atcomsystems.ca/forum Forums General General Telephone & Systems Information What would you do?

I manage a small call center and have become, in the last 90 days, our default phone tech. We are shopping for a new system. Our IT manager wants to go with the Cisco solution for political reasons(the person that got him this job sells the Cisco solution) I am unimpressed by the Cisco rep. They have never asked me what I wanted, or come and even look at what we do. I'm leaning toward the Nortel solution because they have taken a very active interest in what we do. The reality is either system will do what I need. My questions to you are, how happy are you with the Nortel solution? How has support been? Would you do it again? I meet with the Cisco guy in less than an hour

The quality of the support and your relationship with your local vendor is at least as, if not more, important than the "solution" itself.
Ask around among local businesses. Are you a member of the Chamber of Commerce?
Ask for references on the vendor and check them out.
I have always trusted my instincts. If you do not like a vendor rep now when he wants you to buy something from him, how do you think you will like him when your system is down? How quickly cn he get a tech on-site?

You will get more bang for your buck with Nortel, plus a proven track record in the telecom field. Phones are not computers, at least not yet, and they cannot be approached with the same mentality as a computer.

Well not to put Nortel down as I do work on them also and they are good, but the Telrad system will knock it's socks off at the same price and can easily add VOIP made by Telrad to work with Telrad. And are pretty much bullet proof.

And as far a Cisco, I won't even go there I have on cust that put it in and has regretted it ever sense, that damn thing goes down all the time.

But as said above, make sure you go with someone that will be there when you need them and is not just in it for the sale, if he hasn'r even come over to see your needs or talked with you I would think that is a big red flag.

[This message has been edited by dtmf (edited September 24, 2004).]

Check out NEC, they have great callcenter software that range from small & cost effective to large & expensive. We run off site agents via IP & it works great. Our ISP tech support receives about 400 calls a day & I get almost no complaints.
https://www.cng.nec.com/cng/
To find a local rep, click on sales.

Here is my 2 cents. Avoid Cisco like the plague. Oh they will get a system in for you and get you really expensive new switches but everytime you have a problem you will be paying for software, equipment or whatever. IP enabled PBX system are the way to go IMHO. ROE on IP systems are WAY overblown and it has been proven that pure IP systems generally coast 3x what a traditional TDM/IP system can do. I am assuming you aleady have cat3 in for your voice. Think about this, why would you want to suck bandiwdth out of your existing computer network for voice? Translation you have a network problem you have a phone problem. I have MANY IP phone out there right now and I cannot for the life of me see any use for IP phones in house is you have existing cabling for voice. The quality is better in a TDM phone, analog devices work properly and today (on my sprint flexicom systems) I can relocatiobn phone with a code onthe phone without even moving the physical phone.

I could go on but you get the idea. Don't get me wrong IP has great uses for networking and remote users but for in house? No way. Just my 2 cents.

I agree with Coral, IP based systems don't make any sense for static companies. A PBX system that can handle some IP phones for remote employees is an option, but only if you are going to have remote personal with broadband. Otherwise, the reliability and quality of service is better with a true PBX. You also don't have all your eggs into one basket.