IP TELEPHONY - NEW SYSTEM

[arunsoni]

We are planning to move our offices in the next 3 months or so. A small company... about 20 telephone extensions.
I am thinkung of IP telephony, have done some research on the net. I have read about the SWYX and similar systems.

http://www.swyx.com/partner/resellers-output.cfm?country=Großbritannien

We will have a 100 base network, part of it will be 50M on a wireless network.

1) is it a good idea to install a IP telephony system that depends on the LAN ?

2) What other options should I look at?

Thanks
Arun

 

[mattKnight]

arunsoni

>1) is it a good idea to install a IP telephony system that depends on the LAN ?

VOIP is dependant on a network infrastructure. They are not divisible.

2) What other options should I look at?

Personally, I would suggest that for your offices, you look at a small business switch (like the erriccson BP or similar). I suspect that a VOIP system would cost you more than a traditional TDM approach. also AFAIK, the swyx system only implements soft phones, so each and every person will need a PC, logged in to network to make and receive phone calls!

Anyone else?

Take Care

Matt
If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is not for you.

 

[EdPorts]

I agree.

While SWYX may appear to be a cheaper and more featured solution, I find it to be actually much more difficult and expensive in terms of time than anything else.

I would agree with the previous poster. A small switch would best benefit you, Avaya's Partner would suit you well. This all depends on what features you need. If you need something with login capability, etc. perhaps you'll need a more involved solution.

Perhaps it would be best to post your usage and needs.

 

[arunsoni]

Thanks for the responses.

OK, I see SWYS not for us although all users in office do have computer and are logged on to the 2 servers.

Requirement, about 15 voice extensions, 1 fax, EDI, vISA terminal.

IP telephony we need because we have 3 sales staff work from home and others travel frequently. Most hotels we stay have ADSL now. This would allow telephone connection via IP.

We will be cabling the new offices for LAN, so not much extra cost to run cabels for telephone. This I will do.

We use Siemens HiCOM 100 system at the moment, can I keep that and have IP telephony connected with it so office based use normal phones.

 

[avayaman]

I've always been uneasy about Ip telephony. There is not real reason to go that route unless you are trying to build a virtual system covering more than one site. It's putting all your eggs in one basket. When I was an installer, the number of times I would walk into a place & their network was down, far exceeded the number of times their phone system was down. Most companies are so used to the reliability of their phone systems, they don't realize how crucial they are to their business. You can manage without your computer network for a few hours, you can't manage without your phones. I'm not sure we are there yet with VOIP.

Paul Beddows
Avaya Implementation
Telus
Vancouver, Canada
E-mail via

http://www.vancouver.hm/email.html

 

[avayaman]

Acttually looking at your previous post, I see you say you need IP. You can consider a hybrid system. Avaya for example, has C-Lan inteconnectivity to support ip stations as well as run conventional phones. We are using Avaya's Ip Agent in Verizons national (Canada) call center, for example. They tie into phones off Nortel Meridian 1's in the remote locations. There are traditional phones in the building where the switch itself is housed. I'm sure other manufacturers do the same.

Paul Beddows
Avaya Implementation
Telus
Vancouver, Canada
E-mail via

http://www.vancouver.hm/email.html

 

[Arr]

You should consider Nortel's Norstar systems for your small office. None are better. Nortel's BCM might also massage the IP massochists.

Cheers
PhM

 

[sqladmin99]

Hi All,

We have similar requirements as 'ArunSoni' but I do know what are the obvious benefits of implementing VoIp over Traditional TDM.

We have

1) One T1 line and 8-phone-line for EDI, FAX, VISA, MODEM and customer support.
2) Offices in 2 different countries. All of the offices have fast Internet connection.
3) LAN with 30 computers (one computer for every employee).
4) Five to Six sales rep, traveling frequently.
5) One very old analog phone system for office in US.

Couple of days ago we decided to upgrade our phone system and invited Sales Rep from NEC to show their product. He convinced us for Electra Elite IPK phone system. According to the sales rep. this system can be used as TDM or IP System.

Now, before we buy this phone system I need help in making final decision.

1) Is Electra ELite IPK a good TDM, IP phone system?

2) We have allocated $6000 (Hardware + Installation) for phone system. Would it better for us to spend couple of thousands extra and get another phone system?

3) What are the benefits of implementing VoIP over TDM for businesses like us?


I really appreciate your feedback.

Thanks

Raj

 

[avayaman]

Even though we sell Nortel's BCM & don't sell Avaya's IP Office, I've seen both in action. I have always liked the Norstar product, I put them it for many a year, but I have to admit the Avaya IP Office is superior to the BCM when you compare them sided by side.

Paul Beddows
Avaya Implementation
Telus
Vancouver, Canada
E-mail via

http://www.vancouver.hm/email.html

 

[arunsoni]

Raj

Let me know what you go with. Our new offices will not be ready for another 2 months, so I have time to investigate more.

 

[arunsoni]

Guys
your response has been great. Thanks

I will need to decide by early December.

We currently use Seimens HiCom, we have about 12 digital phones - Seimens optiset. The system has worked well for us. I have been looking at Seimens HiPath, I am told this will work as TDM and IP. Also I will be able to use several bits out of my existing system including the Phones.
Would this be a good move? I would not know how other systems compare with HiPath. Some feedback on HiPath vs others would be welcome

Thanks
Arun
Cold and wet UK.

 

[discomonkfish]

Having installed both the Mitel VoIP products (which is a true IP platform) and Avaya IP Office I have first hand experience of the networking issues that can affect your phone system.

However, now the larger Mitel system is at Release 4 it is a fantastic switch but for a company your size I would recommend the Avaya IP Office. While the Mitel has had its niggles I have experienced few problems with the Avaya. It is robust and can be networked in about 5 minutes (I kid you not), as an engineer the kit is so easy to diagnose and quick to swap out if absolutely necessary. It is excellent for home-working as well with the IP phones (which can be a little expensive).

As its IP as well I've found its easier to diagnose than a circuit switched technology. IP is definitely at a standard where it can be fully implemented but it is important to analyse your network properly (if putting it on your LAN) before going ahead as you may find you need to upgrade or change parts or all of your network infrastructure which can be costly.

Having recently had to support a traditional phone system I long to get back to IP, definitely a convert!

 

[discomonkfish]

arunsoni....missed your last post, going with the Siemens HiPath sounds like a good idea as you don't have to fork out on new handsets which does put the cost up a hell of a lot.

That's why the IP office has been so successful because both Definity and INDeX users can keep their existing handsets.

You and you staff should already be familiar with the workings of the handsets so you won't need to retrain your staff.

There is a comparison website called

http://www.telecomtactics.com

but this is designed for sales guys so you may not be able to get access to it. Other than that check out the product specifications on the major suppliers Alcatel, Cisco, Mitel, Avaya etc...

Good Luck ;-)

 

[Conleyjo]

I would take a look at Call Manager Express or as it used to be called Internet Telephony Service. It would be perfect for a small office, and since it's a Cisco IOS running on a 2600 router, it's stable as a rock. It also has a web interface for configuration, so it is easy to administer. I have used this system remote via VPN and it works great. This IOS basically turns the Router into a full featured Call Manager. If you have any questions about this, feel free to e-mail me and ask.

John@ip-telecomm.com

 

[upstateny]

Look at ESI - either the true ip solution the IP200e or the traditional ESI IVX72e with the IP cards added - killer telephone functionality with IP capabilities.

 

[geraldshort]

Check out Altigen, great product, easy admin.

Gerald

 

[mikeydidit]

I am with Paul on this one. I recently attended a VOIP workshop that was not a vendor specific class. After the class was over I came away with the feeling that VOIP may never make it. From what I have seen their are too many standards that are still not in place to have an IP phone work in the place of a traditional telephone. Do they have some that work? Yes. Is it at a place that this will replace our tried and proven existing telephony that we have in place? No. Check carefully into it before you jump. The latest greatest is not always the greatest. Some things to ask about. E911, fax, and modems, Proprietary products, real cost saving over LD, network security issues (firewalls), SIP based products. A lot to think about.


Mikey

 

[RussellMcL]

I would also suggest checking out the Spectra link solution - this runs over your LAN, through your excisting access opoints (assuming you have wireless, which is required). You could emulate your existing handsets as well, all thorugh a corless phone, with your existing Hicom. If not, and you are keen on VoIP, check out the Avaya IP Office (i dont know if its called the same in the states - thats the UK name) which has good features for this type of thing, especially remote users through a dial up connection.

Russell