Poised to the the new Leader in the Telcom industry

[lvNortel]

Now that Nortel is no more who do you guys think the new worldwide leader in telcom will be? Who is going to set the standards. Or do you guys think one of the companies is already there?

I had heard that AVAYA is now the leader. What do you guys think?

"A phone is a phone and not a computer workstation".

 

[GordonKapesMZ4]

Hey Nortel,

I am personally a fan of the Nortel 11xx IP sets, I feel these are the best IP sets anywhere, but unfortunately I don't see them at very many places especially retail stores. I also do not see very many Avaya sets in retail stores either.

I hate to say this, but most all of the former Nortel users seem to be going with Cisco. I can name a few big retailers who have switched over from their Nortel systems to Cisco:

Retailers: Nortel to Cisco:
Kroger and Walgreens

Other companies Nortel to Cisco:

Charter One Bank Chicagoland
Northern Trust
University of Illinois at Chicago
Northewestern Medical Center
Spectrum Health Grand Rapids, MI
Government GSA is phasing all of their GSA offices to Government VOIP Cisco
Heck, even the President uses Cisco sets on his desk and on Air Force One

Other non former Nortel companies:

WalMart: Avaya to Cisco
Home Depot: Avaya to Cisco
Bank Of America Chicagoland: Nortel/Avaya to Cisco
Grand Valley State University: ROLM/Siemens to Cisco

It's safe to say, I've seen an overwhelming amount of Cisco phones everywhere. I am not saying I love it, but they are everywhere. The only Cisco phone that comes close to a Nortel product is a 79xx series with a full color display such as a 7965 with a 7916 side car KEM.

I did find a way to record the 8 Nortel rings into my 7970 working on the UCx system. I'll post it on my blog when I have a chance so you can all hear.

If the UCx catches on from EMetroTel, people will still be able to use their Nortel phones for years to come, now getting out there and marketing it, is difficult in the land of competition.

"Keep the Peace, Use RLS"

http://www.joetheucxguy.com

 

[jeffmoss26]

MMMM KOOL AID!

jeff moss

 

[GordonKapesMZ4]

I wish Nortel was still the leader, and that Avaya was the leader now, but unfortunately they have deleted some #1 selling products and people have been jumping ship to Cisco.

"Keep the Peace, Use RLS"

http://www.joetheucxguy.com

 

[Sympology]

Personally...not now but maybe in several years? Microsoft. Yes I know, but if you look at Lync 2013 it is going to be a major force to be reckoned with, even more so once Skype integration kicks in. The current downside is contact centre stuff, but give it time and I'm sure'll that will work on that.
Avaya just seem to be obsessed with bloody Facebook and twitter integration (still makes a change from pretend second life stuff they pushed a few years ago). Mitel do some good kit, but seem to be a little lost as how to take on the likes of Cisco and MS
Cisco, slash your prices and may consider you.
In fact tbh, that's a big issue with most big players, the licensing cost are just obscene and we need more than on big player to try and drive them down a little

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

 

[gm85]

It's hard to say if we will see a single player take over the industry, especially with how many companies exist nowadays and the cost to develop is a fraction of what it was before.

Nortel had the advantage at the time because they spread their R&D across every industry (from home to small business to large corporations to carrier) and the competitors were few and far between as it cost big bucks to develop the type of technology Nortel Did.

Can a single company take over the entire market? I don't expect so, but i think you will begin to see groups of companies appear for different markets. For instance the manufacturers that develop for SMB markets may not necessarily be a dominant player for large businesses and manufacturers that develop for large companies may not necessarily be a dominant player for carriers.

I think competition and choice will continue to broaden the field, and the fact that standards are in place makes it less likely for there to be a need to be locked into one company. It will be interesting to see what happens over the next few years.

On a side note, i've always been partial to Nortel. When my parents started their business when i was 5, they had a Norstar 6x16. That was upgraded to a BCM50 back in 2007. I have always maintained their system for them. We recently moved to a Cisco UC500 / CME system this past January as we were expanding, and sadly the BCM is now EOS. I've always been a fan of the BCM, but the one factor that was part of our decision was how every small feature was licensed, which meant we kept spending money on a system Avaya doesn't care about anymore.

 

[jerryreeve]

I think that the asterisk platform will be taking a big chunk of the markets. Not specifically the generic asterisk but the developers that use the asterisk as the basis for a pbx, such as IPitomy, Kerio Operator, TrixBox, and Elastix.. I like the SIP phones that are not restricted to only one platform. I can take a Cisco 5224 phone and have it up and operational in a few minutes on a non-cisco platform. this platform is very popular outside the US and are picking up popularity.

----------------------------
Hill?? What hill??
I didn't see any $%@#(*$ Hill!!
----------------------------
JerryReeve
Telecommunication Technology Services

 

[bdvtech]

If Avaya is the leader then this industry is in big trouble. It's a hard question to answer because each company has strengths and weaknesses. What Avaya has going for it is that it can still do digital and IP in a single system like IP Office. If you are talking strictly IP, then ShoreTel is far superior to Cisco. People just go with Cisco because of the name, and are terribly disappointed with the performance and support offered by Cisco. Avaya would like to think they are the leader because they thought they could buy Nortel's customer base. Unfortunately (for Avaya) many Nortel distributors have gone to companies other than Avaya.

 

[phoneguy610]

avaya has alot more of the market then shoretel

not even close

ddcommllc.com
Avaya/Toshiba/SyntelSolutions

ACIS

"Will work for stars

 

[lvNortel]

I just bought a little IP Office and some sets to play with it and see if it is something my customers would like and that I would have confidence is installing

"A phone is a phone and not a computer workstation".

 

[GordonKapesMZ4]

I am waiting for my IP Office to arrive, I am going to have fun comparing it to the UCx from Emetrotel. I am sure I'll find things I like on both systems comparably.

"Keep the Peace, Use RLS"

http://www.joetheucxguy.com

 

[lvNortel]

there's only so many systems that I can and maintain. I work on partner Merlin Nortel so if I'm looking at IP Office that will probably be my last one for a while to add to my list of services and equipment that I support.

"A phone is a phone and not a computer workstation".

 

[GordonKapesMZ4]

Well lvNortel, you should definitely get a UCx to try and have that be your LAST one

"Keep the Peace, Use RLS"

http://www.joetheucxguy.com