| "...Nortel, NEC, Avaya and Siemens..."
NorTel. I started on NorTel. It was Northen Telecom back then. Obviously a good switch, just look at how many are installed. They seem to have had to get into VoIP just to get away from an aging platform. Lot's of techs/companies available to support it. And that is very important.
NEC. Don't know. I know there are a lot of NEAX 2400's around.
Avaya. My PBX of choice. Bell Labs. American. Need I say more. I was at a company that had a Mitel PBX in a call center environment and ran out of gas. Naturally I was looking at NorTel but we brought in a consulting firm to help us evaluate a new switch. We looked hard at the NorTel (Option81c) and Avaya (G3r). As much as I wanted the NorTel to "win" it could not. The Avaya could handle more calls and Avaya had more add ons (voicemail, IVR, ect) that were more tightly integrated. To be sure, NorTel may have closed the gap since then.
Siemens. I got a big bag of nothin' on this.
Consider Mitel. They make a good product too.
If cost is an issue. The Avaya will be at a disadvantage. Try to find an Avaya Business Partner. GET THREE BIDS!
Whoever you buy from check on systems they have installed! No pictures, go look at it and talk to the customer... |