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AHEM
03-18-2005, 10:46 PM
I'm bidding a fairly large and fairly elaborate telephone system for a commercial project.

This project consists of two offices, which are located in different cities.

Office #1 would have 4 or 5 CO lines and 6 or 7 extensions. Cordless isn't important.

Office #2 would have 4 or 5 CO lines and approximately 20 extensions.

Here's the kicker. Both of these office need to be able so transfer and forwad incoming calls to each other.

For instance, a customer calls office #1 and is looking for employee #4. If employee #4 isn't at office #1 then the operator needs the capablity of being able to transfer to either office #2, employee #4's mobile phone or right to voice mail.

Employee #4 would then need one centralized voice mail account to check messages.

Another scenario would be that nobody is in office #2 for the day, so all calls would need to be routed to office #1 or vice versa.

In summary, I need pretty sophisticated phone system with full voice processing and routing capability.

This is going to go well beyond what the old standby Panasonic 624 is capable of in terms of voice processing integration.

I've yet to use a Panny 848. Should I consider it?

Avaya? Vodavi?

How about a digital Panny? No, I'm not certified, but the scope of this job could make it worth my while to do so.

Any other brands that I should be considering?

Greg_C
03-19-2005, 08:29 AM
Contact Fred at Capitol Sales. 1-800-INSTALL X231. He will help you speck out the right equipment for the job. www.capitolsales.com

AHEM
03-19-2005, 08:46 AM
Contact Fred at Capitol Sales. 1-800-INSTALL X231. He will help you speck out the right equipment for the job. www.capitolsales.com

Capitol's moving and it seems that their phone people are all tied up working on their own phones.

AHEM
03-19-2005, 08:48 AM
Speaking of phones, has anyone done anything with VoIP?

I was at a large manufacturer's plant the other day and they had some really, really cool Cisco VoIP phones in there.

Gary
03-19-2005, 12:05 PM
Speaking of phones, has anyone done anything with VoIP?

I was at a large manufacturer's plant the other day and they had some really, really cool Cisco VoIP phones in there.

VoIP would probably be the way to go with this, we've done something similar for a jet broker that wanted their extensions to forward to their cell phones when they're out of the office. I guess you don't want to miss a call when it could be a 10 million dollar sell.

We used the 624 and it work ok but not great, it was very clunky to use and of course tied up two lines when transferring off site. There was also a notable drop in volume in the transferred calls.

This client used this system for several years and was never completely happy with the way it works. He called me recently to tell me he was adding a second office and wanted to do exactly what your client wants, I told him this was beyond my area of expertise and recommended that he call a firm that specialized in VoIP systems.

In the past I have made the terrible mistake of taking on jobs that looked like big money makers but were outside of my specialty, in most of these cases I have lost money and/or pissed people off. You have to decide in this is really the hill you want to die on.

sirroundsound
03-19-2005, 02:43 PM
We use VOIP in our office and a panasonic 816, everything seems to work well. Has anyone dealt with NEC and their phone systems, they also look good.

AHEM
03-19-2005, 02:53 PM
Speaking of phones, has anyone done anything with VoIP?

I was at a large manufacturer's plant the other day and they had some really, really cool Cisco VoIP phones in there.

You have to decide in this is really the hill you want to die on.

I'd prefer not to die on this hill. However, indications are such that within a few years, everyone who's doing phone systems will be pretty much forced into the VoIP business. The technology seems to be here today so maybe it's worth taking a look into.

AHEM
03-19-2005, 02:54 PM
We use VOIP in our office and a panasonic 816, everything seems to work well.

Did you install it or did you hire it out?

Jerry
03-19-2005, 03:16 PM
Speaking of phones, has anyone done anything with VoIP?

I was at a large manufacturer's plant the other day and they had some really, really cool Cisco VoIP phones in there.

VoIP would probably be the way to go with this, we've done something similar for a jet broker that wanted their extensions to forward to their cell phones when they're out of the office. I guess you don't want to miss a call when it could be a 10 million dollar sell.

We used the 624 and it work ok but not great, it was very clunky to use and of course tied up two lines when transferring off site. There was also a notable drop in volume in the transferred calls.

This client used this system for several years and was never completely happy with the way it works. He called me recently to tell me he was adding a second office and wanted to do exactly what your client wants, I told him this was beyond my area of expertise and recommended that he call a firm that specialized in VoIP systems.

In the past I have made the terrible mistake of taking on jobs that looked like big money makers but were outside of my specialty, in most of these cases I have lost money and/or pissed people off. You have to decide in this is really the hill you want to die on.

This is where centrex comes to play. I just did a 1232 system where we did a flash/speed dial to connect to cell phones, works great and does not chew up 2 lines.

sirroundsound
03-19-2005, 03:58 PM
AHEM, I've been doing 816's and 1232's for years, the VOIP is fairly simple to tie into the phone system. More work setting the VOIP up, once thats done the 816 is just a phone to it.

PAAI
03-19-2005, 05:26 PM
Are these offices near or far from each other (long distance or different area code) ?IF so, you may want to get certified or call in someone who can do a NEC NEAX 1000 and then add a CCIS inteface to the network (let's assume T1). You will be able to have the phone sysyem work as one+ if they are in different area codes there is least cost routing table and programming that has to be done. This well over my head and is left to people who do this day in and day out and by getting the best programmer and table, that is how the client saves money.

There are some cool VOIP things out there, but for me they are untested and I certainly wouldn't sell them to anyone until I could test them and set them up myself. I sure would like to get some to play with. Have a look at Astrix

AHEM
03-19-2005, 05:51 PM
[quote="Where_oh_Where"]Are these offices near or far from each other (long distance or different area code) ?

They're actually in a different states, but they're only about 15 miles away from each other and there's a chance that they may be toll free calls. I've not gotten that far yet.

Another factor is that there existing telephone numbers are very well publicized and if VoIP = having to change their telephone numbers then that could very well be a major issue with them.

Lets assume for the time being that we'll be using standard phone company provided analog lines. Would I be doing them a disservice to spec a Panny 848 instead of one of the digitals?

I'm most concerned about voice procession integration. The 624 left a lot to be desired (particularly the ablility to transfer to groups) I've heard that the 848 has much improved voice processing capabilites, but I've yet to tinker with one.

Are there any Partner installers out there who can comment on their higher end voice processors?

vette84
03-19-2005, 10:47 PM
VoIP is definately the way to go with this. Either leased lines between the offices, or VPN through internet connections. Nothing like Vonage or whatever cable companies are pushing nowadays. Basically, a VoIP system is a key system that communicates over IP. You bring your existing phone lines into the unit, then all the phones are addressed by IP. I've worked with (minimally, and did not install them) VoIP systems from Cisco and Intertel. Cisco definately big dog kinda stuff, probably overkill for this. Look into Intertel or Vodavi. Unfortunately, you might have to hire this out because most manufacturers require you to be certified to install their VoIP systems. Definately higher dollar stuff, too.

Fastfred
03-21-2005, 10:35 AM
Capitol is operational.

99 moving vans later.

BlakeAV
03-23-2005, 06:33 PM
We installed a Cisco VoIP phone system about 3 or 4 months ago and the term “early adopter blues” is what comes to mind. It has solved our problem of transferring between our Cali office and our office in Atlanta and yes the system is feature rich. But, I still hear the digital echo and I have to “reboot” my phone from time to time. What is also weird is when ever I call Canada I get a monster echo and have to ask the client to call me back on our 800#.
VoIp is definitely the wave to catch and waiting for the perfect wave ensures that you will never surf. Just be aware of the fact that what you are selling is NOT a phone, it is an internet appliance and with that there are always going to be issue’s.

Dogman
03-27-2005, 01:33 PM
[quote=Where_oh_Where]Are these offices near or far from each other (long distance or different area code) ?

They're actually in a different states, but they're only about 15 miles away from each other and there's a chance that they may be toll free calls. I've not gotten that far yet.

Another factor is that there existing telephone numbers are very well publicized and if VoIP = having to change their telephone numbers then that could very well be a major issue with them.

Lets assume for the time being that we'll be using standard phone company provided analog lines. Would I be doing them a disservice to spec a Panny 848 instead of one of the digitals?

I'm most concerned about voice procession integration. The 624 left a lot to be desired (particularly the ablility to transfer to groups) I've heard that the 848 has much improved voice processing capabilites, but I've yet to tinker with one.

Are there any Partner installers out there who can comment on their higher end voice processors?

AHEM this is actually a very simple solution that does not require VOIP unless you want it too. Why don't you give me a call tomorrow 888-295-7659 or 888-456-0460 and I will give you the details. We are an Avaya Dealer and I have been working on their products for 13 years. Once we iron it out you can call Fred and get the equipment.

Eric "Dogman"

Dogman
03-30-2005, 06:09 PM
AHEM any luck on getting that bid done? What did you go with?

Dog