atcomsystems.ca/forum Forums General General Telephone & Systems Information Another New Jersey shopper

I am seeking to either upgrade or replace my existing phone systems. I have 2 Merlin Legend Release 4.1 systems in separate facilities about 2.5 miles apart. Each location supports 25-30 phones but only the main location has a receptionist. We receive all calls at the main location and transfer calls to the other site over tie lines. We also have some off-premise extensions in place to support paging. The tie lines and OPX lines are supplied by a couple of multiplexers that I've attached to either end of a P-P T1.

One of my systems is beat. It's been exposed to widely varying temerature ranges, excessive dirt, faulty power...I don't think it's gotten toooo wet, you get the idea. Last legs is probably a generous assessment.

Because of the age of the systems, and the fact that it never really worked right, I went shopping. Having been an AT&T/Lucent/Avaya customer for over 15 years, I started there. The rep who showed up wanted to sell me their OfficeIP system. "So fancy!", I thought as he did his presentation. But pricey, and I didn't get a real sense of comfort from this guy that he really wanted to solve my problems. Perhaps had he spent some more time understanding my situation, but he was focused on his product.

I called in a vendor for NEC systems. They sell other brands too, but the NEC's are their focus. They recommend a NEC Aspire system for their ability to network and give me centralized voice mail via a Vangard 4-port VMS.

Dollars are less important to me than a system works well. Though, for reference, anything over $40K is going to be an extremely tough sell. I'm looking for suggestions on a good solid set of phone systems that will network well and allow the separation between the buildings to disappear as far as using the phones goes. I don't care whether it uses VOIP or tradiontal methods. I just need a reliable, manageable solution.

Anybody got any ideas?

You need to look at this purchase as a capital investment. 40k is not gonna buy you what you need IMHO especially networking and doing it the right way. You may want to seriously look as leasing with a dollar buyout OR fair market will allow you to not only depreciate the system for tax purposes but for business expense. Don't hamstring yourself for the next 10 years because you wanted to save a few bucks a month. Good Luck.

Comdial would be a possibility.

Well, if you're willing to go out on a limb, what do you think "doing it right" would cost? I won't quote you on the request for capital, promise.

And as far as Comdial, any particular model system in mind?

[This message has been edited by Wheels (edited December 10, 2004).]

NEC ASPIRE is the way to go..........

With a centralized VM? I beg to differ GS. I still have nightmares about customers bitching about callers thinking they are in limbo waiting to get to a mailbox. Have them demo it for you. I haver no problems with the NEC..hell we are a dealer. I would make damn sure you get it in writing that you can do what you want to do with NO exceptions or excuses. Make sure to flow chart how call handling will work and make them STICK TO IT! Including time to voicemail and getting a call through the network and powerfail. I prefer Tadiran I have also done ESI, Siemens, Lucent...yada yada yada. Every system has it's quirks. Some alot less..ie Tadiran aka Sprint Flexicom. Good luck..and remember it's easy to say you can do something and another to actually do it.

Wheels,
Have you looked at the new Telrad systems, they have come down on there prices and they will do all that you need and more. With your point to point it will act like one system, very smooth and rock solid. When they are ready it migrates to VOIP with no problem.



[This message has been edited by dtmf (edited December 11, 2004).]

Local vendor would probably point you towards at least FXII or MP5000. MP5000 will allow you to go VOIP down the road. Both network easily, also able to use 1 centralized Vmail. Going with VOIP at this point won't be as "transparent" as you may like.

Wheels I already dropped you an email, a VoIP solution would be my recommendation and that can be achieved in a number of ways. You say that the Merlin never worked right, Coral Tech is right that each system has it's pros and cons, how much traffic is pushed between the two sites? You could either go with a complete VoIP solution or use legacy Digital PBX switches with gateways, what I am saying is that you need a thorough site survey from a vendor that does care about your needs and will provide you with an honest cost effective solution (which may or may not fit within your 40K budget) rather than a salesman trying to meet this months quota.

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Milestone Technologies
One stop solutions for all of your Telecom, Data and VoIP needs
www.milestone-technologies.com

Still looking here. Met with Milestone on Monday and looked at a pure VoIP solution. Neat. I gotta say it really appeals to me as an IT Manager. However, it doesl feel risky compared to traditional PBX/Key systems. I know our network is strong and also know how to strengthen it further. But network contention is death to VoIP phone systems (as I understand it) so I have to be concerned.

Meeting with another vendor who contacted me through this board today. We'll be looking at Avaya (again). I admit to being reluctant on this meeting but perhaps a different vendor will leave me with a better feeling for an Avaya solution.

I've also contacted Tadiran directly to recommend a dealer in my area. I'll keep this thread up-to-date as we work through the different products and see what's what.

At the moment, I'd have to say I'm leaning towards a pure VoIP solution. Probably because I understand the technology better. I built the network (well, gutted and replaced) at both of my manufacturing plants. It's grown over the years and not always as I would've done it, but you have to give your people the room to make their own mark. Regardless, IP networking is so simple that I have a hard time not seeing the advantages of the pure VoIP approach. And let's face it, that's where all the development is. The real question is whether the technology is ready to run on a netowrk that is constructed with (relatively) affordable switching and routing.