atcomsystems.ca/forum Forums Other TDM Phone Systems Allworx Telephones & Systems Allworx ??

Can anyone give me any feedback on Allworx, good or bad? Thanks.

https://www.sundance-communications.com/forum/Forum30/HTML/000006.html

Thread is over a year old but there is some info here. Alot of changes since this thread. Maybe a dealer can jump in with recent experiences. Any one?

Seems to be a decent product. However both dealers and distributors alike don't want to deal with them because they won't protect the channel. How can you deal in a product line when the manufacture undersells the distributor/dealer?

aweaver....we protect the channel by not saturating specific markets with resellers. And we dont compete with our dealers. We dont sell direct to customers, and all dealers have the same price point/discount from day one. We supply leads, and we will even call businesses in an area on behalf of a dealer, to get them leads. So please explain how our dealers dont want to deal with us because this is the first time that anyone has expressed this to us.

Thank you.

For those of us who have looked into the product, we do recall that list price was posted on the web site. Looks like that has changed. Only an estimated per-user price. We just never felt like we could effectively add it to our product line and market it like it should be marketed. Allworx did allow me to test drive one for a month when it first came out. It's changed a lot since then. I understand it is now sold through Alltel supply to dealers only. I would not sell it short just yet. It's a relatively new product from a relatively new company. I would imagine they are still trying to find the right mix (how they fit and how to market).

Allworx:

"We only sell direct to end users if there isnt a VAR signed up in their area to service and support them. We never go into competition with our VAR's."

"That is only reason why we have our MSRP pricing on our website and why it seems that we sell direct. If we dont have anyone to sell to the end user, then we will sell to them direct."


Has this changed since posted Apr 1 2005? This is what a lot of dealers remember from early interaction with your company.

That is what I got before also. They might be listening to the prospective dealers a little better now.

We dont have MSRP pricing anywhere on our site now. We prefer that our dealers dont sell above list (since its only hurting the customer) but we have no control over how much a VAR sells our product for.

We still dont sell direct. There has only been a couple of instances since last year where we have sold direct, but we do everything in our power to try and find a dealer in the End User area to sell and service them.

We're not in the game to compete with our dealers. We want to have long lasting GOOD relationships with our VAR's and make sure they are successful. And as stated before, we supply marketing materials, help out with telemarketing for them, and even help with trade shows as well.

We'll be at the VON show next month in San Jose, with one of the largest exhibits at the show. If anyone is going to be there, stop by and see us. We'll be right next door to Microsoft, and along the main path when you first walk in.

Is it not also badged as Bizphone, for less??

Bizphone is available via Hello Direct

I think the Bizfone has a stripped down feature set. Allworx can confirm if this is correct. I did check out the allworx website and it does appear like they have doing better at protecting the channel by not revealing prices etc. We might look at them again.

I got my HelloDirect catalog today. The Bizphone version was well displayed. It won't be hard to figure out it's an Allworx box from the pictures.

When we looked at them the Bizphone had same features. No way I'm, going to sell a product that shows up in Hello Direct or Bizphone marketing!!


:bang:

I heard that! :thumb:

Again, just to reiterate...we OEM our solution to Bizphone. Its the same exact system, except without the Message Center feature (our proprietary software email/calendar application) and without our name on it.

How many of these things does Bizphone sell - or buy from Allworx?

We dont get that figure from Bizphone. We ship them a certain number of units each month, and its up to them to sell what ever they have to, to their dealers. And as for how many units we send to Bizphone, we dont disclose that information to the public.

Spoke to Bizfone today. They sell to dealers only and admitted that Hello Direct is one of the dealers. This would be OK if they would know how to define "dealer". Anyone who cannot dispatch an onsite tech is not a dealer IMO.

Managing a dealer channel must be complicated. Rarely do you hear of a telecom product manufacturer setting the dealer's resell price. As I see it, Allworx still has some issues to work out. Taking the list price off the web site was a good idea. Not selling to end users is another good idea. Asking dealers to not sell above list is a bad idea. Haveing an OEM product that is obviously the same thing being sold on the internet and through Hello Direct is not a good idea either. WHen I say not a good idea, I mean not a good idea if you want to get dealers like us to flock to the product. However, even though it might not look just right to us small guys, it might be working very well for Allworx. But I bet they're still trying to find the right combination. For example, now they sell through AllTel Supply. That seems kind of odd since the trend is to go direct to the dealer and get away from distributing through supply houses. Allworx is also suffering from our pasts experiences with other equipment suppliers. A lot of promisses and really bad follow through. "You're the only guy in the area". "Don't worry about that quota thing. It's just a technicality." "you'll never see our product on ebay." Aweaver, am I right?

Mark you have found the golden BB for their product line. Hello direct is perceived as a consumer products provider. Cheap stuff that you can plug in yourself. The last post of "we don't sell direct and their has only been a few instances in the last year where we did" is a contradiction. You do or you don't. I hope they really figure out the way to support a dealer channel. Looks like a pretty cool product but right now every dealer I talk to is very apprehensive about their distribution model. I see it listed on Ebay. I have had customers receive post cards about the simple do it yourself system.

We have specific requirements when it comes down to dealers. Our distributors (such as Alltel) have the same requirements as well. We're not looking for the small little one man shops to sell our product. We want reputable VAR's that have a team of tech's, understand VoIP, and do data networking as well. Its better for the End User in the long run if they end up doing business with a VAR with that profile, then it is for a real small guy.

We ask that dealers dont sell above MSRP, because its only ripping off the end user. Obviously we dont put strict guidelines on that, we only recommend it. We also have no control over dealers that put items in online stores or Ebay. The very few dealers who have put it on ebay though, havent had alot of luck selling it that way, so it will eventually get to the point where you wont see it anymore in places like that.

Yes, we have sold direct in the past. But that was when we first trying to get a dealer funnel set up and we didnt have dealers in specific areas. Now since we have done alot of marketing and we are starting to get dealers in different MSA's (Metropolitan/Micropolitan Statistical Areas), we wont ever have to sell direct again.

As stated before, we get a VERY large amount of end users contacting us on a daily basis looking to buy & see our system. We get the entire End User profile, and then pass it directly over to the dealer in their area. We then go on to support the dealer in every way to help them sell the unit (quotes, ROI's, tech/customer support, etc...)

You say we have a cool product now. Wait 3 weeks and you will see something that will absolutely put us at number one in the industry. Certain things have been leaked out already, as to what's being implied and the buzz on the street is that no other manufacturer will be able to compete with us, once this happens. If anyone goes to the VON Show in 3 weeks, you'll see for yourself. This is definitly going to be the year of Allworx, and any dealers that are signed on with us, will be extremely happy as well.

Hellodirect.com is now selling the Allworx product line. Seems like Allworx is drifting on their commitment to the VAR channel. I don't understand how Allworx expects to have a satisfied end user when the product is not being installed by qualified and trained installers. Any systems that are sold without installation should still be sold by a VAR. That way the VAR (not the end user) can determine if the end user has sufficient knowledge to perform a proper install.

It is a bad idea for Allworx to sell through hellodirect, but I suppose they had to set up something with CompUSA going under. Their price is not really that good either since it is just the equipment and not install or shipping. Allworx is a great product, but it is NOT user installable unless you want the basic defaults.

This really does water down the Allworx commitment to their dealer base...thanks guys.

Steve

Wow That's news to me..(Selling on Hello Direct) I just sent a tech to training on the Allworx system...I'll have to get a copy of Hello Direct and see what they are selling the product for...As far as the product goes...We have 3 sites VPN with the 24x and 6x and they are working well...

We were visited by Allworx recently.
Has any of the above changed for the better?
Thanks

Allworx has pretty much eliminated direct sells over the Internet, especially those selling way below list price. If you go to Hello Direct i don't think you will find it; keeping in mind, even those that are purchased via the Internet are not intended for end user installation.

That said, Allworx still only fits into a certain niche, missing a lot of features traditional systems offer. The nice thing is they constantly release new software updates that address many of these issues, continually improving the product free of charge.

Originally quoted by member 'Allworx":

Yesterday marked exactly six months since this statement was made. I haven't seen that happen unless I missed something.

Notice that after that Allworx post came the followup that the product was being sold by Hello Direct..2 weeks later.

Hope that wasn't the attempt to make them number one in the industry.

I am an Allworx dealer, I picked them up before PAETEC bought them. Allworx b4 PAETEC did do better at protecting dealers but now when PAETEC is selling trunks how can you beat the manufacturer. Its a good system and NO does IP remote phones easier. It is not as feature rich but if a company wants a standard IP system without the bells and whistles PLUS this it is a good system. With that being said I am going to discontinue because I am a NEC dealer and the UX5000 tops it. Allworx is pricey under 20 handsets---but it is a good system

Have you installed any UX5000's yet? I've seen the phones (just in a box, not live and working) and they look very interesting. Just curious as to how they work as I may try to come onboard with that product

Sorry to jump this thread so late, but in reponse to RonP, we'e had great success with the UX5000. Great price, great feature set and very reliable. One sticky issue seems to be support on applications, although NEC has made some changes to address that. When I fist saw the phones I was a bit dissapointed that they didn't 'reinvent the wheel' (i.e. make some really cool/inventive looking desksets). But they are affordable and work well so I guess it's another case of function triumphs over form!

Deleted by JWRacedog. Bill might start this as a new thread in the Pro Shop once he gets some figures and details from a customer. Thanks, Bill :thumb:

Bill, you've been PM'd