asked on What is the most cost effective yet reliable cloud VOIP platform?
We are currently using AVAYA voip system in my firm but the licence costs are extortionate as well as the maintainence costs. Im thinking a clouded voip system would be the answer but not sure what is a reliable but cost effective option that has stood the test of time with as little downtime as possible. I work for a stockbrokers so it would be an uproar of our phones went down so reliability is key. Any options would be greatly appreciated. Oh and im in the UK but I guess with clouded voip it doesnt matter where you are but a place with 24hr support would be good.
Cloud ServicesIP TelephonyVoice Over IP
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Gavin Tech
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ASKER
250 phones only
ouch, outbound calling, ie bandwidth requirements for how many simultaneous calls? That is a lot. Outsourcing to cloud would be scary to me.
I've heard both good and bad things about Cloud VOIP solutions .. but the single bad thing that turns me off about it, is that I don't have control when something goes wrong. You are at the mercy of a 6 hour grueling phone call with a tech support agent in another country.. where most of the time they are trying to blame the problem on you.
Your system is .. "in house" I assume per your description.. and I would keep it that way because.. as an IT tech, you are likely capable of managing an in house system whether it's Avaya or other.. the concepts are all the same you just have a learning curve anytime you introduce a new system. Avaya is a good system.. lot's of bells and whistles, but if I can go the same distance in a Cadillac as I can a Mercedes.. I'm taking the Cadillac.. especially if the Cadillac is FREE.
If you really want to cut costs, you could go with an Open Source phone system, such as Asterisk, and focus on getting the best SIP trunk rates you can find. You can stand up an Asterisk system in a couple hours, for free..on a server in your network, or even a dedicated hosted system someplace else. No more license fees, .. no more 250 dollar phones with license fees. All you pay is your tech to put it together, and your phone bill. You could install virtualbox and install Asterisk on that to get familiar with it before you make a move as well.
I've worked with Cisco, Avaya, Shoretel, and even old Panasonic POTS systems back in the day.. and there is nothing any of these systems can do, that I can't do with an Asterisk PBX. In fact.. most of these highly supported and over touted systems, lack the ability to customize and integrate where I've always found ways to integrate Asterisk. With Asterisk...If you want to call extension GetMeACoke, .. I can make your soda machine spit out a can of coke..(for real).
My advice would be to get a free demo of any solution you are looking at.. first.. if you decide to go with Cloud.
Your system is .. "in house" I assume per your description.. and I would keep it that way because.. as an IT tech, you are likely capable of managing an in house system whether it's Avaya or other.. the concepts are all the same you just have a learning curve anytime you introduce a new system. Avaya is a good system.. lot's of bells and whistles, but if I can go the same distance in a Cadillac as I can a Mercedes.. I'm taking the Cadillac.. especially if the Cadillac is FREE.
If you really want to cut costs, you could go with an Open Source phone system, such as Asterisk, and focus on getting the best SIP trunk rates you can find. You can stand up an Asterisk system in a couple hours, for free..on a server in your network, or even a dedicated hosted system someplace else. No more license fees, .. no more 250 dollar phones with license fees. All you pay is your tech to put it together, and your phone bill. You could install virtualbox and install Asterisk on that to get familiar with it before you make a move as well.
I've worked with Cisco, Avaya, Shoretel, and even old Panasonic POTS systems back in the day.. and there is nothing any of these systems can do, that I can't do with an Asterisk PBX. In fact.. most of these highly supported and over touted systems, lack the ability to customize and integrate where I've always found ways to integrate Asterisk. With Asterisk...If you want to call extension GetMeACoke, .. I can make your soda machine spit out a can of coke..(for real).
My advice would be to get a free demo of any solution you are looking at.. first.. if you decide to go with Cloud.
ASKER
Went for RC and its great so thanks for that.