Well here is my viewpoint. I am an end user, not a dealer or a Mitel tech. I work as the chief geek for an SMB with several offices and four 3300 ICPs. We have traditionally done nearly all of our own maintenance.
We do not much mind paying for major software updates. That has been the way it has been with Microsoft, Novell, Adobe, Oracle or most anybody else for a long time. I expect to pay something of value for something received.
But... What I do mind about Mitel is being treated like a mushroom -- kept in the dark.
I have no idea what the current software or firmware is for my Mitel systems, or what the advantages of the new versions might be. Contrast that with other manufacturers, who regularly deluge me in phone calls, e-mails, fancy mailing pieces and road shows to promote their latest products. Contrast Mitel online support with the support web sites for most any other manufacturer.
I may not be able to update our Microsoft Exchange servers to the new 2007 version for free, but at least I know that Exchange Server 2007 exists, and I have free access to all the data about it anyone could want. And when we eventually do buy Exchange Server 2007, I will have all of the information and tools that I need to maintain it, plus top-notch support from the manufacturer if I really get in a bind, plus support from a dealer or VAR if I so choose.
By contrast, I do not know what the latest iteration of the Mitel O/S is; I have no support data for it and no access to it. So what if it is free?
The Mitel claim of free software updates for life, while technically true, is a useless statement if: a) The software is not actually available, b) I am never told when software is updated and what the versions of software are, and c) it costs me $135 an hour just to discuss the subject with my dealer.
I assume that if we had a Platinum maintenance agreement with a Mitel dealer, all of this would be moot. They would have a guy here every week doing stuff to the systems and all would be rosy. But the cost of such all-encompassing maintenance agreements is very high and quite hard for a small business to justify.
And what does happen when I do call in the dealer to send out a tech? The techs are very good guys, some of the best phone guys I have met. But they are phone guys. Cabling and other obvious details we have already fixed ourselves. When we are so stumped that we need help, we either have a nasty, intermittent problem that is hard to pin down, or we are trying to use some of the gee-whiz features of the system, such as Active Directory integration, screen pops and so on.
What does the phone tech know about these things? Zero.
So even though I pay for assistance from the dealer, in almost every case to date I have had to finally solve the problem myself.
What is most galling is that Mitel makes this difficult by hiding vital data from the end user.
I tried joining the Mitel Users Group for a while. There was little of value there, and nothing technical. And that costs me several hundred dollars a year. I could go to the Mitel Forum in Las Vegas this summer. I wind up paying about $1500 for the opportunity to be marketed to, and still no access to the support data and software for the systems I already have.
The edocs site is available, that is true. The manuals and especially the help files are a good resource, but they are only part of the story. There are no knowledge-base articles or similar support docs, and of course none of this "free" software.
I do hope that someone at Mitel reconsiders this business model. I can see that it would work for some companies, but for us it has greatly soured our experience with Mitel.
- Charlie
