I met with a prospect today who has an ESI system in a business he bought. He also has an NEC BDS (i think? ... the KSU said BDS and the phone model was BDS 34)that he owned in a previous business and has 10+ phones for it including a system cordless phone (i think). He is moving and the space he is moving into has an NEC Aspire KSU on the wall with no phones.

So my task is now to decide what makes the most sense for him... he likes the way the BDS operates and he wouldn't need to add any phones. In order to use the ESI system he would need to buy 4 or 5 phones including a multi line cordless. The Aspire would require purchasing 10 or 11 phones... and if i remeber correctly this is actually a Nitsuko system??

I am an ESI reseller so that would be a piece of cake for us....

Any info / thoughts on the BDS... how old?... decent system? ... and most importantly is anyone here comfortable with it and willing to sell me an hour or two of phone support if needed?

The BDS is actually a DS100 or DS2000 KSU. Its at least several years old. It was the forerunner to the current DSX model. Its a serviceable no frills phone system that's not terribly difficult to install and program. Manuals can be found online rather easily. I've programmed one or two before and didn't have a problem (and I'm no rocket scientist). If you needed support, I could help, but even I need a manual in front of me as I don't have the program codes memorized.
The Aspire was a NEC product after they changed over from Nitsuko and probably has more bells and whistles than your customer needs. Refurbed phones can be found rather inexpensively. Having said that, this is a rock solid system. Worked on a few hundred over the years and have had few software or hardware issues when installed as a TDM system

Yep, the Aspire is a good rock solid system IMHO.

Keep the Aspire and add phones to it. It is solid and has a lot of good features, including IP. The ESIs are junk.

How many ESI systems have you installed? ... i have been an ESI reseller since 2002 and have sold and installed a ton of their equipment.

My experience has shown that it is a very solid system and reseller support from ESI is second to none. :shrug: