atcomsystems.ca/forum Forums General General Telephone & Systems Information Which System - Avaya, Tadiran, Samsung, Toshiba, NEC, Panasonic, Vodavi, Fonality?

Ok - here's the deal.

We're currently at 21 extensions and 11 lines. Probably putting in a dedicated T1/PRI for a new system. Over 5-10 years, we need to grow to about 50-60 local extensions. Need VoIP extension capability in a few years (up to 200 IP ext. in 6-7 years).

Have a small call center going from 4 to maybe 10 people. Need solid ACD that can handle multiple ACD groups and even multiple trees (for different businesses). Need good reporting tools. Need to be able to record calls for training. Need to allow multiple people to manage the system (thus need a user friendly interface to manage most functionality, so we don't spend all our $ on service calls to make design changes to the ACD or VM system.). Need multiple MOH channels. Need to be able to move extensions easily. And don't want to pay an arm and a leg in licensing fees.

Any thoughts?

I've been looking at Avaya IP Office, Tadiran Coral IPx 500, Toshiba Strata CIX 670, Samsung iDCS 500, NEC Aspire, Vodavi XTS-IP, Panasonic KX-TDA100, and interestingly the open source solution from Fonality. Here's my ranking so far:

1. Tie between: Avaya, Samsung, Fonality, Tadiran
5. Toshiba
6. NEC
7. Panasonic
8. Vodavi

Thoughts, experiences and direction appreciated.

Thanks.

That question has been asked many many times and of course most sales people will say their choice of equipment is best. However, today most telephony manufacturers equipment can do the same thing they just do it differently or call it something different. So ... where does that leave your question ... look at the company providing the solutions to you. Are they "Authorized Dealers / resellers, are they certified on the equipment they're proposing, ask them for referrences, how stable are they, how stable is the manufacturer, what is the warranty like? Those are what you need to look at now. If you need specific info on the Samsung product I would be happy to fill in any gaps that your local vendor isn't able to answer.

Good Luck.

Run from the Fonality unless you want to be on the long list of Alpha sites. I lost a deal to one of these and the customer called me the other day with tears. It's been 3 months and it still doesnt work.
Toshiba is good IP but out source their ACD. And to add to your search add Telrad to you list see where they rank in your numbers.

And in the future dont post the same message in 6 different forums.

Please do not post the same question in multiple forums! Since this is about several systems we will let the topic remain in this forum, all others will be deleted.

-Hal

The Tadiran will give you all of your needs in one box. The IP phones are so simple to deploy remotely. No devices execept the phone are needed. Also Tadiran's softphone works great on laptops. All of the ACD feature are standed in the switch. You can design plenty of groups in all different flavors. Agents can see calls waiting without even using a reporting package. Agents can also log into multiple groups with just touching one button. Extremely reliable product. Ask for the Wicmc voicemail over the UCMC.

The most important thing to look at, as mentioned, is the reputation and background of the installing company. They are the ones who will (or won't be, depending on who you pick) be there for you when you have an emergency or need help. Most systems will do much of the same things. Some better than others.

By the way, have you looked at ESI? www.esi-estech.com. Great product! Sorry for the shameless plug, but I hate to see you overlook them.

Given your requirements ACD, multiple trees and call center you should prpbaly put the Altigen on your list of candidate systems. You have basically decribed the perfect scenario for this hybrid system!

Ok, not to knock ANY of the products listed in this thread, but it seems to me that the original 8 systems he was looking at are all decent products and can satisfy the needs for the most part. We all have our favorit products, my favorite was not listed either, and we all believe that our product is the best, but 8 systems is a lot to research and adding more just confuses things. Maybe we all could just stick to why we believe a product he listed is the best?

Take notice that the thread has NOT been responded to by the original poster. Nor have we (for the most part) helped to put deciding factors on the systems that have already been quoted.

Tempcall: Out of your list I would go with the Tadiran. They are great systems, really tanks, we still have ones in the field that are 15 years old and running strong. They have a fantastic migration path on all of the systems and are one of the most robust when it comes to features.

Given your aggressive expansion needs the Taidran also will be adventagous due to the ability to start small and grow to the houndreds of stations in the IPx Office or IPX 500 (which you did not list but is very nice too).

The new SIP/MGCP IP phones are really great and rather in-expensive. Tadiran is a solvent company with a solid reputation around the globe.

Steve

Agreed.

That is the reason I have not posted. Please lets keep it to the systems listed.

Thank you for some direction, and I hope the feedback keeps coming!

To update, I've been busy with demo's and vendor meetings this week - between those and the reading I've been doing my thinking has evolved, with help from those of you in this forum. I think I've axed the Panasonic, Vodavi, Samsung, and Toshiba (please comment if you feel this is a big mistake), and have added 3Com to the list. My current list(hard to rank)is:

Tadiran IPx500, 3Com NBX V3000, Fonality PBXtra, NEC Aspire, Avaya IP Office

I know these range greatly is size, architecture, and reputation - that's part of the point. They all seem to do a good job of matching our core needs.

Further thoughts and direction appreciated - Thanks!