Should I upgrade to Ver 11?

[jjdad]

Hello to all,

Looking for some advice.

I have been doing the maintenance on a IP office system for the past 10+ years and it is running Ver 9.1 with all Digital phones, one Digital station 30 Expansion module and VM pro.

This system is stable and working great according to the customer.

99% of any maitnenace I do is via remote access. I only go on site about once a year.

The client is a church organization and doens't have, nor need all the Call Center, tons of call options, etc. etc. and all the standard stuff that a normal business office has.

Long story, but they orginally purchaed this system through another Avaya dealer through a lease, and I have been doing the maintenance ever since.

The other Avaya dealer wants to upgrade them to Ver 11 just because, and they will do the upgrade, but I have reservations.

1. The client is VERY unlikely to go to VoIP anytime in the next five years.

2. The building is not wired network wise to have a VoIP system and they won't pay to upgrade the building network.

3. The system is working just fine as is.


Now, I am a tech guy who usually likes the latest and greatest, however, in this case I am hesitant to upgrade due to seeing the many upgrade issue comments on this site.


Bottom line to what I looking for....

What is the customer gaining by taking the system to Ver 11 and is it worth all the work and time involved?

Thanks for your input!

 

[Firebird Scrambler]

My company is doing a number of upgrades to the latest release for our customers, but this is mainly due to a requirement for extra licenses and that you can't add on anymore unless you have an upgrade onto Avaya's PLDS system.

Many other customers will stay as they are. You might find in the future that your customers phones become harder to replace etc and therefore you would have to upgrade but I would personally stay as you are.

If it isn't broke, then don't fix it.

Firebird Scrambler

Nortel & Avaya Meridian 1 / Succession & BCM / Norstar Programmer

Website =

http://somertel.myfreesites.net

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[budbyrd]

I would agree. If you don't expect any licensing changes, and they don't need new features, I would let it be.

Dermis and feline can be divorced by manifold methods.*
*(Disclaimer for all advise given)--'Version Dependent'

 

[NYSTECH]

The down side about not upgrading to a supported version is you won't get Avaya support. If that isn't important and customer has no interest in new features then you can stay where your at.

 

[Travis Harper]

Remote access though WebManager on R11 is far simpler than using the thick client, and a VPN.
Having the latest security patches is never a terrible idea.
Remote backups over sftp are handy if your a admin. Better alarm management/notifications as well.

There benefits to moving to R11, other than just VoIP.

There is also something to be said for staying current, and future proofing your customer. One day a new forward thinking person might end up being your new boss. He may wonder why the IT guys who they've paying for all these years, let their communications platform lag so far behind.