Where does the IPO stand now a days? 4

[bwilch]

A little over a year and a half ago, I was an IPO tech, working on VMPro, IPO 406v2, etc. I know the system still had a lot of kinks to get worked out of it and was curious the overall impression people had of the system now from a year ago. From the posts I've been seeing, it still has it's quirks (and I'm sure it always will), but just looking for general feedback on the system as a whole now from the folks in the field.

Thanks for any feedback you can provide.

 

[kwing112000]

I think that for the most part if you have a good tech program it and keep the config clean then they are one of the best systems out there. I have been working on them for 2 years and 95% of my sites have never called with an issue. THe sites that have been set up by other BP's and had issues i have completely rebuilt and now they are running smooth. Yes there are a few bugs but for the most part the system is very stable if it is set up properly

 

[jamie77]

That sums it up just right

Jamie Green

ACA:Implement - IP Office
ACS:Implement - IP Office

http://www.alliedcom.co.uk

Fooball is not a matter of life and death-It is far more important!!!!

 

[crumthwacket]

It's still not as good as it should be - mediocre is probably the best one word description I can think of. It does provide reliable service, but since the system it replaced (Legend/Magix here in the US) was also reliable, I think we've expended too much time and effort for the gains we've made; if I carry that thought forward, I would suggest the last 5 years have been a waste of time.

 

[BoyRacer1001]

I don't believe it has progressed much from 1-2 years ago, considering the restructuring and R&D investment to try and get it right.
There are still too many fundamental problems and re-occurances of old problems with each new release, eg Voicemail service crashes, system reboots etc.
Pretty frustrating.
Simple dial tone type configurations of the system seem reliable, but thats not the market the product is aimed at....

 

[tlpeter]

i think somepeople should only install relay based systems
the only thing they can do is analog and thats it
no problems at all ,maybe a burned relay once in a while
systems based on software will always have there bugs
new features will always have bugs
systems on software can do almost everything and are will stay the feature
the bugs are not the problem but the tech who can not handle the bugs

yes bugs are annoying but he women are also sometimes



ACA - 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!

 

[jamie77]

When phone systems were phone systems and nothing to do with the network or the PC's, they worked and never went wrong.

How many companys still run a Pana A Series/KX-T/DBS or London to name a few.

Manufacturers could test thier kit and the only external thing they had to worry about it working with was the lines and the odd Call Logger.

Now systems are integrated with the network and our good friend Mr Gates.

There are far too many variables to deal with to make every implementation be 100% and these variables can change from one day to the next.

It only takes a Windows Hot"Fix" to screw up a VM!!!!!!!

If you want a system that will just work-Install a Panasonic on Alog lines.

If you want something that is actually going to be a benefit to the company-you have to take the rough with the smooth.

Besides which, if these systems were installed and worked all day every day, we would all be cooking burgers in McDonalds!!!!!!

Jamie Green

ACA:Implement - IP Office
ACS:Implement - IP Office

http://www.alliedcom.co.uk

Fooball is not a matter of life and death-It is far more important!!!!

 

[crumthwacket]

tlpeter: Merlin Legend was introduced in 1991/1992 and brought ISDN to the desktop at that time (15 years ago) - it was fully digital. No relays.

jamie77: I'm no fan of Mr Gates either, but if you blame him for IPO problems then you may as well blame him for global warming.

I want the IPO to be better: if it is, I'll make more money (and I'm only in this for the money - computers suck - life outside the cubicle is great). Don't make excuses for Avaya. You should demand better from them.

 

[crumthwacket]

and another thing...before you guys get your teats in an uproar... I'm on your side

 

[jamie77]

I wasn't blaming MS for the IPO's problems, just pointing out some of the external factors that we have to deal with these days.

The INDeX was (and still is) an awsome, reliable system. Fully digital. The first time we started to same major problems with it was the IVM. NT Server on an internal cassette. It was useless when first released. The previous VM's (Global and Seltek) were bullet proof.

It's not digital systems that are the problem. I prefer digital to alog anyway.

IT's not Bill Gates's fault. It really is nobodys fault in particular. just too many factors to get right first time with the budget the IPO has. They could make it better, more reliable, less bugs and more testing but you watch everyone complain when the price doubles!!!!!!

You can't get Enterprise system reliability on an SME budget.

Jamie Green

ACA:Implement - IP Office
ACS:Implement - IP Office

http://www.alliedcom.co.uk

Fooball is not a matter of life and death-It is far more important!!!!

 

[tlpeter]

heey i don;t bite
you are right but it won't change

ps global warming is a natural thing that happens over and over again

ACA - 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!

 

[Varmit57]

I'm relatively new to the Phone Tech side of things, before I was mainly a PC tech that got drug in to the phone stuff when they needed an extra pair of hands.

Right now I spend about half of my time in IPO and the other half on the PC and Network stuff.

As far as I’m concerned for all the very cool things that I can do for my customers IPO is cheap, simple, and easy to understand. Compared to the other phone systems that I have worked with it seems very user friendly.

I would say that 95% of the issues that I run in to are self inflicted. I try to do something new that I haven’t researched properly or I just plain for get 1 step right in the middle because I got over confident.

All in all I’m very pleased with IPO

 

[balmy57]

I have been a PBX tech for almost 12 non-contiguous years. In my country I have had to work on many different models from many differnt manufacturers/countries. Some examples are Pentaconta, Mitel, Neax, Nixdorf, Nippon, Altigen among others. I have been working on the IP Office over the past 5 years.

My peronal view is that the IP Office delivers more "bang for your buck" over the other systems that I have worked on over the years. That is not to say that there are not some bugs AND features that don't annoy the heck out of me. Prime example is the new "Abbreviated Ring" for Call Waiting since version 3.0. However I do believe that it has progressed over that time period. I also believe that we have a responsibility as implementers and support personnel to drive the development of the products we support and our clients use, through fora such as this and through unified feedback to Avaya.

The end result will be happier techs and clients.

 

[bwilch]

Thanks all for the feedback. Though I was a tech, and we ran into various issues, most of them we were able to resolve. There were the occasional where we'd even stump Avaya, but it's nice to hear the system is moving along in features.

Appreciate all the responses.

 

[ProviderReborn]

The IP Office has its bugs. But I think alot of issue is with certain BP's. I do not claim to be a GURU, but config errors, Lazy sloppy programming are far more to do with things not working than the IP Office being a C^%p product.

We are lucky we have some fully loaded 412's Maxed with IP extns. They had to have a private build at the beginning but we never hear a peep from them.

I like the product. I enjoy installing them.

 

[groundedagain]

We have always said the IP Office is deceptively simple to Program

Jason Wienert
Brisbane, Australia

http://www.centralcity.com.au

GoldMine, Avaya, ACCPAC CRM

Please remember to thank preople for their valuable input.

 

[Shine52]

99% of the problems exist from the people who install them. If you know what you are doing, they are great. The ease of install, the ease of management for the end user to do simple tasks and the features all make this a GREAT system. How anyone can say it is mediocre is a mystery to me. What SMBS system are they installing that makes this a mediocre system?

Figure it out damn-it!

 

[jml2665]

I think what Shine52 says is correct for any system.
Success and customer satisfaction come more from the team that
1. sells a system that meets the customers needs
2. implements and plans with the customer
3. installs a system properly and professionally
4. maintains it properly and keeps the customer informed

 

[crumthwacket]

When something is dintinctly not as good as it could be, it is mediocre." And yes, I am aware that there is a negative connotation involved.

It appears the majority of the posters to this thread disagree with my opinion and infer that we/my company have had installation problems resulting from poor programming or understanding of the system. That is not the case. All of our installations are stable and functioning in the manner we described to the customer during the selling process; in addition, they look good and we're proud of the workmanship we provided.

My point is the system can be better than it is; that Avaya has had years to make it much better than it is; and they have failed to do this.

I'm surprised with the responses.

 

[Shine52]

Just not sure what could be better to be honest. Software bugs? Doesn't all software have bugs for the most part. Do the Cisco systems go in flawlessly and w/out any issues? Nortels BCM? Just not sure what could be better. It has more features then anything out there for the price. The voicemail is endless in options w/in reason. I'm saying it doesn't have issues but many of them can be avoided.

Maybe you can tell us how "to make it much better than it is" or what would be needed to do so. Again, for what it is, it's a great system as long as things are done properly.

Figure it out damn-it!