atcomsystems.ca/forum Forums General General Telephone & Systems Information Deciding which phone system to purchase

Our reseller/installer is a great guy. Even so, we are still a little confused about the 2 systems he gave us quotes on. The prices are about the same (less than 10% difference). We need 11 phones/stations. The quotes are for the Allworx 6x and the ESI IVX S-Class. I lean towards the ESI ( have been using them for 10 years now). I once had to help someone solve a network problem involving an older allworx, and had some problem with the support call, probably because I knew nothing of phones, but it was an IP issue.
The exisiting system is an ESI IVX 20+. We simply have outgrown it, and need a few more features. We need to be able to forward a caller to a cell number or when a caller is tossed into voicemail, they have the option to be forwarded to callee's cell phone (all without having to give out the cell phone - yes I know caller ID will most likely reveal it).
My gut tells me to proceed cautiously in regards to mixing internet, computers, and phone systems. Just seems like way too many variables, too much jack of all trades (master of none kinda thing).
Wonder if anyone has feedback on these 2 systems, good, bad, ugly, surprises, etc.
TIA

Found in Other Systems. Going to move this to General for now. Maybe ESI later.

-Hal

Gene....

I have not worked on the Allworx but if you search both "Other Systems" and "VoIP" forums you may find some interesting information.

As for the ESI, I had a service call on an "S" yesterday....good standard system with easy programming and maintenance.

Do you need VoIP?

You may want to look at an ESI system that can progress to VoIP. The best of both worlds.

And, yes, mixing networks, data, telecom, yes it can become a mess and you will need more than "Jack" to keep it running.

Good luck on your choice.

:thumb:

I wonder if any small company "needs" VOIP. I'm sure there is a way to save money using VOIP, it just seems "cheap" to me to utilize something so unreliable as the internet. Sure a T1 is reliable. The internet is not. I would love to pull reports and stats off the phone system though, without dedicating a computer to it, or connecting the phones to workstations.

Well, Gene, a typical business does not "need" VoIP" within the office. That is a huge misconception that exists throughout the industry. It is very, very expensive to extend quality VoIP communications to the desktop.

IP does offer a huge advantage to even small businesses by allowing offices to be tied together, thus creating a seemingly-single system to the outside world. Sadly, people consider that basic high speed Internet access (DSL/CATV) will provide this.

Truth be known, in many cases with low volume, it probably will. The problem is that people who market IP connectivity tend to forget to inform the customer during the sales process that the Internet is like an interstate highway. In a perfect world, everything flows freely. You already know where I'm going here. One accident and the whole thing slows to a crawl.

You are correct: A T1 is very reliable and has been for nearly 50 years. The problem is that they are not inexpensive. Many service providers now offer MPLS, where a dedicated T1 is emulated via the service provider's private network. These are much less expensive than dedicated T1s, but still only of value if you are tying offices together. In-house, IP really doesn't offer any added value with regard to phone interoperability. If anything, this is hampered at a higher per-station cost.

If you are looking to connect offices together, then yes. By all means, you should consider systems that offer this technology. For a single stand-alone system, this doesn't make much sense.

Look at systems that offer IP capability for future use (hybrid) if unsure. Most importantly, don't shop necessarily for brands or features: Make sure that you shop for the most reputable and qualified vendor in your area. You are looking to form a long-term relationship with them, not the hardware.

Very sound advice Ed.

I wonder if any small company "needs" VOIP. I'm sure there is a way to save money using VOIP, it just seems "cheap" to me to utilize something so unreliable as the internet.

The world would be a better place if there were more like you :thumb:

Your choice of the ESI S-Class is ok but you might consider the CS50 instead. The reason is it gives you the Voip option should the day ever come.

As far as callers getting the cell phone number if they choose the forward option, don't sweat it. It don't work that way!

Jus ask and I will explain further if need be. :thumb:

Dang, you guys sure are fast responders. Very nice forum.
I believe I do have a few misconceptions about these PBX/Key systems. Right now, with our IVX 20+, we have 8 guest boxes (vmail or info), setup to forward (with a little message) to the users cell phone. We need more like this. Need 14 now, will need 6 more, very soon. An alternative is to just pass the caller to VM and there will be an option to be trasnferred or forwarded to the users cell phone, if the caller desires it. I am not worried at all if the caller discovers the cell number (can't keep these number a secret forever, too many people know each other in the construction industry, it seems).

We have 5 AT&T california centrex lines. We would like the caller ID to show our main number, when we call out (any line). I called AT&T, and they said our phone system does this, not them. I check with the T1 PRI people too.

I will check with our guy about the CS50, the S-Class is soooo inexpensive. I cannot believe how affordable these phone systems are. I remember 12 years ago, my then company, spending over $20K on a 35 phone/station system with about 12 lines (T1 PRI).

I called AT&T, and they said our phone system does this, not them.

Well they are friggin wrong, you musta been talin to the customers service babe in the call center, they know very little about how things actually work.

Hmm. Looks like the cs50 is a step up from the s-class, right? I wonder why ESI does not make the chassis more modular, and allow the resseller/installer to add and remove different modules, to customize/upgrade per end user requirements. I just perceive a lot of similar looking phone systems, little confusing.
Thats probably why my old company's phone system cost soo much, it was a modular chassis, looked like a cisco 7500 large router.