Yes and no. Setting up an IRC server is hard. Pretty much all IRC servers use arcane settings and configuration formats. I run an Inspircd and Hybrid servers, and for people who aren't used to it, it's really daunting compared to setting up something like prosody.
Services on top like Kiwi are nice. I run Shout IRC which is beautiful and slack-like, but again requires passenger and node to work, so lots of moving parts just for a web-ui.
Having said that, all of this is perfectly doable, it's just not so easy if you're used to dealing with something lightweight and a little php on top.
Seems like a quick script would set all this up for us :D
your use case is very different, and i wouldn't expect any pay-for-chat service to make any sense for it
Although I take issue with "when chat is down your business is at risk."
Pick up a phone. Use Skype. Send email.
Business was done for thousands of years before chat apps. :D
It's perfectly possible to pivot your sales funnel, but it's not something you can do in two hours whilst the chat server's down.
If you rely on a third party for business, you need to plan for it.
The rule always applies: You will pay now or you will pay later.
I'm curious though.
What is it about IRC that makes it not a good choice? It seems to me that the biggest issue non-nerds care about is the user experience. And I feel that if people wanted to, that could be fixed. And if we really wanted to, we could extend IRC to do what we want and deal with its shortcomings.
I use a nice web gateway (kiwi) on top of an IRC channel for my student office hours and it's easy. They just supply a username and log in. No software to install, the UI looks nice, and students don't have to sign up for anything.
If I had the resources and the money, I'd focus on a good modern IRC client and server.
Am I wrong?