Future Of The Magix And Avaya's Product Line.

[Dexman]

Reading various posts on tek-tips and on other online tech help sites, one can't help but wonder if Avaya has already made the decision to end the Merlin Magix product line.

The only indication that the end is near is of reports that Avaya no longer responds to suggestions and/or requests to improve that product line.

Is it known if Avaya has already decided on a drop dead date for the Magix?

It seems that Avaya is thinking of going with 1 traditional telephone system (the Partner ACS) and a series of VOIP products.

If this is so, I hope that Avaya provides some sort of option to allow the use of digital telephone sets, such as the 4400 series with the Partner ACS.

 

[gregarican]

Even if they do, what are the immediate repercussions? For a VAR that's just locked into the Merlin line perhaps there would be a concern for them to switch gears. But for any tech person there will be a need for qualified Merlin folks for years to come. Look at existing setups. How many companies in the Fortune 1000 still use Merlin somewhere? How many smaller companies that you walk into have AT&T/Lucent/Avaya telephone sets at their desks? A good amount from my perspective.

Seeing that the core of the Merlin system itself is decades old, I would estimate maybe 5 years from now we would see some fallout if Avaya stopped manufacturing and supporting the Merlin line today. I think it would be a shame, though. The last Magix system I installed at a satellite location was pretty nice. Throw in an INA card and you have a real self-contained setup for a reasonable price.

 

[Dexman]

No doubt about it, there are many Magix and Legend systems in use today and discontinuing a product line is never without some sort of fallout. (I imagine that there was alot of howling when the Classic Merlin systems (206, 410 & 820) were dropped).

I am actually a Central Office technician for an international telecommunications company and we are in the process of replacing our TDM switches with VOIP switches network-wide in the US. Through my daily conversations with Verizon and SBC technicians, I know there that LECs are taking a serious look at VOIP and, in some cases, in the early stages of installing VOIP switch gear.

When veteran technicians post on websites that Avaya is not acknowledging and responding to requests & suggestions for improving the Magix platform, it just doesn't look good.

 

[phonesrus]

I think that Avaya and others are biting off their noses to spite their faces. VoIP is nice and has a lot of potiential, but it isn't there yet, I see it as a work in progress as Dexman said. POTS has been around over a hundred years. Just look at all of the variations in the Definity line and IP Office in the last 4 or 5 years, not to mention all the patches to fix their goofs because they are selling it before they get it to work right. Tradition deserves some respect.

 

[Dexman]

Right now, the biggest factor driving VOIP, in my opinion, is the cheaper rates offered by VOIP providers vs rates charged by LECs for POTs service.

The laundry list of taxes added to traditional service is a major factor in driving companies to VOIP. But small businesses may not be able to justify VOIP outside of service provided by companies like Vonage.

The complexities of VOIP equipment, T1 loop charges and cost of hardware push good VOIP service out of the reach of many small outfits.

I would be curious how much monthly revenue Avaya makes on the sales of Magix gear and trend those figures back over 2 years to see how sales have fared.