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A member recently moved an ESI original from one location to another with the assistance of fellow members proficient with ESI systems. It was his first hands on experience with an ESI system. After the project was completed he was impressed with the features and ease of programming and ask me specifically how the ESI compared to Nortel and Avaya systems.

The members main interest was mostly focused on the technicians point of view, so I thought I would open this topic up for input from numerous ESI techs.

Before the dialog begins I have a request. Nortel, Avaya and many others are well known for being quality equipment used to satisfy the needs of many businesses and their long time reputations back that statement up.

Please DO NOT bash the other manufacturers in your opinions.

One of the things I like most with ESI systems is the logic used in the development of features and the consideration given to the install tech. Not much thought goes into features that other systems promote as really cool but in the reality of business are of no value.

Another thing I like is the ability to put a specific button anywhere on the phone you want it. If I want line 7 on the fifth button down in the center column then 3 keystrokes later it is done.

Have you used the bluetooth features for headset and cell phone? How do you compare price wise when bidding against Nortel and Avaya? I am not looking for exact pricing, but do you normally come in lower or higher than the competion? What weaknesses do you see in the product(it must have at least one). I read a post about a demo kit they have that is supposed to be amazing. Is that for this system or do I have my memory crossed. Sorry for just blurting out so many rambling questions, but I am very interested in the system. Are the dealer quotas reasonable?

Thanks John for the post.

I worked on many (probably lost count) phone systems over the years.

They all had their good points and bad.

The " best " system I worked with was the IDS platform, as far as Technician Friendly there was a ' Real-Time ' status monitor screen that would show you Everything that was going on in the system, This was in 1986.

The ESI systems have come a long way from my first dealing with the product back in 1996 or so.

It is an ' all-in-one ' Digital phone system, it can be easily programmed to cover just about any application that I have run into over the years. They have recently added some reports that can show you the status of a PRI circuit and some other ' freeze ' type screen pics.

The Best thing about the ESI is the physical size of the equipment, footprint is 8.5 X 11 INCHES...

We Beta tested the Bluetooth Cellphone device and it worked as advertised, barring a few beta issues. It's a great feature for someone that gets alot of cellphone cals while in the office because it routes the cell calls to your digital deskset, which allows you to use the system features, call waiting, voicemail, virtual answer, call xfer, etc.

As far as comparing the ESI to the big boys, we have never had an issue competing with them pricewise. We typically are much cheaper hands down, and we sell typical market rate. The one thing that you have to look at in comparing is that the ESI line are key systems, not true PBX's, and do not offer some of the PBX features of a Tadiran, Avaya, Nortel or some of the other bigger systems. But ESI has always stated that that is not what they were designed to be, but are easy to install, maintain and use, without a lot of complicated programming to be done. This sometimes limits things like least cost routing, truely flexible numbering, etc that can be found on some of the other systems.

As a salesman the demo kit is amazing. Other dealers may have something they've put together to demo a system for a client, but the ESI's system is easily repeated with it's built in voicemails, scripts and simulated calls with caller ID, I know what to expect every time. The advantage I have when my competition goes in with a quote, some glossies and a dead phone to display versus my live, working system where I can actively demo any feature, or better yet have the potential customer to it is huge!

We only sell the smaller Nortel and Avaya stuff, so the Key system thing is where we live too. What would you say is the number one hole in the armor, so to speak? You know "The other system will vacuum my living room, can yours do that."

Honestly there isn't one.

I used to work for an Avaya Business Partner and started out selling Avaya when i opened in 2001. When i started looking for an alternative product in late 2002 I chose ESI and have been very happy ever since.

Their products are strong - i have found that the number of product failures and out of box issues is very low, just like my experience with Avaya. Their tech support is outstanding - short wait times and almost always a knowledgable person on the phone. Their sales support is strong. The price of their equipment is less than Avaya and the pricing decreases as you buy more product. They have great IP capabilities on both their digital and pure IP platforms that allow remote phones, soft phones and multi site links with tight integration between sites. They also protect their resellers very well. Sites get registered to a specific reseller and ESI won't offer support to any other dealer without a release from the original installer.

Literally the only deal i ever lost due to lack of a feature was a small office that had to have background music on every phone. (now they can't even use that feature anymore after a visit from ASCAP prompted by an anonymous tip......just kidding!)

All in all...it is a good product from a good company with good tech support.

Businesses that require more than 24 extensions are usually the ones that are impressed by 2 or 3 $30,000 service vans and a few techs connected together by a sales weasel that knows very little. So factoring that in leaves the customer needing a top quality phone system and not a dog and pony show. There is a need for large interconnects that have numerous assets but most of the time that is just overhead. The remaining customers need one salesman/technician that can install quality equipment that does what I call the big 4,

1-Answer a phone call
2-Make a phone call
3-Transfer a phone call
4-Place a call on hold

It is this customer that I can impress with even the smallest bare bone ESI.

Then comes all the numerous features that ESI offers that I evaluate the needs of the customer and select from the features available and those features become icing on the cake.

At this point even with a healthy markup the ESI is almost dollar to dollar with a competitive bid. Then comes the deal sealer, if the customer wants voice mail the competitor adds a card or a unit at increased cost. With the ESI it is already included seamlessly. In todays business operations buying a system without VM is like buying a car without tires!

Oh, you want tires? No problem, just another $500 and away you go!

I have several clients with 60 plus number of stations and the ESI features and the Demo kit blew out the big competitors with the flashy tech vans and slick willy salesperson and the big corporate image. I think having a phone system with all the features and the demo kit like the ESI is a very good advantage but I also think you have to develop a speacial relationship with the prospect customer involving trust, integrity, and confidence in you as well. ESI has been a great change for us in a positive way. We have lost a few bids but it was mainly due to the lies we found out competitors telling the prospect. Well that's okay too, it will all work out in the long run.
I couldn't say all this good stuff about ESI without saying we have had some trying times with ESI problems. How ever all in all compared to the "Other Brands" we sell, ESI gives us the best return.
Paul

Thanks for the unbiased objective report. Are you able to elaborate on the "trying times with ESI problems". I was starting think that ESI was trouble free and wishing that I was installing ESI rather than our other systems that have had problems here and there.