Absolute newbie looking at VOIP for small office

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myfullflavour

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#730213 11-Dec-2012 09:58

chevrolux: If you can find someone local to install and Asterisk box that would be a bit cheaper. But labour will be a bit higher compared to a branded PABX as there is a lot more set up to do. All you have to pay for is the IP phones and the server hardware so maybe if you have a supply deal with the distributors (Ingram Micro, Snapper Net come to mind first off) then it could be a good option. Then it is just a case of getting a guy (or girl, better be PC) to set up Asterisk.

This is the other option I'd suggest. I've sent you a PM - let me know if you're keen for someone on the ground in Tauranga to help out with this project.

Llory

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#730256 11-Dec-2012 10:35

We use OneAccess at work, as you said Cisco is very pricey. We drop a soft PABX into the router and away we go. An interagator is a good place to start, he can scope your project and give you some good feedback., Fraser seems to be highly recommend in this post.

ajobbins

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#730272 11-Dec-2012 11:07

nzgman:If you want to go to a real flash system then the Avaya IP office would be one to look at, you could start with analogue lines and then later move to SIP or any other line option. The phones don't have to be VOIP as the PABX takes care of that and you can use what ever phone type you like. (analogue, digital, IP, SIP)

We have this at work and all I can say is AVOID.

They replaced our Asterisk based system with it, and we have significantly LESS functionality now.

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nzgman

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#730281 11-Dec-2012 11:17

ajobbins:
nzgman:If you want to go to a real flash system then the Avaya IP office would be one to look at, you could start with analogue lines and then later move to SIP or any other line option. The phones don't have to be VOIP as the PABX takes care of that and you can use what ever phone type you like. (analogue, digital, IP, SIP)

We have this at work and all I can say is AVOID.

They replaced our Asterisk based system with it, and we have significantly LESS functionality now.

What functionality did you lose? Avaya puts a lot of money into research and development and if there is a feature they don't have that looses them sales they will look into adding it in a future release. You can now have Avaya Flare on a Ipad and use that as a phone with video being added in the next week or so.

Avaya is a world leader in pabx's but I have found that some tech's don't do a very good job of installing it or maybe the company you work for did not want to pay for some of the features you are missing?

Have pm'ed you as don't want to hijack the thread.

Graham

www.offthehook.co.nz

ajobbins

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#730298 11-Dec-2012 11:41

nzgman, I can't reply to your PM cos you have set to not allow them.

We lost a bunch of stuff. The voicemail was crap. We had to ditch it and now running voicemail on Exchange.

We had an Asterisk system hooked in very tigthly with IVRs, ACD and integrated into some of our internal apps, like our call centre app. The Avaya is much more limited in the way in which we can integrate with it. Apparently trying to integrate it with OCS (Which we had previously) has been a nightmare. Almost in the 'too hard' basket.

No body is happy with it. It also falls over from time to time, and we have had issues with the clock getting out of sync which has caused our call centre lots of issues (timed routes etc).

I'm not directly involved with the part of the business that put it in, but I have heard even they are regretting the decision. Nothing works as it was supposed to, and it costs a fortune for Avaya to come in and then say, oh nah, it can't do that how you want.

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nate

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#730300 11-Dec-2012 11:45

BayMarineElectronics: I'm still a little confused about the internet usage - will this be taken off my monthly data allowance?

Correct. Unless you use someone like WxC who zero rate that data. To be honest, it won't be a lot.

For example, a 10 minute g729 (it's the codec it uses) call will use 2.29 MB. See calculator here.

BayMarineElectronics: will Vodafone allow me to connect to different SIPs?

I don't see why not.

BayMarineElectronics: If I was going with VoIP, could I keep my analog line for the alarm?

Yes you could, or get a GSM module for it (this is what I did for another business I own when we moved to naked DSL)

BayMarineElectronics: the Vodafone Easy Office seems to be perfect for me, however i can't do without the additional features of a PBX. Does anyone know if Vodafone is planning on opening their SIP up to other hardware in the near future? Has anyone had any luck connecting a PBX through the vodafone box? do they do VOIP other than the Easy Office package?

Save yourself the hassle and go with WxC*. Rock solid, alittle more expensive however they won't give you any grief, which is pretty important when it comes to phones.

BayMarineElectronics: If I do go with the in house option, which hardware is best? I have already had a quick look at the Cisco stuff, which has impressed, but found a couple of comments which mention their high price on the forum, Samsung has also been mentioned by Chevrolux, are there any other hardware options I should be looking at? What is the main difference between brands?

Can't comment on this part, have been out of this game for too many years now.

*disclaimer: We were a WxC dealer but haven't been for four or so years.

ajobbins

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#730309 11-Dec-2012 11:52

If you need hardware, like phones etc, have a look at http://www.nicegear.co.nz. Good prices and Hadley has been great to deal with.

I would be looking at Xnet VFX SIP trunks - one per extn. Then you are getting a DDI too. Lines are about $11.50 a month inc GST, plus $6.95 per line if you want the advances feature set.

Then you don't have to worry about running/maintaining a PBX. The Cisco Linksys phones are really good and get remotely provisioned by VFX so you don't have to worry about that.

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nzgman

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#730340 11-Dec-2012 12:10

We lost a bunch of stuff. The voicemail was crap. We had to ditch it and now running voicemail on Exchange.

We had an Asterisk system hooked in very tigthly with IVRs, ACD and integrated into some of our internal apps, like our call centre app. The Avaya is much more limited in the way in which we can integrate with it. Apparently trying to integrate it with OCS (Which we had previously) has been a nightmare. Almost in the 'too hard' basket.

No body is happy with it. It also falls over from time to time, and we have had issues with the clock getting out of sync which has caused our call centre lots of issues (timed routes etc).

I'm not directly involved with the part of the business that put it in, but I have heard even they are regretting the decision. Nothing works as it was supposed to, and it costs a fortune for Avaya to come in and then say, oh nah, it can't do that how you want.

Sounds like some issues are bad programming and surprised about the voice-mail comment as it is a very nice voice-mail solution on IP Office and very easy for customers to use. Also surprised about the clock issues as there are a few ways to set up and maintain the clock.

Wondering if maybe you have Avaya Aura and not Avaya IP Office as they are very different products.

Your issues would not be a issue for what BayMarineElectronics is after as I don't think they would be integrating with any data basses.

Anyway digressing from the main topic and you should be able to PM me now as have found and changed the setting that blocked it.

Graham

www.offthehook.co.nz

ajobbins

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#730353 11-Dec-2012 12:23

nzgman: Anyway digressing from the main topic and you should be able to PM me now as have found and changed the setting that blocked it.

Nope, it still says you don't allow PMs

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nzgman

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#730370 11-Dec-2012 12:41

ajobbins:
nzgman: Anyway digressing from the main topic and you should be able to PM me now as have found and changed the setting that blocked it.

Nope, it still says you don't allow PMs

settings did not save, hopefully fine now.

Graham

www.offthehook.co.nz

chevrolux

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#731140 12-Dec-2012 09:46

Well that got off topic quickly... Mod clean (including this post)?.. except Nate's post.

hads

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#731316 12-Dec-2012 12:43

ajobbins: If you need hardware, like phones etc, have a look at http://www.nicegear.co.nz. Good prices and Hadley has been great to deal with.

Thanks for the mention, OP please feel free to contact me if we can help with hardware.

nicegear.co.nz - VoIP, DVB and other Linux compatible hardware

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