Pros Cons upgrading to 3 - CS 1000 (total 400 users) vs IP Office SCN

[Dunsmore]

Any feedback would be appreciated. Two main concerns....cost and duration of support.

 

[KCFLHRC]

I have seen pricing on just upgrading a CS1k be more than replacing it with a whole new IP Office new phones and all. When people lay out big dollars they expect something shiny and new sitting on their desk. I think Avaya is doing their best to phase out the Legacy Blue equipment. They bought Nortel for the Customer base not the product. I wouldn't limit your quest to just the Avaya product. Look at ShoreTel, Cisco and others. I'm a Nortel guy, so my opinion is a little biased. However, I'm realistic too. I have seen this product take a huge nose dive since Avaya bought them. Merging the 2 products is ugly and painful.

 

[Firebird Scrambler]

I totally agree with KCFLHRC. I grew up with Nortel starting on Norstars, then Meridian 1 / CS1000, and finally BCM's with CS1000e etc. Since Avaya came on the scene, things have gone fron bad to very bad.

Most customers just require the ability to make and receive calls with the option for call diversion to an external number or voicemail etc. Avaya products are very complex and feature rich with functions that most of us would never use or have even heard of!.

If you are only after the basics and you have a good IP network, then do consider other types of IP phone systems. I've seen Shoretel in use and I'm guite impressed with what it does, considering it is simple to install and manage and the CPU tucks in a rack and the unit I saw could easily be put in a small bag as its very small!.

I personally think that Avaya is quite expensive and the problems we encounter for some sites are very high. Also the support isn't as good as it used to be.

I can't comment on the IP Office system, or Avaya's support but I've seen a couple of them and they aren't that different to the BCM range that they have replaced.



All the best

Firebird Scrambler
Meridian 1 / Succession and BCM / Norstar Programmer in the UK

http://www.linkedin.com/in/davidbromley

If it's working, then leave it alone!.

 

[biv343]

Replacing CS1000 and BCM with IP Office has kept me busy for the past year with no end to the work in sight. I won't say the IPO is perfect as it does have its quirks, but I haven't yet found anything I couldn't work around. IPOSS (Avaya support services for IPO) is considerably less expensive than PASS. As KCFLHRC said, most times its cheaper to replace a CS1K with IPO and get all new phones than to migrate a Option 11 to CS1000E, and the users get the shiny new phones to look at.

My favorite things about IP Office? Upgrades are straightforward, programming is simple, and best of all, no UCM.