atcomsystems.ca/forum Forums General General Telephone & Systems Information Response To Member Request

A few months ago I asked some questions about Cisco VOIP versus a standard phone system. The decision had already been made to go with Cisco. I wasn’t a part of the decision. Basically I was an end user.
Someone had asked that I get back to the forum once we cut to the new system. That happened about 3 weeks ago. Below are my thoughts as an end user and as someone with 30 plus years in the telephone business.
Ø Thus far the system seems to meet most of the needs of the business. I can’t speak about the initial or recurring costs since I’m not in that part of the business.
Ø It was different to see someone come in and plug the phone into the data network. No wirework to do, everything was plug and play.
Ø In a previous job I was exposed very briefly to the Call Manager and I had the chance to do some provisioning in a small demo system. My exposure was limited. All I can say is that the terminology used to build extensions, routes, etc. was different from typical telephone terminology. Once you got past that it did not seem that difficult to work in. Again, my exposure was limited.
Ø The actual phones seem functional. I saw and used some Cisco phones about a year and a half ago. The instruments that were installed for our new system were much superior to them. They were comparable to phones on other systems that I have used.
Ø We did experience echo at times on calls in and out of the PSTN. This appears to have been fixed by a software upgrade to the Call Manager. (As I was typing this someone in the office just had an echo problem on an internal call. Maybe there is still a problem.)
Ø You can only forward the line or extension that appears on button one of the phone. This has caused a problem. We’re looking for a “work around”.
Ø My main problem with the whole process was the lack of testing by the vendor and by the division responsible for the phone system. Too much trust was put on the “plug and play”. I wasn’t brought up that way. The instruments were on the desks for a month prior to cutover. They were functional for calls to the PSTN and you could make and receive calls within the system. I did testing on my division’s lines. I uncovered several problems that would have had a major negative impact not just on my division but also on the whole organization. Things like Auto Attendants not being set up. There were problems with the number of incoming calls allowed per extension being incorrect. The same was true with total number of calls allowed per extension. There were extensions that weren’t set up to forward to voice mail. These were things that the people responsible for the job should have been picked up by testing. The end user should not have had to find them by testing.

bf6b5yr, It was very considerate of you to get back to us. :toast:
MrG

Nice update bf6b5yr! :thumb:

Do keep us posted.