Upgrading from 7 to 8.1 new support requirement??? 1

[cjjones1100]

We purchased our system in December of last year and it was installed in January after 8.0 was released but was installed at release 7. I had requested 8 to be initially installed but convinced it wasn't fully tested and I should wait until the first quarterly update. I have now been sent a quote less than a year later to update 3 units and 1 VM server from 7 to 8.1 for a whopping $3000... They are telling me that I must buy Avaya support now shown in the quote below. Are they blowing smoke out my ass?

"Attached is a quote to upgrade all locations to IP Office R8.1. There is now an Avaya mandatory support requirement when upgrading to R8.x."

2nd question: Can I contact Avaya directly to get my licenses updated to 8.1 and just do the upgrade myself?

Thanks,

Chris

 

[cjjones1100]

Below is the quote we received. When we purchased the system at the end of last year, we bought 5 years of complete hardware replacement through the vendor for what I thought was a very reasonable price.


Headquarters- Burnt Hills, NY 12027

Product Code Qty Description Unit
270399 1 IPO LIC UPG R8.1 $199.00
271608 1 IP500v2 Office - Co-Delivery 24x7 Rem Supp + Upg 1 YR $275.00
LB-ABS 1 Installation $625.00

Schenectady - Schenectady, NY 12308

Product Code Qty Description Unit
270399 1 IPO LIC UPG R8.1 $199.00
271608 1 IP500v2 Office - Co-Delivery 24x7 Rem Supp + Upg 1 YR $275.00
LB-ABS 1 Installation $625.00

Saratoga - Saratoga Springs, NY 12866

Product Code Qty Description Unit
270399 1 IPO LIC UPG R8.1 $199.00
271608 1 IP500v2 Office - Co-Delivery 24x7 Rem Supp + Upg 1 YR $275.00
LB-ABS 1 Installation $625.00 $625.00 $625.00

TOTAL $3,297.00
DISCOUNT -$389.40
TOTAL $2,907.60