VOIP Question... 3

[Spokes0831]

Im sure this questions has been asked, but here we go again. I am looking for pros and cons of Nortel / Avaya vs Cisco. Our IT depoartment is going in this direction (Cisco Voip), and I think it is a huge mistake. I am looking for non biased opinions on the systems, and does anyone work on SHoretel? If so any thoughts or opinions on the 3 systems. Has anyone been involved with Cisco VOIP and had to rip out the equipment due to constant problems? Anything like that?
Thanks in advance!

 

[spanton]

Hey Spokes,
Both Avaya and Cisco are good solution. You need to evaluate the Business drivers before deciding which direction to go. Beside the fact that changing the solution would be a disruption for Telecom and clients alike, why do you think it would be a huge mistake?

 

[Spokes0831]

Well we currently have 22 nortel switches in place and current on software 7.0 and even 7.5 on some switches. I just cant see ripping out the infrastructure for the sole purpose of putting in a Cisco system. I have 3 call centers and I dont trust an unproven product for the sake of changing the name on the product. The Nortel product has been in place for 20 plus years. I guess the point I am getting at, is it a wise choice to do this?

 

[spanton]

I totally understand.Have you deployed VoIP on your current platform? What is the argument being used for the change to Cisco?

 

[trvlr1]

I too have gone through a transition of the magnitude you speak, from Nortel to Cisco, and we do still have multiple Nortel/Avaya PBX in service too.
There are pros and cons to every type of system out there, but I was not very open to the Cisco way of life at first. Since installing Cisco, I spend more time at my desk doing administration of the system rather than the legwork required for the digital Nortel systems, of course this would be true going to Nortel IP solutions too, from a maintenance standpoint though the Cisco IP has proved to be less maintenance intensive so far.
With the call centers we have in place on both Nortel and Cisco call center systems, my preference by far is the Nortel/ Avaya call Center. While neither system is perfect, the Nortel just seems to do a better job in our situation.
From the maintenance cost side, we have one Cisco IP running a dozen major sites, so upgrades to them all comes down to upgrading one system. You could pull out 21 of the 22 Nortel systems and use IP everywhere you then would be in a similar situation.
I am rambling now, but one thing to be aware of, many sales pitches by Cisco have involved them saying that we would save thousands by getting rid of all out PRI/T-1 cicuits, that is not the case, you still have to have local access for each site, you could centralize all your LD, but then would have to beef up your data network to carry voice traffic too.
OK I'm finished now!

 

[Tman45]

I have an Nortel Option 11/CS1000 background with Cisco CallManager and Avaya and they are all great systems. There is NO POINT to remove the Nortel to put in a Cisco system. Whomever is making that call does not understand Telecom or is being sold a load of crap. Yes there are advantages to each, but it seems more valuable to expand what you have or add-on 3rd party. I hear for Call Center that Cisco is the worst (reason why Avaya BOUGHT Nortel - they wanted Nortel's Contact Center stuff because Avaya was 1.5 years behind where Nortel was!)

I would say a valid opinion would be to start phasing out Nortel/Avaya to go with Cisco but you sure pay a premium penny!

Good luck in your adventure and I hope your company makes the right choice.

 

[KCFLHRC]

I have lost a lot of faith in the Nortel side of Avaya lately. Their support is horrible and it really seems they are doing their best to phase out the product completely. I never thought I would say this but it would be hard for me to recommend a Nortel solution to anyone. I have had a case open with them since November and I know other techs that have had cases opened longer than that. The 7.5 seems to be really bad. But if you only have TDM switches then it appears to be OK. The VX Works as always seems to be fine it's when you introduce the Linux OS with the Nortel Apps. running on it is when it all goes wrong. The Call Center stuff would probably be your deciding factor. Not sure Cisco has a good Contact Center solution, but they may.

 

[spanton]

I have rolled out 7.5 to all my domestic offices and currently rolling it out to my international offices. I have not seen any glaring issues with the release. My environment is 100% VoIP and we are also doing SIP to the Carrier. They are two challenges that I believe most enterprise will have in moving the Nortel TDM solution to a full blown IP solution. They are as followed:

1. Majority of the decision makers in organization are from a network centric background and the mantra is “No one gets fired for implementing CISCO”
2. The cost, however in Spokes case his system is up to date, but I am not sure if he has deployed VoIP. If VoIP is not deployed it will be very difficult to change management mindset into spending money on a product that they believe is dead. This is one of the main reason I made sure all my IP Phones has the “Avaya” label. I have learned that “Perception is everything”

Spokes – I recommend that you take a look at the business requirement, then do a cost analyst of the two solution (including maintenance, and training). Then present it to the decision makers and then step back. Whatever decision is made, do your best to support it. The last thing you want to be seen as is a hindrance to change.

 

[Spokes0831]

I started deploying Nortel VOIP around 2005 and we had some echo issues, and our IT guys saw the opening and said the stuff was junk, and Nortel at that time was filing for bankruptcy. But, the most amazing thing, is that echo problems exist with the deployed Cisco equipment. I am also having tons of problems trying to make modem / fax lines work. I never had problems on the Nortel side of the switch, I would Line side t1 channels to various sites and never had a problem. I have installed 5 Cisco ATA's and I can not get them to work correctly. I literally had 5 ticket calls on the 5 sites they were deployed to. I am also interested if anyone has played around with Shoretel? I have a salesman bugging me to give a demo, and had a few buddies in the telecomm world speak highly of the product. Again, I am just trying to get all angles of your experiences, and try to see which is the best way for the company, if they listen to me.

 

[telebub]

Get the Shoretel demo, you'll fall in love with it. Very user and administrative friendly. Everyone we have installed it for loves it. Granted, it's mostly medium size businesses so you'll have to determine if it scales to the size of your business.