atcomsystems.ca/forum Forums General General Telephone & Systems Information Is VoIP an attempt to steal phone tech work?

As RBF noted "Not everyone can afford to play in this arena however." Therein is the problem.

How many mom & pop stores, gas stations, churches, delis, restaurants and such can afford to get into a managed VOIP service situation? Local loop charges alone are enough to keep small outfits away.

Managed services seem to be fine for medium to large corporations with multiple locations that need to be linked. Having an IT person on staff is a real plus.

The little guy is relegated to the Vonage or Packet 8.

I wish I had a rebuttal but I'd like to retire by 40.

I think we all would like to but some of us actually grew up sometime before.

-Hal

I need Voip because my toilet now has a network connection in order to alert me when the cesspool of information backs up.

Well, I hate to say it, but I just helped install my first VoiP system going through another company. I had this customer for 10 years, and they wanted to buy a new system from me. They gave me every chance to win the bid, but I couldn't get close to the price and feaures being offered by a couple of the VoiP vendors. Fortunately for me, I was able to refer them to a company I partner with and will get a nice finders fee out of the deal and the oppurtunity to learn a new VoiP system. I still prefer the PBX and Key systems, but I think the cost and features available to medium and large businesses will make them look closly. I will give more feedback once the system is in place.

Zane
Who's going to be the bad guy when it fails or has so many issues they want it removed, you or the partner? "Features" on a IP phone thats a joke. 90% of the features on a key system dont get used after the first day of training. VoIP has it's place in this business but I just cant see why a company would put up with all of the issues or the cost when the cable is in place and the phone sits on the desk in the same spot for the next 10 years. But wait will that IP phone still work after 10 years most PC's dont and will it need the weekly upgrades that a network does?
Companies at one time looked at the long haul, cost of investment, return on investment and future replacement. But some how all of this has gone by the way side for the new Buzz word VoIP.

Sorry Zane not a attack at you.

I agree, VOIP is a bit of a buzz word. The issue on this thing was cost and capapbilities. I tried to get them into a BCM, but it wouldn't meet their minimum requirements. So instead of losing the deal completely, I brought someone else in. They are now the vendor, and I am more a consultant on this one. But I am okay with that because the customer was very low maintenance to begin with, so now I get the oppurtunity to learn something new. So far from what I have seen, it does everything a BCM or Nortel would do. Obviously, the real verdict will be after the system has been in use a few weeks.

What is the system based on?

The one we installed was a 3Com.

Why don't you let us know about a month after the install and see how it is doing. I bet you will have more problems with it then a BCM. The hype is one thing let us see it perform. Good luck with it and just make sure the customer knows that they decided on the 3com not you.

I have never dealt with the 3-com system but I have heard that is uses a fairly well molested version of sip and has been known to cause problems with sip-endpoints (like ATA's/etc).

Let me know how that works out for you as well.