IT guys: What PBX do you use?

[iamwiz82]

Need some suggestions to replace our aging ADIX system. What PBX do you use and do you like it?

 

[loup garou]

We use (and sell, setup, maintain) 3Com NBX systems. I like them very much, although they are not entirely my forte in our business. Simple to use PoE phones, find-me, follow-me works well, easy remote administration, robust VM that emails you VMs, very reliable and well-made hardware, relatively easy to add/suport remote users. Things I don't like are 3com support is pretty crappy (read: somewhere in Asia) and we have some problems with analog cards locking up ports a bit more often than I'd like, but I think it's because of our buildings' phone system. All of our clients are running on T1s/PRIs with analog backup lines, with no reported similar problems.


Which reminds me, I gotta bug my boss to send me to training.

 

[mzkhadir]

Nortel

 

[tranceport]

Cisco Call Manager

 

[xchangx]

NEC

 

[iamwiz82]

What PBX do you use and do you like it?

My, what a great question!

 

[TUKIN18S]

Originally posted by: xchangx
NEC

x2

 

[spidey07]

PBXs are a little dead. It's all IPTel now.

-edit-
If you're looking to replace, then you really should be doing IP.

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: spidey07
PBXs are a little dead. It's all IPTel now.

-edit-
If you're looking to replace, then you really should be doing IP.

The cost of rewiring a building we aren't going to keep is too much. This building isn't worth sinking any money into. Trust me, I have to deal with a roof leak directly over my head :laugh:

 

[Danman]

Originally posted by: tranceport
Cisco Call Manager

That's not a PBX system, that's an IPT system.

For me, I rolled out 3 different offices with a Cisco IPT solution. Very nice, yet very expensive. Also, take the time to learn it; or you'll be putting quite a bit of TAC cases in. :laugh:

 

[syee]

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
Need some suggestions to replace our aging ADIX system. What PBX do you use and do you like it?

Avaya...
but I guess the question is how many users is this for?

 

[brtspears2]

Nortel BCM series. Easy enough to learn to configure it. Nortel support is excellent.

 

[ryan256]

Televantage.
Its a software PBX that runs off of one of your servers. Desktop client offers amazing functionality and can work with any phone. Scales to any size very easily.

 

[GeekDrew]

Originally posted by: spidey07
PBXs are a little dead. It's all IPTel now.

-edit-
If you're looking to replace, then you really should be doing IP.

The vast majority of telecom guys I know, including many mailing lists for PBXs and Asterisk, etc., still refer to VOIP systems as PBX's.

For VOIP, I'd recommend a 3Com NBX if you don't want to spend much time managing it, etc. Asterisk is more powerful, and open source, and etc., but there's a steep learning curve for the administrator.

Nortel/Meridian is a favorite for legacy PBX's. Of course, if you only need a handful of sets, that's horribly overkill...

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: syee

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
Need some suggestions to replace our aging ADIX system. What PBX do you use and do you like it?

Avaya...
but I guess the question is how many users is this for?

Around 250.

Difficulty: The system has to be portable. The company is strongly thinking of relocating locations and splitting, so all plans much be modular enough to split up to go their seperate ways.

 

[GrantMeThePower]

What is a good choice if the user number is closer to say 30? I heard of a PBX type system that was called Talkswitch. Anyone know anything about that?

 

[DaiShan]

Asterisk. OSS, powerful, and you can build it on commodity hardware. (with the exception of the PRI cards or channel banks)

/edit it will also ease your transition into iptel.

 

[loup garou]

Originally posted by: ryan256
Televantage.
Its a software PBX that runs off of one of your servers. Desktop client offers amazing functionality and can work with any phone. Scales to any size very easily.

Wow, I didn't think televantage was still around. We had a televantage server before we moved to NBX. It was ok for small biz, I guess, pretty buggy and the client would crash fairly regularly. I miss the call screening/caller announcement features though, those are add-ons 3Com charges for that we haven't bought yet for the NBX.

 

[melchoir]

Avaya.

 

[SuperNaruto]

I been running Nortel for a while... Nortel MICS, Norstar, Option 11s..

Newer BCM are better.. older options are rock solid but lacks good management..

Currently have Avaya IP phones.. they're okay...

Depending on your size and needs.. also deployed IPC turrets before.. 25 station, 350k

At this point, I would go with IP phones.. unless you're a small shop, and dont need fancy features..

Just so that you know, pbx has depreciation rate. Had a few sites that spent 150k on like 100+ phones pbx and 6 month later.. only got offers in the 20's to do a buy back..

 

[kt]

We have a mixture of Mitel digital and IP phones.