Well, I'm definitely nearing completion of this deal. A short recap:
1. Rebuild the Lucent = too expensive for what you get. Between purchase cost and what the ongoing maintenance was costing this didn't make any sense at all when viewed for the long term.
2. Avaya = don't like the product. Too much complexity. It's like buying a stripped down car and optioning it out. IP Office was easily one of the most expensive solution I looked at.
3. Comdial / Telrad = not comfortable with the vendor and/or product. The solutions don't look bad, but they don't set themselves apart, either.
4. Tadiran = very nice solution, a little on the expensive side. I looked at all the systems based on a five-year TCO. The Tadiran was one of the higher priced systems, behind only Nortel and Avaya.
5. Nortel = $$$. Very close to Avaya in pricing. System price, MAC work, and maintenance were all comparatively high. This was a BCM solution.
6. NEC = 2nd choice. Modified the proposal to use a NVM 2000 and I'm much more satisfied with what it offers now. I'd have no problem recommending this solution. As proposed it'll do what we need and the vendor is really outstanding.
7. Zultys = #1 choice. This proposal uses an MX250 at the main site and an MX25 at the other location. I've been trialing the client side of the solution using phones that are connected via VPN to a switch in South Carolina with good results. I've also spoken with other users of the hardware who've had very good things to say about the product and Zultys. The product is very strong against everyone in the lineup. Pricing as neither the cheapest, nor the most expensive. It bears noting that the maintenance costs are very attractive and the MAC work is easy for anyone with an IT department. It's as close to stone-cold simple as I've seen.
The biggest downside to this choice is the very youth of Zultys as a company. The old "Who knows?" factor when you look five years down the road. I hope I'm right.
[This message has been edited by Wheels (edited February 28, 2005).]
