IP PBX for SMB 4

[olblueeyz]

Greetings, Im hoping someone with an in-depth understanding of IP Telephony can help me out here. My company is in the process (Yours truly leading the charge) of evaluating a new solution to replace our existing 3Com NBX IP Telephone system. The Specs of our Network (in general) are .. Four Branch locations all connected via a MPLS cloud with about 100 endpoints or users to support.

We have narrowed down the search to two possible Systems:



The ShoreTel Enterprise Telephone System
Mitel 3300 Telephone System



We identified and procured the bells and whistles of both systems for the proposals, however I was hoping someone could provide me with some overall opinions of both systems.

We have both VAR’s at level ground regarding pricing, and both systems seem like they will do what we need them to do from a feature standpoint.

Some insight as to strengths and weaknesses from both will go along way helping us make our decision.



As always….Thank you in advance.

 

[DigitelD]

I wouldn't leave the Avaya IP Office out. You have a lot of flexibility.

SHK Certified (School of Hard Knocks)
NCSS, ATSP/IP

 

[Westi]

mpls network in place is already good, but have you also VLAN's in place or the hardware to support it?
PoE network switches if you go with IP phones?
more important a company that can implement either solution for you and has the expertise to make it work, get credentials for it as these days there are so many companies out there that claim to be able to do VoIP but have not really a clue what they are doing.
Ip office is my personal choice but that is because I actually know that one, I have no clue about the Shoretel or the Mitel but can't see them being much different in price or functionality.
IP office (and I think also the Mitel but not Shoretel) you can have mixed environments meaning you use digital (and analog) phones and can save yourself the money for new expensive network switches and use digital phones with the existing wiring.
IP phones are OK if you want to move into a new place and save yourself the few bucks for an extra cable and want to rather spend that money for PoE switches, at the end of the day there is not much money saved to be honest, but you have more flexibility with IP sets.
The network is absolutely priority number one for full IP solutions, if you just want to call between sites then you can do so with digital and analog sets on each site and have just IP between the sites setup. If you have analog lines on each location and not PRI or SIP lines then I would rather go for a solution with traditional digital and analog extensions as there can be sometimes trouble with IP to analog conversion depending on the line quality.

Joe W.

FHandw., ACSS

insanity is just a state of mind

 

[GordonKapesMZ4]

I'd recommend a small BCM 50 with Rls 3 and above or IP office for a smaller system. If you want to go one step up with tons of features, I'd go for the Avaya CS1000, which offers flexibility through a ton of different telephone set styles, from the M3900s to the 12xx sets to the 11xx sets....

Avaya IP office uses some really high tech innovative handsets as well.

Another option would be to pick up a whole bunch of Nortel 1120E or 1140E series phones on ebay or on surplus, then sign up for an open source SIP provider such as voip.ms, broadvox or nexvortex, and run the telephones on a Pure SIP platform with the free 2.2 SIP firmware available through the Avaya website. The latest firmware 3.2 requires a license, while 2.2 doesn't. I have set this up for an extension at home and my 1140E set works just like, if not better than an older Meridian styled TDM 2000 set. All you do is download the firmware, and then enter username and password to the SIP account and you can begin making and receiving calls with the ultimate call quality clarity of a Nortel SIP phone.

 

[olblueeyz]

Thanks everyone for your comments...
I was hoping we could pit the ShoreTel up against the Mitel in regards to overall opinion...
I appreciate the openness of the other suggestions, however we have already decided to go the Mitel or ShoreTel route.

 

[GSmitherman]

ShoreTel is a great product. Westi has said on others post another important factor is who you have installing the system. I can not agree more. The nice thing about ShoreTel is they will send out customer satisfaction surveys. If the company installing the systems receives poor scores, ShoreTel will not allow them to sell or install their product. You should be able to check on the scores before purchasing the ShoreTel system.

 

[kwbMitel]

I have a strong Mitel bias (as indicated by my handle).

That being said, my recomendation is more towards the product support than the product itself. Of the 2 products your considering which has a greater market share in your area? Also, how experienced are the people that support these products.

Speaking as a Mitel Expert, the product is currently evolving faster than I would have believed possible. If the product does not have much market share in your area I would think that the support might be lacking. The same could be said for the Shoretel. (Although I can't speak for its capabilities)

Sometimes it comes down to a particular application that you want. If both products provide the necessities, choose the company that you trust.

**********************************************
What's most important is that you realise ... There is no spoon.

 

[OzzieGeorge]

If your offices are in different timezones you will have to be wary of the mitel solution as the system currently has no way of displaying different times. Here in Oz we currently have a user where the you know what is hitting the fan because the office in Bribane is displaying the time of the head office in Perth and there is nothing we can do about it other than sell them a second controller!

 

[kwbMitel]

@ OzzieGeorge - I would think it would be quite unusual to setup an office in a different timezone without some form of physical backup. If the you know what is hitting the fan now over a simple time discrepancy then wait until the network link fails. There may be ways to overcome your issue regardless but this is not the appropriate forum for that. Join us over in the Mitel Forum. forum1329

I'd be interested to see if there is a solution to your delemma

**********************************************
What's most important is that you realise ... There is no spoon.

 

[doktor]

LG-Ericsson (former LG-Nortel) iPECS should maybe also be considered.
In the US of A this product i named: Vertical Telenium.
The product is feature rich and low priced.

///doktor

 

[veenstrahiem]

MITEL 3300 is the way to go.
You can either go with a hardware controller, or put everything on a vmware system, so no hardware required.

 

[OzzieGeorge]

kwbMitel Says....

"but this is not the appropriate forum for that."

No dirty laundry in public hey?

Sorry but I have investigated all the possibilities and with the latest release you can not do this (and how long has it been needed)! End of story! So thanks but since even Mitel aren't coming to the party I don't think you can help (but as this is an anonymous forum I could be wrong, you may run the company)!

I come from an NEC background and with due respect their 8300 makes the 3300 look like an amature offering (it's also a hybrid system). Its a shame really as the Mitel kit is what I am currently working on. I suppose this is what is currently driving my Cisco studies (but don't start me on that)!

Sorry but from an Australian point of view (NEC are a market leader here) there is no comparison!

 

[kwbMitel]

Ozzie - Making assumptions about my motives and then acting upon them as if they are correct is quite inappropriate.

I suggested that you take up your issue in the Mitel Forum as a way of possibly helping you. There is a wealth of knowledge out there and some very creative solutions. Not all things can be solved and your issue may be one of them but saying you have investigated all of the possibilities is obviously incorrect.

I personally do not have anything to suggest to you as I've never encountered your situation. As such I was directing you to a "More Appropriate" forum where your concern would have a greater audience. Additionally, discussing your particular concerns within someone elses thread is also considered bad form.

As I said before, I'd be interseted to see if there is a solution. Why don't you give it a try? What harm can come of it?


**********************************************
What's most important is that you realise ... There is no spoon.

 

[OzzieGeorge]

Ok

As there isn't a PM system here it will have to be public.

I made no assumptions about your motives.

You however implied that either I didn't know what I was talking about or had supplied a poor solution to a customer. The solution is a survivable remote as sold by Mitel and should the link go down it will function locally in stand alone mode. The problems with time zones is fact (in the latest release they have added location based call accounting I believe but still no resolution on the clock). I have (on other manufacturers equipment) come across a situation where a mining company in Kalgoorlie Western Australia, has extensions in Russia and I was able to fix the clock by a simple programming change, how would you get round that?

The simple fact is I gave sound advice and you sought to trivialise it! Your loyalty to the product is commendable but the question of who is out of order here I will leave to others to decide!

 

[kwbMitel]

Hmmm , Ozzie, read my post again if you please. I just did. No trivialization, only a comment that it seemed unusual to me. You've now mentioned that you have a Survivable Gateway which you definitely did not mention previously. I can only use the info you provide. Everything I've said has been in the mode of offering to help. I'm still interested especially now that you've mentioned the SG as I have seen some of these quotes and for areas with different timezones. If you think my product loyalty is overriding my judgement, here's another thread I maintain. Your issue would be a great addition.

thread1329-1609420


**********************************************
What's most important is that you realise ... There is no spoon.