Just started working for a family owned business. We have Toshiba Stratagy (my phone is a DKT2010-SD)with 5 inbound lines. I've been told that we do not have system admin rights and would need to hire a Toshiba certified consultant to change our system greeting and add my number to the dial by name directory. Is this true?
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Toshiba Stratagy Sys Admin Q-Is a consultant necessary? 2
- Thread starter dag1mb
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Short answers.....:
1) They want your companies money. However, if they have factory trained technicians (and not all do)they should be able to do the work quickly and optimally.
Small jobs like yours (typically referred to as "MAC" for moves/adds/changes) are where they make most of their money.
2) Many phone system can get screwed up if you mess around with the wrong stuff (this is particuallry true of older systems)
3) Phone systems often don't come with manuals. If it did they may no longer be on site. Many manufacturers will not support end users (and some are not that good at support thier dealer reps either).
4) If you don't have a background in telco, there is a steep learning curve just to understand the lingo.
Note that the data-centric manufacturers have not bothered to properly learn the lingo either, so it can get very interesting dealing with some of the newer IP stuff.
5) If you don't have a background on a particular switch, family, or manufacturer, there is a steep learning curve just to understand their particular terminology.
I don't know Nortel for example, but I do know they have something called a "tuple". No one else in the world has "tuples". Go figure!
All of the above said, there is no inherent reason any intelligent person could not learn to manage a switch. But be very sure to note how things are when you start so worst case you can put it back!! And don't mess around during a business day.
You can do your own plumbing too, but that does not mean you should!
Good luck.
1) They want your companies money. However, if they have factory trained technicians (and not all do)they should be able to do the work quickly and optimally.
Small jobs like yours (typically referred to as "MAC" for moves/adds/changes) are where they make most of their money.
2) Many phone system can get screwed up if you mess around with the wrong stuff (this is particuallry true of older systems)
3) Phone systems often don't come with manuals. If it did they may no longer be on site. Many manufacturers will not support end users (and some are not that good at support thier dealer reps either).
4) If you don't have a background in telco, there is a steep learning curve just to understand the lingo.
Note that the data-centric manufacturers have not bothered to properly learn the lingo either, so it can get very interesting dealing with some of the newer IP stuff.
5) If you don't have a background on a particular switch, family, or manufacturer, there is a steep learning curve just to understand their particular terminology.
I don't know Nortel for example, but I do know they have something called a "tuple". No one else in the world has "tuples". Go figure!
All of the above said, there is no inherent reason any intelligent person could not learn to manage a switch. But be very sure to note how things are when you start so worst case you can put it back!! And don't mess around during a business day.
You can do your own plumbing too, but that does not mean you should!
Good luck.
I would suggest that you have a trained guy in, watch over their shoulder and learn. Pay for training if need be from your tech. Toshiba is not one of the easy ones to admin., you should get some help learning it before you try to take over. If you do not get training and you mess things up, they will probably say, we can come out in 3 days, or you can pay emergency rate and we will be out in 3 hours. E-rate is probably double the normal rate, or 1 1/2 times normal. Usualy they charge travel time for E-rate as well.
You do not always get what you pay for, but you never get what you do not pay for.
You do not always get what you pay for, but you never get what you do not pay for.
better spent $ is on training.. i've worked as a consultant. most seem to live by the rule, "if your not part of the solution, there's good money in prolonging the problem" if you can find a consultant to train your in house staff, at least when they leave you will have something for your money.. i used to charge by the hour and by the person for that service, and charged for funds saved by looking at the wasted re-occuring charges.. i've found switches with old watts t1's 8 to 12 hundred a month, that had been programed around years ago, yet they were still up and idle...
another point, how much do you know? at least if you have someone on staff that can ask the right questions, you'll get a better return
john poole
bellsouth business
columbia,sc
another point, how much do you know? at least if you have someone on staff that can ask the right questions, you'll get a better return
john poole
bellsouth business
columbia,sc
Stratagy is pretty easy to administer - I've spent a bit of time with it programming in menus and call paths and the like, adding mailboxes, etc and it's not really that bad. You can back the whole thing up to your HD on your computer before you get started so if you screw it up you can restore it (unless you REALLY screw it up).
You need to have the software tool R4ADMIN (or R3ADMIN for older versions) on your PC, and you can either dial in with a modem or direct connect with a serial port. If you use a serial port, make sure you use a real one - USB-Serial adapters for laptops are not reliable for critical applications. Wherever you get the software from can get you the system administration guide as well, however I was able to download it off the web after a few hours of searching. The software runs off of DOS (oh joy!).
You need to have the software tool R4ADMIN (or R3ADMIN for older versions) on your PC, and you can either dial in with a modem or direct connect with a serial port. If you use a serial port, make sure you use a real one - USB-Serial adapters for laptops are not reliable for critical applications. Wherever you get the software from can get you the system administration guide as well, however I was able to download it off the web after a few hours of searching. The software runs off of DOS (oh joy!).
The stratagy voicemail has been a few years since I touched it. If you can get the manual(buy it from your vendor), and the passwords. The auto attendants from memory are accessed through a mailbox, Memory says mailbox 999 is the admin MB , mailbox 997 is usualy a default mailbox that can be copied to create a new mailbox(if it was set up as a default box with the correct parameters in initial install). Main auto attendant greetings are in MB 990 the hello box, 991 the greeting box. Always listen to a greeting by calling in first, then access the auto attendabt MB, and listen to it to verify you have the right one before re-recording.
I always created a text file that had a single number 1 in it, and copied that file into 990 as the greeting sound file, which made the VM skip to 991. Then record everything there for the AA greeting. It made it easier for the users to admin it then, and I do not think 990 would accept dtmf, so you had to wait to dial your ext until it played the 990 greeting then proceeded to MB 991.
Once again, this is from memory, and if I was sitting in front of one, I know I could do it all, but my memory is not perfect. I do recall, once it was set up, I could call in to do most any changes I needed to, that were typical admin changes.
I would call a local vendor and get some admin training, it would be worth it. You should be able to do anything you should even be attempting through a phone, and logging in with a password to the dtmf admin interface. If you need the software to do something, have a tech do it. At least, have a tech set up the software if you want to use the software to admin.
You do not always get what you pay for, but you never get what you do not pay for.
I always created a text file that had a single number 1 in it, and copied that file into 990 as the greeting sound file, which made the VM skip to 991. Then record everything there for the AA greeting. It made it easier for the users to admin it then, and I do not think 990 would accept dtmf, so you had to wait to dial your ext until it played the 990 greeting then proceeded to MB 991.
Once again, this is from memory, and if I was sitting in front of one, I know I could do it all, but my memory is not perfect. I do recall, once it was set up, I could call in to do most any changes I needed to, that were typical admin changes.
I would call a local vendor and get some admin training, it would be worth it. You should be able to do anything you should even be attempting through a phone, and logging in with a password to the dtmf admin interface. If you need the software to do something, have a tech do it. At least, have a tech set up the software if you want to use the software to admin.
You do not always get what you pay for, but you never get what you do not pay for.
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