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I didn't know Panasonic made a business phone system. Has anybody used this?
I am looking to buy a phone system for my new business; pretty basic stuff - 20 users, conference calling ability, remote access to voicemail, call routing, a few of my agents will work offsite, etc. In my research I saw that Panasonic has business phone systems and I was wondering if they were any good? Just looking to get any feedback or reviews.
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9 Answers
Panasonic is a very basic phone system - typically at the low end of the price catagory.
Consider alternatives such as Hosted VoIP or Premise based VoIP solutions - within 5 years the majority of users will be VoIP.
Even if your requirements are basic, realize the 'power' of VoIP - especially hosted - no capital cost, lower cost services, more bang for your dollar.
Panasonic's niche is SMB and with the NCP (Network Communications Platform), sold only by Authorized and Certified Dealers, Panasonic NCP systems give businesses a choice of solutions. Avaya, Inter-tel and especially Cisco are major players in the enterprise sector, but for ease of use and programming, Panasonic is hard to beat. ROI and TCO are also very competitive.
The NCP platform supports IP telephones, SIP phones,DECT 6.0 wireless phones and digital phones, while also supporting many previous Panasonic product models.
This is a true Hybrid IP/PBX designed with Small businesses who also need remote worker access. As with any major business solution, make sure you are using a trusted provider. To add validity to Panasonic's validity in the marketplace the NJ-based information technology market research firm T3i Group, affirms Panasonic’s leading position in the worldwide business telephony arena.
“For the second consecutive quarter in 2009 Panasonic has garnered top market share globally with strong leadership in the under-100-extension market,” said Bill Taylor, the company’s president. “Panasonic achieved 11% overall market share for the period worldwide, and enjoys a commanding 11 point lead over the next nearest vendor in the under 40 extension market, where our performance was especially strong.”
http://www.linkedin.com/news?viewArticle=&articleID=80713622&gid=79057&articl...
This is exactly what I am talking about - more bang for you dollar. I was the Canadian Director of Sales, Voice, Polycom and the HD experience is amazing, as is the price that these folks are offering solutions.
Nothing wrong with Panasonic, just as there is nothing wrong with a Ford Taurus - but there are other offerings providing better end user value, lower TCO and faster ROI's.
Nothing in it for me - also check out SimpleSignal.com
Best of luck.
I would recommend that you stay with the main players...Cisco, Avaya, or even Mitel or Inter-tel. Your customers will see the kind of technology that you use. You want them to be impressed that you are using leading edge technology. You also want leading edge support.
Any small (and medium) sized business looking for a telecommunications solution should look at some of the Hosted Unified Communications Services that are becoming readily available. Hosted Telecom is the preferred choice for fast growing businesses that do not want the expense, headaches or limitations of a hardware centric proprietary system. Look for a reputable service provider who uses either; Cisco, IBM or even Microsoft equipment or software. Avaya does not offer a Hosted solution.
The monthly costs per station look expensive but compare them to a 3 to 5 year life cycle of a telephone system with all the maintenance and line connection costs associated with them. For a fast growing business, the life cycle can be even shorter and with hosted communications, you can buy what you need now and add what you need later with a lot less pain.
With modern PCs and workstations equipped with camera’s and sound you don’t need telephone handsets either. You can even do it yourself with sites like PBX in a Flash http://pbxinaflash.net/
Thank you, Gary, for setting things right about Panasonic.
I don't have much to add, but if you are looking for a business telephone system, Ralph, you can not o much better then Panasonic.
The NCP, TDE and the smaller (but full featured) TDA-50 G systems all support standard (copper) CO lines. The problem with hosted systems in a smaller business environment is if you loose your internet connection, you loose everything, including your telephones. If you have good old IMLs, you can still do business (over the telephone) while your service providers try and fix your broken internet. Large enterprise businesses can afford all kinds of redundancy for their vital multipurpose internet services. Small businesses usually can't justify such overhead.
Just something to think about...
I can help you.
Please send me an e-mail or call 510.450.8116.
Please call me or e-mail me if you would like some direction on the purchase of a telephone system.
My telephone number is 720-895-4709
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