Small, CHEAP phone system - 10ppl

[SteveLord]

Moving some people out of one of our NY offices into another. Currently there is a Lucent Merlin/Legend type of system there. With Voicemail (forget what kind it is) that resides on an old computer with an old GUI interface.

Trying to find out the simplest and CHEAPEST option to get 10 people setup with that.

Keep in mind, this is something I will not be doing myself.

-Strip out the Lucent system and move it?

-Purchase another system and have it installed. Small and cheap remember!

Which would be the cheaper/easier of the two? And by easier...I also mean cheaper since it would be less labor for a telecomm guy to do.

=)

Thanks!

IT Admin (PBX Newbie)
Nortel Option11
Version 1411
Release 21
Issue 7+
MerMail 10.7.2

 

[LkEErie]

Yep, I want the job if it's at the $1000 level to move 10 phones and a Legend cabinet. I might even throw in a couple of extra jacks for that.

My VentureIP system COST me 7 or $800 for 3 phones, a 4 port gateway, and a Netgear FS108PNA 4+4 POE switch. Even selling that at $995, I guess the other 7 people could share those 3 sets or crowd around the speakerphone

Or maybe they could go out and buy 10 USB phones and use Skype? It would cost them about $300 for the sets and maybe another $300 a year for all the calls they can push out on Skype's network. Just think of the savings!

Ya know, I have a customer with a dinosaur 1a2 key system. He's actually younger than me, and we moved the system for his father 22 years ago and it was old then. He has no Internet, no networked computer, no voice mail. Just a recorded announcement that goes on at lunch saying they're closed for lunch and call back later. He goes on the talkback intercom and asks questions of his employees to check stock, writes all orders by hand, and the filled orders ship out every day. His office staff types up his hand written invoices on the single computer accounting system and the customer is billed or the COD or credit card is charged. IF you need a kick butt price on clothing, he's the guy to call and if he says he has it, he does.

What's a VoIP system going to do for him? Oh yeah, his total investment in 22 years was about $1500 in moves and repairs, including a replacement talkback intercom system.
Pretty expensive huh?

LkEErie

 

[Westi]

see it that way, for a tech that knows what he is doing a gros of 100 per hour,
taking it out 15 minutes driving to the new site 45 minutes, reinstalling the stuff 3 hours because the system before installed was a Meridian and used only 2 wires but these are BIS sets with 6 wires or MLX with 4 wires, that means opening every jack and connecting the wires (especially the ones behind the furniture that just has been moved in by the moving company) then the lines are not delivered and you have to wait for 1 hour for the tech to come from the line provider or you tag the lines and hope that he connects them correctly. Then the lines are not connected properly and you have to go back the next day and drive for 1 hour to get to the place just to fix the screwup of the line provider.

5 hours are gone easily and it could get worse and the phone room is in the basement and thsome cables are bad or have bad pairs somewhere. I paint a worst case scenario but it could be and thats when the money is spent for nothing.

Joe W.

FHandw., ACA, ACS

If you can't be good, be good at it!

 

[LkEErie]

Whatever. I guess that's why competent installers always wire in 2 pairs on every installation. If your Legend system still uses ATL cards, it's not a Legend, it's a Merlin

Your VoIP example didn't have that infrastructure problem...it needed all 4 pairs...but I guess that would just be added to the VoIP system price.

LkEErie

Oh, I'd always wait until the move day to check out the new site so I could battle with the movers.

 

[Westi]

darn old stuff ;-) , of course it would be an even older evil then the legend, and as for the site visit before the move, yes that's the best thing to do but have you ever done moves where one tenant is moving out another is moving in on the same day or just the day after, I guess we came off topic, yes it is cheaper to move theexisting system becasue you save the cost for the new hardware, but also do you really want to pay that money and then being stuck with the equipment that is outdated (let's guess it is a Legend R3 without a card backup and it loses programming)

It is always a question what the personal preference is.
1. saving money at any cost?
2. planning ahead and investing in the future?

either way only the customer can answer that, if they are happy with what they have and don't plan on hopping on the VoIP or SIP line bandwagon then better to move it be happy. Otherwise get different quotes and check carefully what is out there, that's a hell of a job for someone that is not in the business and even for people that work in the field have their hands full with that.


Joe W.

FHandw., ACA, ACS

If you can't be good, be good at it!

 

[Dexman]

LkEErie mentioning his customer with the 1A2 system reminded me of a guy who owned a hardware store about a block away from our office.

His building is, I think, 5 or 6 floors high and is sandwiched between 2 buildings that must be at least, 4x taller than his.

All of his sales were "cash only" and he kept paper records.

He died about 2 years ago and is thought to have had no survivors. Up until recently, the store was dark. Only within the past 2 months has there been any activity in there. The stores 2 outside signs and fire escape were falling apart and had to be removed. The outside brick work is getting loose in spots and it is not unusual to see bricks lying on the sidewalk. Junk boxes are being tossed and stock is being packed into other boxes.

The best we can figure it, the disposition of the business has been tied up in the courts all of this time and only now are things starting to get done.

If it ain't broke, I haven't fixed it yet.