the comfort of a physical phone to hold on to, there is the USB phone (no power over ethernet required). And for the hard core folks that want a phone corded to the wall Microsoft has the more traditional IP phone.

Me, I am going to let go today. My new phone isn't going to be a phone at all.