Qwest (News - Alert) OneFlex Smart Connect has been added to Qwest Communications International’s lineup of hosted VoIP solutions for business customers.

The Smart Connect solution combines local, long distance and Internet services to simplify network communications so business can respond to customers quickly and easily — and calls can be routed to reach subscribers wherever they travel.

This new solution is positioned for businesses that need a single, reliable network to provide voice and data access for 6-48 employees per location. Smart Connect will include the T-1 local loop, router, and Internet port, as well as front-office equipment, including console and handsets for one low bundled price.

The Smart Connect solution is also a fully managed communications solution. As a result, Qwest provides the technical expertise, security firewalls, and the benefits of the same strong, hosted VoIP network used by Qwest’s larger enterprise customers.

“Qwest Communications ranks highest among U.S. enterprise-class VoIP service providers in overall VoIP market presence,” wrote Lisa Pierce, a principal analyst with Forrester Research (News - Alert) in the February 2007 publication, The Forrester Wave: US Enterprise-Class VoIP Services, Q1 2007.

The report also states: “Combined with its trendsetting enterprise-wide VoIP installation project management practices, Qwest is particularly well-suited to meet the needs of Hosted VoIP customers that have diverse domestic U.S. location requirements.”

Smart Connect is also positioned as providing customers with unparalleled customer service, including single sales representative from initial inquiry through final purchase and installation.

The customer is provided with one telephone number to call providing 24-hour customer care. In addition, Smart Connect is scalable, with the ability to quickly order additional seats online to serve growing businesses.

“Qwest tailors solutions to meet the needs of customers of all sizes, and we heard from mid-sized businesses that there was a need for a fully managed, integrated VoIP solution,” said Dan Yost, executive vice president of Product and IT at Qwest. “With Qwest Smart Connect, businesses get the most flexible, reliable and affordable integrated VoIP solution available.”

This easy-to-use solution is designed to help improve business efficiency for customers with its rich features that include Outlook integration, hunt groups, pick-up groups, find me/follow me service, online trouble ticketing, and administrative control for employee moves, adds, and changes.

Customers are granted access to a Web-based portal with all the same tools that can be accessed from the home office workstation or any other Internet connection. All employees are one a single communications system over a dedicated Internet connection and can access and forward voice mail through any Web browser. Subscribers also receive the benefits of IP PBX (News - Alert) features without a large capital investment.

SMBs are increasingly demanding VoIP solutions — in addition to the functionality that they demand in their communications, they are also increasingly mobile, requiring that their communications systems be designed to support dispersed individuals.

Qwest has recognized the needs of the SMB sector, as well as the opportunities that abound for a VoIP solution that not only meets these challenges, but also delivers a quality solution. Customer demand is intensifying, putting increasing pressure on companies to deliver. It is those that can rise to the challenge that will dominate their markets, leaving the rest to figure out exactly what happened.