Ipanema,
I have to agree with Hal. AT&T (not the new at&t), Lucent, Avaya, all have a pedigree that used to be (being the operative term) a leader in the industry due to the historical link and the technological base that produced some of the world's most advanced and rugged equipment known to man.
The rugged dependability reminds me of the old 1A2 equipment and, at first, about the same level of features. As time went on it advanced but still retained the basics as features were added. Heck, (Off Topic) the Spirit systems were easier and quicker to sell and install. But Avaya won out with the Partners.
The IPOffice offering --- well, not many of the customer's in my area will touch it. Cost, constant maintenance, and "it just won't work". In my market most customers do not have an in house IT guy to baby sit a system.
People like to be comfortable. IP is outside their comfort zone if they don't wear a pocket protector.
Bankers, being conservative, have jumped on to the IP market due to the branch banking being tied to the main office. Data equals voice and all in one place. It also means one lost, all lost. Now they are NOT happy.
Seeing as I have hijacked this thread, it is not only Avaya that has a problem, most manufacturers' are leaning in that direction. Avaya is by far the farthest behind (or is it ahead?). Customer support of existing equipment is ridicules. Why would you wait 3-5 days to get a Partner repaired, 7-10 days to get a MAC? So the "Business Partners" are brought in to cover the Avaya short-fall. While most are good, well, it isn't the same as when the product producer, the installer, and the support were all by the same company.
Now IP is the catch phrase to make everything "OK". Wrong. Several car dealers and banks (all owned out of the local metro area) have the IP solutions. The only people happy are the IT / CGs. QoS, downtime, poor equipment (no difference in brands here).
It is easy to sell TDM equipment in my market, almost impossible to sell IP, and Avaya doesn't have a clue how to support the small market anymore. The newest Partner new install in this area is ten years old.
So, in the 40 station or less market, will IP or TDM be the winner?
Ipanema, I'm a former Bell employee and I've been doing this since 1965.
Thread back to you.
