PBXtech.info - View Single Post - IP-Avaya Vs. Cisco

OctelWarrior · October 4th, 2005, 03:33 PM

I don't know man. The 5200 series DTE phones look pretty sweet. Their 4600 IP series is also sweet. I like them better than the Cisco phones. CM3 has video conferencing. JINKIES!

I'm actually certified on both the Cicso and Avaya solutions (certified about 6 months ago, a lot has changed since then)

Cisco had a really nice bundle... that wasn't very feature rich. You get a switch, add a couple modules and you have a router, switch, PBX and VM all in two 3u boxes. The cool thing is they could act as LSPs (I forget what the cisco term for LSP is) the bad thing is that the small office VM solution was very limited in what it could do. Inexpensive, quick, has the Cisco name all over it.

Avaya's going to design their plan a few different ways depending on the size of the branch office. IPOffice is nice, very inexpensive, has Excellent features. This is a complete seperate phone system though, no centralized administration.

You could go to S series platforms, making them LSPs. More expensive, centralized admin, excellent IP trunking and one system to license.

It really comes down to the application. For some companies VoIP doesn't fit their business. I would really suggest going over your business model with some sales and design people to find the right fit.

as to the 'gotchas'... when you go into your design meeting make sure to bring up EVERYTHING. Every application you have, every type of device you have plugged in and every customization you have made. Some things just aren't compatable, not everything has been tested and thought of. Make sure you bring everything up so your future product is guaranteed to work as expected.

October 4th, 2005, 03:33 PM	#3 (permalink)
OctelWarrior PBXtech SILVER 25+ posts Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 62	Re: IP-Avaya Vs. Cisco I don't know man. The 5200 series DTE phones look pretty sweet. Their 4600 IP series is also sweet. I like them better than the Cisco phones. CM3 has video conferencing. JINKIES! I'm actually certified on both the Cicso and Avaya solutions (certified about 6 months ago, a lot has changed since then) Cisco had a really nice bundle... that wasn't very feature rich. You get a switch, add a couple modules and you have a router, switch, PBX and VM all in two 3u boxes. The cool thing is they could act as LSPs (I forget what the cisco term for LSP is) the bad thing is that the small office VM solution was very limited in what it could do. Inexpensive, quick, has the Cisco name all over it. Avaya's going to design their plan a few different ways depending on the size of the branch office. IPOffice is nice, very inexpensive, has Excellent features. This is a complete seperate phone system though, no centralized administration. You could go to S series platforms, making them LSPs. More expensive, centralized admin, excellent IP trunking and one system to license. It really comes down to the application. For some companies VoIP doesn't fit their business. I would really suggest going over your business model with some sales and design people to find the right fit. as to the 'gotchas'... when you go into your design meeting make sure to bring up EVERYTHING. Every application you have, every type of device you have plugged in and every customization you have made. Some things just aren't compatable, not everything has been tested and thought of. Make sure you bring everything up so your future product is guaranteed to work as expected. __________________ Peronally I'd rather lose phone access than data.