Ira

Talk to a local interconnect company. Their business is installing and maintaining telephone systems. You might want to look at an Avaya Partner System or one of the small Panasonic systems. yes, wireless is always a possibility.

capitol

We deal with only small business and would stongly recommend the Comdial DX80. Its scalable, reliable & definately affordable. You can get a 6 line, 8 phone and 4 analog capable system for about 2600 and with VM for about 3500. The system grows to 16 lines, 48 digital stations and upto 16 analog. I don't think that going totally wireless will benefit you at all. You can use the analog ports of a system and have cordless handsets or headsets. Using both corded and cordless technologies gives the best flexibilities.

kayyoub

Looks like you need a good reliable key system.

Good used system should run you $2-4 grand

VoIP: Makes sense if you do a lot of international calling. Does not make as much sense for domestic. Other consideration, will the system you buy be compatible with the solution

Wireless is always possible, check out the Spectralink product

Installation:

Once you determine your needs:

1) pick a location
2) the vendor will do a survey to determin gounding, power and space requirements. You may have to bring in a cabling contractor to wire up your stations
3) the vendor will usually install for an addtional fee
4) then a monthly service contract

Maintenance is usaully covered at a flat rate. MACs are charged extra and may take up to a week depending on youor agreement

dixiedogger

I think if you are going into an office where you will have to run all new cabeling VOIP makes alot of sense. Here's why

1. You can run 1 cable to each desk. This saves between 100 and 200 dollars a work station which adds up after a few.The phone plugs into the Network jack then the computer plugs in the phone. In an envionment this small you will have no QOS problems as long as you use a layer 2 switch. Try to get a switch that will power your phones over ethernet so you dont have to have seperate power for the phone.

2. It saves alot of money on mac. You want to move a phone? just pick it up and move it anywhere on the network. Thats it.

3. It sets you up for all kind of neat technology in the future. You could use 802.11b to run wireless computers as well as phones. Your people could VPN into your network from home/hotel and use their VOIP phone or a softphone just like they were in the office. The list goes on...........

Personally if I were in your situation I would look hard at a BCM by Nortel. It will have almost everything you want in one unit and can grow to about 100 phones. It also does plain TDM phones, analog phones, 802.11b wireless phones, ACD, VM, CDR and programs via web browser. Nortel also makes a ethernet switch to power the phones and the phones are 802.11af compliant so you can use any switch that meets the standard to power them. Try to use the same vendor for voice and data so you can put it all on one contract if you choose to have one. Also make sure whatever brand you choose that there is more than one company in your area that are authrozied distributers.

good luck

paul144

1) You could probably eventually figure out how to do this yourself, but the expenditure of time and aggravation would NOT be worth it.
2) It sounds like you do not necessarily need VOIP and I would talk to some people in the industry before I considerred it for a small office solution. The technology is still in its infancy and many, if not all, of the small VOIP systems are at least a little glitchy.
3) There are a number of good maufacturers out there, but for this size of an application, I love the ESI product line. Fully integrated voice mail, auto attendant, easily programmed by the end-user (you) to save on expensive service calls later on.
Avaya, Panasonic, Toshiba, Comdial all have excellent products for this size of an application.

kayyoub

One thing you guys may want to clarify.

There is a big difference between VoIP and IP extensions. Some of you guys need to make this distinction between the 2 or it will cost you a lot.

The other thing I would strongly recommend: don't get commited to a brand name. Buy what meets your needs

dixiedogger

voice over internet protocol. To me this means if you are taking voice putting it in internet protocol packets and using it as a means to transmit your voice then it is VOIP. Weather its between the phone and the pbx/key system or weather its around the world. I have never heard anyone specify a difference between IP extensions from VOIP. What exactly is you definition of VOIP?[/quote]

Chas2002

Vet - You might want to check out this link:

http://nortel.pbxinfo.com/index.php?...isplay&ceid=20

I'd like to make the above page a thorugh as possible - So, if you have questions that weren't answered in the document - let me know.

Chas2002

__________________
Free Preview of my fictional book: Chaos Theorem .:-:. Employment: Find a new job on pbxjobs.com

Best Video Jukebox on the net (mini-flash widget) | and | Do you want to store your MP3 files? visit: Musecast.com

Why not start a blog http://www.pbxinfo.com/blog.php - it's 110% free.

kayyoub

Right, VoIP is sending voice over a packet switched network. I've been working with Nortel, Aspect and Ericsson systems and their is a clear distinction on the infrastructure side. They require different components in the chasis configurations and IT infrastructure side connecting multiple campuses. It needs to have subnets set up, special cards to connect to the internet, CIR , layer 2 switches and its a lot of hassle to set up which translates into big $$$ for professional services. IP extensions are more robust and don't necessarily mean that much infrastructure

If you recommend a VoIP solution as opposed to IP extension feature, his quotes will be way out of what he has budgeted