Thoughts on IP500? plus EOL question

[BillIT]

Our agency is planning to buy an IP500 system (currently using IP406) I'd like to ask the group a few questions about the product and its future:

1.What is your experience with the IP500 system? Is this a good product, reasonably stable, works the way it's supposed to, etc? (The ED wants some "references")

2. The software all works the same, right? (VoiceMail Pro, Call Center View, CCC Reporting, Delta Server, Phone Manager Pro)

3. What is the expected (or guess) lifetime of the IP500? How many years would you expect we could continue to use it, before it is discontinued?

4. Does Avaya have an End of Life Policy? How long do they continue to support products after they discontinue them?

Thanks for any help or comments you could give,
Bill

 

[telecomtekperson]

Well. As of this week. It is the only product, unless you like the 412.

http://www.telemanuals.com

 

[tlpeter]

The most new features are only made for the ip500 and not for the SOE or the 406 or 412
So i guess that the lifetime/end of sale will be alright
What do you think about the 406 and all the applications ?
If that is alright then the 500 is alright too
It is just the same thing with a different box and some extra features in the feature


ACA - Implement IP Office
ACS - Implement IP Office
ACA - Voice Services Management
______________
Women and cats can do as they please and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea!

 

[PotNoodleBoy]

I think the 500 hardware is fine and in some ways a good improvement. The hardware costs are far lower with almost all features now being licenced.

The only thing that has let the platform down is bad software. 4.0 was terrible as far as I'm concerned. The laster 4.0 releases and now 4.1 seem better so far but I haven't deployed many yet. We've got quite a few on the cards through so time will tell.

 

[amriddle01]

Bad software has really let the system down, even now you have to weigh up if you want to keep the old issues you know how to fix or upgrade and find new ones you don't, so most people leave it for others to discover the problems before they decide. Not a good situation to be in but that's where the IP Office is at the mo. Don't get me wrong its a good system but some issues that arrise make you wonder what the hell kind of testing do they do!

ACS - IP Office Implement

 

[tlpeter]

This was the case too with 3.0 wich was a complete different software like the 4.x is now

The most problems are coming when configs are made that are not usual
Then testing is ahell of a job and there is no time to do that


ACA - Implement IP Office
ACS - Implement IP Office
ACA - Voice Services Management
______________
Women and cats can do as they please and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea!

 

[TomMills]

Good point but what is a usual config?

if features are offered you expect them to work

 

[amriddle01]

Then testing is a hell of a job and there is no time to do that". I am sorry but that is utter rubbish, if you produce a product that millions of people use and that is at the core of thousands of Business's, you have to do some level of testing to guarantee it's a workable and stable product so your customers are not left out of pocket and looking unproffessional because their phone system keeps going tits up.


ACS - IP Office Implement

 

[tlpeter]

You are right
It is not my opinion but that is the way it is i am afraid


ACA - Implement IP Office
ACS - Implement IP Office
ACA - Voice Services Management
______________
Women and cats can do as they please and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea!

 

[IPGuru]

IP500 is a stable platform
V4.1 is stable & reliable (V4.0 was a dog but the latest release is reported as ok)

Avaya's support policy is to support hardware for 5 years
so that means at least 2013 if the IP500 was dropped today

If anything I suspect Avaya may develope a bigger IP500 to replace the 412, but that is a pure guess.

 

[amriddle01]

To be fair the biggest problems we get tend to be with the Bolt-ons VMPro and Softconsole etc.

ACS - IP Office Implement

 

[groundedagain]

I have to say the maintenance release for 4.1 created more problems then it fixed.

Jason Wienert
Brisbane, Australia

http://www.centralcity.com.au

GoldMine, Avaya, ACCPAC CRM

Please remember to thank preople for their valuable input.

 

[crumthwacket]

We have wrestled with IPO for almost 6 years and as of this week we are no longer actively selling the product. The king has no clothes. The product is lousy. Over and out.

 

[kflounders]

I am sorry but I cannot agree. We have installed IPO since 1.1 and have over 500 currently running. We have never EVER had a customer take out one of our systems and replaced due to issues. We went through the bad times in 1.1 and 2.0, but we never let the problems go unresolved.

One area that helped us greatly in the bad release age was making sure that we leveraged the bad with the good. Our 1.1 and 1.3 customers were very upset with the reboots and overall quirkiness of the system, but were in love with PM Pro and saving $$$ with conference calling. If we did not give them some positive areas to focus on I could safely say that they would have ripped the system out.

We love the IPO solution and are very good at selling, installing and servicing it. I am sorry the product did not work out for you Crumthwacket.

 

[crumthwacket]

That was a thoughtful response Kyle, but I disagree. There's a polka with the words "I don't want her, you can have her, she's too fat for me." They could be singing about IP Office. We're losing too much money and the most valuable asset we have: our credibility. You guys can keep it - we're moving on.

 

[whiteEEnerd]

crumthwacket - What are you moving on to, out of curiosity? What is better?

 

[kflounders]

If your reputation is taking a hit then I agree, you have no choice. I also think that you are probably a good business owner if you place a high priority on your credibility with your customers. We do as well and I do not believe that we have lost any measure of credibility with our customers from the IPO.

We are not trailblazers with the product and we do run on average 1-2 releases back to assure that any issues will be known ahead of time. I also will point out that IPO is not a perfect product and I do complain from time to time about its shortcomings, but we have been able to make it work very well for our clients.

I feel as though your mind is made up and I am sure I cannot sway your decision, but I and many others on this forum would never think of dropping the line.

 

[janni78]

I can't really see what issue would cause you to leave the platform entirely. I know it has issues, but most of the customers never see them.

If you know what you're doing the customer shouldn't be affected by them, in most cases.

IPO is great for the right customer set up the right way.
But it can also be horribly bad in the wrong environment =)

 

[BGDT]

Most seem to work great. We have some that reboot and loose configurations for no apparent reason. These customers are very savy on this product and restore the config file when this happens. They all love VMPro. I think we have installed around 380 of these across the country. I do understand the frustration behind IPoffice problems. I sometimes wonder if Avaya wants to listen to customers complaints. I know the frustration that the Avaya Techs even have with the product. We still sell it but are offering other products that may not have as many features but are more stable.