gaurav31dec

Hi Friends

I am searching for a new PBX for one of my branch offices. I have narrowed down to using IP office.
Please help me by giving some feedback on this product.
I am looking for stuff like any known issues if there are.
Some usefull features
Some comparison with other products of same nature.
Overall Product rating.
Any suggestions ontop of this are welcomed.

Regards
Gaurav

Phone dude

Well, my opinion (as well as other Avaya reps) is biased. I think the newer releases 3.2 and 3.1.65 are pretty stable. featurewise it is one of the best systems. Scaleability wise, Cisco can go larger, but you get alot more for your base install.

Analog extensions, dont need cat 5 cabling for every phone. Built in Conferencing, etc.

PBXtech.info

 

cascadia

I compared to nortel bcm and cisco when purchasing for my office. Nortel has about same size, but is only VoIP or only digital (no mix). Cisco is only VoIP, but scales a lot higher.

Cost to do VoIP if you want VoIP handset + POE (power over ethernet) is expensive. We decided to go with mostly digital handsets due to the call quality assurance, but have the flexibility to add VoIP handsets anywhere we want. My office wasn't hurting for CAT5E runs I have the extra ports to accomidate digital handsets.

I loved the built in conferencing.. actually saved us a TON of money (enough to pay for the system within 2 years). Voicemail Pro is a powerful tool. I don't like some of the IMS integration, so I didn't roll that out, but I do have instant email notification of a waiting vmail.

I am excited about RemoteVPN which allows a phone to go home(anywhere) and tunnel back to your office PBX. It is supposed to work with NetScreen's too, so I'm going to be testing that out in the coming months.

I was not a fan of the LCD screens on some of the original phones (Cisco and Avaya) due to the low contrast ratio and non-backlit display. It made it extremely hard to read. My users of Cisco phones hated the incoming call notification while on the phone, as it wasn't easily apparent another line was ringing.

IP Office Phone Manager software could use some work. It is a bit big and bulky for typical users, and doesn't play too well with laptop users on the road. I do like it on the road when I'm VPN'd, but thats only because I know what to do while users can be clueless.

Anyway I love the IP Office and think it is a great system for a lot of SMBs. I don't feel it is perfect, but the price is great for the feature set.

Brazil

As a tech, my opinion is that the system has come a long way since it's initial release.
I don't advocate installing IP sets on the desktop if you are already wired for digital. The IP sets prove to be a bigger maintenance hassle than they are worth (imo).
It's a solid system and I enjoy working on it, but you will find some flakiness when you try to integrate it with other applications (Outlook for instance).

gaurav31dec

Hi Everyone

Thanks a ton !!

regards
Gaurav

maheboy

IP 500 is in the market now .. when you compare with the price of nortal and panasonic , Avaya ip 500 is very very good . SSA is one of the new software included,
so try ip office 4.0 version and ip 500 .. it is very good

PBXtech.info

 

gaurav31dec

I believe you are talking about the Polycom set for the conferencing.

tlpeter

no the ip500 is a new model
i personaly even think it is going to replace the small office in a while

Phone dude

I have yet to install an IP500. So, far, it doesn't make sense with the installs we have had.

Can't wait though.

thesheriff

Hi,

I installed for the company I work for a IP403 four years ago. We now have 2 IP403's and 2 IP406 v2's in 4 different sites all running VoIP.

Whilst the early Manager and Phone Manager applications left a lot to be desired, they have come along way, and are alot more friendly than they used to be.

IMO the IP40x range are a solid good bang for your buck. They are fairly simple to manage and you get a good range of features for your money

Cheers

Dom