OFFICE110 Survey: 48.1% of Business Phone Inquiries Concern “How Many Units Are Needed,” Highlighting On-Site Planning Issues for SMEs

OFFICE110, a corporate office equipment service operated by Bell Technos Co., Ltd., analyzed anonymized inquiry data related to business phone systems received between March 3, 2025 and February 28, 2026, and summarized consultation trends before companies introduce business phone systems. The analysis found 257 inquiries related to “how many units are needed,” accounting for 48.1% of the total. The result shows that, when small and medium-sized businesses choose business phone systems, they often need to clarify on-site conditions first, such as how many phones are required, where they should be installed, and whether existing lines and wiring can support the setup, before comparing features or prices. As labor shortages continue, mistakes in call-handling design can directly increase the workload on staff. For business phone systems involving main numbers, fax, optical phone lines, PBX/main units, smartphone integration, and maintenance support, incorrect unit planning may affect installation costs and operational burden. In recent business phone inquiries, 257 cases, or 48.1%, were related to “how many units are needed.” The consultation topics extended beyond model comparison to wiring, installation, optical phone lines, fax, PBX/main units, smartphone integration, and maintenance. SME staff need to organize installation locations, simultaneous call capacity, and future expansion needs before comparing phone performance. According to OFFICE110’s analysis, the number of required phones has become a major issue before companies consider manufacturers or prices. Business phone selection begins with unit planning rather than model comparison. Related inquiries also frequently involved fees and quotations, comparative evaluation, lines and optical phone services, installation and settings, and replacement of aging equipment. Fees and quotations accounted for 143 cases, indicating that quotations are difficult to finalize before unit numbers are set. Comparative evaluation appeared in 136 cases, showing that system configuration is often undecided before model comparison. Lines and optical phone services appeared in 100 cases, because phone unit numbers are linked to simultaneous calls and number counts. Installation and settings appeared in 72 cases, since costs vary depending on wiring and placement. Aging equipment and replacement appeared in 69 cases, suggesting that failures or maintenance concerns often prompt companies to review the number of phones needed. A business phone system is not completed by phone handsets alone. PBX/main units, extension settings, external and optical phone lines, fax, wiring, number retention, and maintenance contracts are all involved, so on-site conditions must be checked when deciding the number of units. The required number of business phones cannot be determined solely by employee count. For example, even in two companies with five employees, the necessary number of phones differs depending on whether everyone works in the same office or whether staff are divided among reception, warehouse, store, and outside sales roles. The configuration also changes depending on whether fax is retained, whether a main number is answered by multiple people, and whether smartphone integration is used. Key items to check include call-receiving locations, simultaneous call volume, fax use, optical phone lines and line contracts, PBX/main unit capacity, wiring conditions, smartphone integration, and maintenance support such as repair and replacement devices. Required unit numbers are determined by business workflow, not employee headcount. The survey mainly aggregated recent inquiry data, while also reviewing long-term consultation records as background information. Repeated long-term inquiries included requests to start with a small number of phones while keeping future expansion possible, to begin with two or three units in a new office while confirming reception and fax handling, to confirm phone numbers, reception phones, and wiring locations before receiving a moving-related quotation, and to confirm whether used equipment would cause problems during failures or expansion. These consultations show that business phone introduction is judged not only by handset prices, but also by whether phones can be placed where needed, whether the system can be expanded later, and whether numbers and fax can be maintained. Companies can choose from used, new, rental, or lease options when introducing business phone systems. However, choosing only by price can create issues such as insufficient PBX/main unit capacity, additional wiring that changes installation costs, delayed confirmation of optical phone and fax number operating conditions, restrictions on expanding or maintaining used equipment, the need to coordinate number retention and construction schedules during relocation, and misunderstanding how much smartphone integration can replace desk phones. When companies are trying to reduce costs, hidden installation and maintenance conditions can more easily lead to unexpected problems. Therefore, before implementation, it is important to consider not only handset prices but also on-site conditions. Supervisor Yuzo Nobori, Representative Director of DigiCon net Co., Ltd., commented that business phone unit numbers should not be decided by employee count alone. In the field, the right configuration becomes clear only after confirming reception location, how the main number is answered, fax usage, optical phone contracts, PBX/main unit capacity, and wiring routes. Judging only by price can lead to problems after installation, such as realizing another location also needs a phone, finding that the PBX/main unit cannot support expansion, or discovering that existing wiring cannot be used. From the standpoint of field installation, wiring, line design, and operational maintenance, proposals that ignore on-site conditions create burdens after introduction. OFFICE110 hopes that publishing this information will reduce uncertainty around business phone implementation and help SMEs organize the items they should check in advance. The full report, including detailed graphs and explanations, has been published on the OFFICE110 official website. The survey was conducted by OFFICE110, operated by Bell Technos Co., Ltd. It covered anonymized inquiry data related to business phone systems received by OFFICE110. The valid sample size was 534 cases, and the survey period was March 3, 2025 to February 28, 2026. The method involved anonymizing inquiry records and classifying them by theme, keywords, and context. For calculation, words, synonyms, and contextual matches related to “how many units are needed” were extracted from the target data. Multiple occurrences within the same inquiry were counted as one case, and the composition ratio was calculated by dividing the number of theme-related cases by the valid sample size.