IP PBX Recommendation 7

[ReallyRotten]

I'm interested in knowing what IP-PBX products are available for 20 - 60 employees. I've looked at Cisco's UC560 for up to 138 users but it seems like it is overkill even for 60 employees. The UC320W/UC540W max capacity is 24/32 users. Avaya IP office is expensive (sorry Avaya! I like you but you are pricey)

Who is hitting the 30 - 60ish market?

 

[hawks]

Take a look at Samsung & E-Metrotel

 

[GordonKapesMZ4]

Emetrotel with the UCx product is definitely the way to go in my book. If you bleed Nortel blue, you should definitely check this system out.

You can use everything from Nortel Unistim phones to any manufacturer of SIP phones on this system. I have one set up for my small telecom business and I have Nortel: 6 11xx Unistim phones, 2 11xx SIP phones, 1 Meridian M7208, and 1 T7316, 1 i2050 working on my laptop set all working on this system. I also have 1 Cisco 7970 and 1 Avaya 9630 SIP set working on the system as well. I also have 6 remote users on the system spread out throughout the USA and one person in Prague. The remote user feature is quite simple......set up an external IP address on the system and simply connect any Unistim phone and have a good network, and you are set. Its usually as simple as plugging a Unistim set in and the phone comes up.

Licensing is quite simple. You can start out with a 5 license system for half the cost of a BCM, and that includes all the features and functionality Unified Messaging, Call Recording, Conferencing, IVR, Find-me/Follow-me mobility, Unistim/SIP phones, Paging, Park, Transfer, Music on Hold, Enhanced CLID, Personalized button labeling, and Nortel CS1000/BCM fashioned features.

One thing I find quite fascinating about the UCx is the fact that the system acts as hybrid between a traditional Nortel Key (Norstar/BCM) and PBX (Meridian 1/CS1000) system. One frustrating thing I felt about Nortel in the past was that the Norstar/BCM systems acted independently from the PBX Meridian 1/CS1000 sets. The UCx works like a CS1000 no matter if its a 5 user system or 5000 user system.

The system is designed by Nortel alumni who used to work in everything from CS1000 to BCM/Norstar to Networking with Bay Networks.

I definitely recommend this system for a high end, low cost IP PBX solution that actually allows you to use digital Nortel phones as well!

Joe

 

[ReallyRotten]

I've never met anyone as enthusiastic about Nortel! Thank you for the info; I will definitely check out the product (even though I've never been a Nortel fan, although anything is possible ).

 

[GordonKapesMZ4]

Hey Really,

Yeah I am quite the Nortel guy, probably the biggest fan who never even worked at Nortel. I guess it's the way they packaged their equipment, both in shipping and the actual designs of the units. The equipment of course always functioned to my liking......

How come you've never been a fan of Nortel? Maybe this system can change your mind....

Also if you don't want to run Nortel phones on it, you don't have to. You can use any SIP device such as a Cisco or Grandstream SIP phone.

I am happy to answer any other questions you may have or anyone on here has.

Good evening!

Joe

 

[cwc3]

KX-TDE 100/200/600 OR KX-NCP 500/1000

http://www.thetelephonemanonline.com

 

[Crowtalks]

My company would quote a Mitel 3300 CXi...but E-MetroTel is a good affordable platform from a company based in Plano, TX.

Jim

"If I had known it would turn out like this, I would have became a locksmith" Albert Einstein

NCSS NCTS NCTE CS1000E
Mitel 3300 4.2 basic & advanced, 5000 4.0, NuPoint I&M 4.2

 

[Gtelcom]

Allworx is a great product easy to manage and install, really should look at them

 

[x11dude]

Hey there Really -

This is just from a user perspective. Careful consideration should be made in every case as there's "no single answer". Phone systems are complicated! - so take your time! And look VERY carefully on how much you intend to grow. It could be that if you outgrow your system, you'll wish you spent a little more up front. Conversion is painful!

As a user who recently went through the process, we found (for our needs) that Avaya IP Office over SIP trunking was the way to go. Avaya's software is great, and it has a good upgrade path if you're growing. And, we were able to save money by buying "Unused" Avaya phones through our vendor. These are new sets that are left over from large bulk purchases - say, a large customer ordered 3000 sets but only used 2800. The extra 200 are still brand new in sealed boxes. Since phones are a major part of the entire system's expense, these saved us a lot of money. If your vendor will allow it, maybe you can order "unused" sets for 1/3 off (more or less). We were happy we could get some basic sets "unused" - (availability might be hit or miss - but it's worth asking!)

Be sure to look at total cost of ownership over a period of years - annual maintenance, licensing, upgrades, etc. Some of that stuff can eat you alive. And it wasn't long before I ruled out "cloud" (hosted) services; sounds like you're already there.

Nortel - problem is since the Avaya merger, many question their products' future. As for Cisco - the ones we looked at had limited auto attendants, limited features, clunkier software, and the shorter 3-5 year product cycles (that Cisco seems to like) would've been hard for us to afford (and keep up with). Also their systems don't seem to play as well with others - so (in our case) they wanted to replace lots of our existing network equipment with Cisco gear (extra expense and complexity).

Allworx is very interesting but it's not for everyone; in our case it never made it to the final round. And we didn't look at the other vendors mentioned above; they might be worth a look for you.

Good luck in your search. Again, the above comments are just from a single user's perspective - and YOUR needs are what's important! But I hope this helps!

 

[phoneguy610]

also look at toshiba cix40 and 100 depending on how many users / lines you want configured with it.

We are an avaya and toshiba vendor and usually toshiba comes in a little cheaper in the 30+ phone quotes

 

[Sympology]

Verticals Wave is another product to consider. We don't use it, but we use it's predecessor, Televantage. It 's getting some serious upgrades later in the year.

Robert Wilensky:
We've all heard that a million monkeys banging on a million typewriters will eventually reproduce the entire works of Shakespeare. Now, thanks to the Internet, we know this is not true.

http://alvechurchlounge.org.uk

 

[curlycord]

Allworx is another

=----(((((((((()----=
curlycord

http://www.curlycord.com

 

[atcom]

asterisk/FreePBX is another incredibly flexible & robust option! Probably 1/4 the cost of Cisco with a similar feature set - and no licenses! (unless you want to use the G729 codec, that's $10 per channel)

-----------------------------------
Telephone & computer wiring/Cat 5E/Cat 6/Fibre Optic cabling in Calgary, AB

 

[Westi]

You need to start with the basic questions

1. Do you need IP sets or can it be digital if you have the wiring in place or even analog for some sets (IP sets need PoE and the network needs to be good as well as the cabling needs to be ok and that will add to your cost) I know that IP sets are the "way to go" these days but they do not make sense in every environment.
2. Do you need a mixture of these set types to accomplish your optimal goal
3. analog trunks, PRI or SIP or more than one of these types.
4. call centre functionality
5. Voicemail, basic or more advanced

If you are looking for full IP and lots of features then look at a small company named Scoptel based out of Quebec Canada, they have a system that bases on teh Asterisk system but you get the full support of them should you have problems and they are nice and small and you can even ask for features if there is one missing. All endpoints are SIP based and you can use any SIP phone you can buy on the market, cheap or expensive.

Joe W.

FHandw, ACSS

http://convergednetworks.ca

 

[GarySmith365]

If you are looking for a good one, try Ozeki PBX. It works well and you can import the
configurations from the former system.
Look here:

http://www.ozekiphone.com/what-is-ip-pbx-internet-protocol-private-branch-exchange-312.html

It can handle that 30-60 well, we use the same, perfect.

 

[phoneguy610]

these fly by night no name pbx companies give me a headache

if the end users only knew the trouble they were getting themselves into

cannot even count how many we have taken out this year

 

[ReallyRotten]

I hear you. It's the spend $1000 to save $10.

 

[Sympology]

Phoneguy, who are these fly-by-night no name companies you are referring to?

Allworks have been going close on a decade.
Vertical (formally Artisoft) have been going since 1982,
Samsung? Toshiba? Mitel? Panasonic?

Yes there are a couple of newbies in there, but so is Microsoft, are they no good either?

I've come across people who have had major issues from the big boys machines. It's not usually a case of how good the system is, but how good the installer (and maintainer) is. With the smaller players you often get to talk to the proper techies (i.e. those that design and build the systems) and not some 3rd line script monkey. They also listen to what the customers want, not what the business thinks you want.

Robert Wilensky:
We've all heard that a million monkeys banging on a million typewriters will eventually reproduce the entire works of Shakespeare. Now, thanks to the Internet, we know this is not true.

http://alvechurchlounge.org.uk

 

[phoneguy610]

we are a toshiba dealer and samsung, panasonic, mitel,and shoretel are definitely players and i would not consider no name.

Allworx i have seen and have not heard of any issues...

i am talking about the systems no one has ever heard of but the guy installing it and has been around for a year or two

they cant even give you a night service button

and i am talking from experience. When nortel went under, my company gave many of these devices a shot. Each failed miserably.

They are all just variations of freepbx

 

[phoneguy610]

basically my rule of thumb is, if i have never heard of it before, i stay far far away

ddcommllc.com
Avaya/Toshiba/Nortel

ACIS