How does Ericsson PBX fair out? 3

[IPOfficeIreland]

Hi All

We are a reseller of PBX equipment and over the years have gone through various makes of systems. Panasonic, Samsung, Aastra and currently Avaya. We have been approached to look at the Ericsson Offerings, I think it is the EMS and the EMGW systems.

They look very impressive at a glance but as everyone is aware there may be hidden problems with the system which only surface when it's too late. We have been stung a couple of times with the IP Office from Avaya where simple features you expect to work don't and faults that can't be fixed.

So, to all engineers and like, if you could give me some feedback good and bad and overall opinion of the system would greatly be appreciated. Or if you recommend a different version of the ericsson system.

Thanks in advance

TT

 

[whosrdaddy]

mmm, this is an Ericsson biased forum

I don't know the differences between the Avaya and Ericsson platforms. I can only tell this: E/// IP platform is a young one (Avaya and Nortel have longer expertise in this field), but they are catching up really fast.
So I must say that the quality is better with the latest versions, but they can improve.

Be aware that Aastra bought the enterprise segment from E///. Aastra assures us that the current platform will continue to develop...

-----------------------------------------------------
What You See Is What You Get
Never underestimate tha powah of tha google!

 

[IPOfficeIreland]

thanks whosrdaddy. The areas i am interested in are:

reliablility
ease of use
customer satisfaction
installation difficulty

I believe it is a single box which has all the applications built in, no additional servers, so I assume it is easy enough to set up?

What pitfalls should I watch out for?

Are they a company which license for every single feature or can it work wonders out of the box and even more with a license upgrade?

Does the pbx support tapi? we develop our own tapi applications so this is very much a necessity for us?

can i do virtual users with call forwards and will the forward be billed to their name via smdr?

Is it a web based admin for set up?
Can each user log into a web based admin for their own call logs, voicemail, busy lamps or more??

What are the main selling points of the system?

Does the voicemail system do anything out of the ordinary (bar the usual AA, vm to email)?

What is the mobility solution like?
Does it work well? Is there much uptake on it?

I know, a milllion and 1 questions but I also have a bag of stars at my ready so I ready to dish these out!! He he....

 

[IPOfficeIreland]

whosrdaddy, you seem to be the only ericsson tech on hand here, is this forum generally this quite?

 

[whosrdaddy]

You can have application link with Tapi converter to support TAPI functionality.

-----------------------------------------------------
What You See Is What You Get
Never underestimate tha powah of tha google!

 

[IPOfficeIreland]

excellent, thanks guys!

 

[singhbrindisi]

Hi,

Response to your queries based on my experience :

reliablility
Excellent

ease of use
Not very much..You need to devote lot of time in learning the skills..

customer satisfaction
Good, Depends what features they are looking for... more or less you can manipulate & create the functionalities.

installation difficulty
Not that easy unless you have some courses & of course extensive field experience.

I believe it is a single box which has all the applications built in, no additional servers, so I assume it is easy enough to set up?
Yes all in one box, MD110/TSW & TSE now... TSE is Linux based.. First two are in PLEX Language ( Ericsson Proprietary ).. Again not an easy setup


What pitfalls should I watch out for?
Licencing for feature requirement & cost

Are they a company which license for every single feature or can it work wonders out of the box and even more with a license upgrade?
Not at all... Licence for each feature.. Lot of money too..

Does the pbx support tapi? we develop our own tapi applications so this is very much a necessity for us?
Yes, as daddy outlined..

can i do virtual users with call forwards and will the forward be billed to their name via smdr?
Call can be billed to the user forwarding the call in SMDR records..Lot of flexibility in terms of SMDR, LCR, Line interfaces..

Is it a web based admin for set up?
They have DNA solution... Again quite expensive..
Can each user log into a web based admin for their own call logs, voicemail, busy lamps or more??
Yes limited possibilities via DNA application

What are the main selling points of the system?
Flexibility in terms of Line interfaces, Features

Does the voicemail system do anything out of the ordinary (bar the usual AA, vm to email)?
My experience was not that fruitful..But more or less features of any other UMS...

What is the mobility solution like?
Does it work well? Is there much uptake on it?
DECT system is available... Remote Extensions etc are available but i feel they are just modified versions of Call forwarding..

One thing i noticed in comparison with other products like Panasonic is that Ericsson jumps on new solutions or upgrades on regular basis & charge back the customers for fixing the faults in earlier version... Every year you get new hardware, software releases & new courses on the same product..

This is my personal opinion only & others may not completely agree with it...

Cheers,

""The truth about action must be known and the truth of inaction also must be known; even so the truth about prohibited action must be known. For mysterious are the ways of action""

 

[TeleLion]

For EMS and EMGW:

EMS and EMGW are the easiest system to install, since the configuration can be done through GUI web interface (no commands needed).

One box solution, with different modules that can be inserted into this server unit.

The licenses mainly control the number of users, there are licenses for extra features too.

Pitfalls it’s one of the newest products in the Ericsson Enterprise family (not much competence out there). No digital phones.

The user web based is very powerful, where the user can be given the permission to control he’s own routing rules for incoming and our going calls.

Mobility solution is nice, works better in countries where each operator has a distinguished code, to be able to use the LCR (least cost routing in cost saving way) and saving on international calls, and as always the WiFi client on the cell phones is a great money saver too.

Very nice conference booking system with pin codes and email notification.

Each user can have a Mobile client (cell phone) and a soft client (PC) and sip phone (hard phone).

Very nice solution but it’s still young, but for the cost saving features it’s worth it.


To MD or not to MD that is the question

 

[IPOfficeIreland]

Thanks to all. From your answers it seems to do just about everything and more on the plus side. But on the bad side it is licensed at every corner and is only a new product so not much market awareness yet.

1 final question..

As a technician myself I only like selling products that are 99% reliable and do exactly as they should with ease of use for the customer. I like to give them Wow features which they don't have to pay too much extra for (becuase from experience they don't really want them, especially if they are charged excessively) so they can feel like they have gotten a good system with great features, particulary PC enhancements.

Does the Ericsson tick these boxes and on a scale of 1 to 10 where would it land?

Thanks again, very much appreciate the heads up, nothing worse than being sold a system and put a lot of time and money into it and find out 6 months or a year on what you wish you knew at the beginning. PS - can't trust Sales guys so that's why I came here...

 

[assarvahid]

mmm, this is an Ericsson biased forum
MD110 has been one of the most reliable PBX ever built.I had installed one back on 1988 and it is till working with a single failure.
With MXone I am not sure.The only problem regarding maintaining MD110 was the fact that you had to remember a series of command from top of your head.Thanks to Alex,for solving this problem.

 

[TeleLion]

It is very hard to give a general answer regarding all Ericsson PBXs, as it stand right now I think you have 3 main options:
MDE small
EMS/EMGW medium
MX-One Large

Each one of those products have its unique limitations, advantages and characteristics, that is very hard to be generalized, the MD110 which is the flagship of Ericsson Enterprise is one of the most powerful and stable systems out there, and that is agreed upon by most people.

Ericsson as every other Telecom manufacture company is trying to keep with the new emerging technologies, we have newer products and Service packs coming at a more rapid phase then before, this has effected the stability of the newer products, but the new features they offer I think out weighs any stability issues, example the IP capabilities of the MX-One 3.1 now has Network redundancy and server redundancy, SIP and H232 compatible, new phones with colored touch screen, so basically the changes we had in the past 3-5 years is more equivalent then the changes from the early 80’s to the late 90’s.

Administration wise Ericsson PBXs are not that easy, you need to be very prepared for that, but that comes hand in hand with the flexibility of the system, commands are always more powerful the GUI interfaces, Ericsson PBX are moving towards the GUI interface more and more specially the MDE and EMS/EMGW, the MX-One has a GUI interface but with commands you can actually make the system dance to your music

No guts no glory
No pain no game


To MD or not to MD that is the question

 

[cowboz]

I have been a long time Avaya guy and just recently moved to a position supporting Ericsson MD110 15 Lim system, so far what I can see is the Ericsson is extremely Granular compared to the Avaya or even Nortel. I had some similiar issues with the Avaya Small Office IP system as you stated earlier. So far just about ANYTHING i needed to do on the Ericsson could be done, may take some time to figure out the right commands but it is dependable and flexable in my mind. Support and Training is lacking of course since they just sold out it might improve.

For what there worth those are my 2 cents