sundance-communications.com/forum Forums TDM Business Telephone Systems Inter-Tel Telephones & Systems Upgrading Our phone system advice.

We are currently axxess v 6, I think. We are looking at upgrading to a Mitel 5000 IP, for site one, as we can still use the axxess 550.4400 phones.
Eventually we will tie in sites 2 and 3 with voip and centralize Voice Mail, and we will have analog lines available in case of internet disruption. Sites 2 and 3 are down the road as they use Panasonic DBS 576 phones that are not compatible and the expense will be greater due to phone replacement.

My boss has questions and I hope you can help.

Is Mitel the only option to be able to use the current axxess phones?

We are extremely happy with our current provider but have been directed to look at options. Is Mitel territory exclusive? If not is there any resource you are aware of than ranks vendors customer satisfaction.

Any other thoughts or insites are appreciated.

The phones are proprietary so would need to use a Mitel system. My question to you though is that if you are extremely happy with your provider then why are you going to look at other options???

Possible cost savings.

If your happy with your current vendor then I would say you need to very throughly examine any other vendors you guys may be considering. How long have they been in business? Are they local?How many techs do they employ? Are they available 24 hours a day? Are they manufacturer trained and certified? What is their response time? Who are their references? Have they networked systems in the past? Do they have IT support if needed? Do they actually have an office or are they trunking it? You may want to ask your potential vendors if you can visit their facilities. Those are just a few ideas.