What's the best VoIP phone system?

Hi Mack,

There is no best, yet. VoIP is still improving. There are tons of factors to be considered. Such as, internet bandwidth, total number concurrent users, whether it is an on-premise or hosted, etc.

We use our own solutions and freeswitch for testing purposes. What exactly you would be looking for? Perhaps, I could help out.

www.voicersuite.com

According to a recent report published by the Eastern Management Group (http://www.easternmanagement.com), Asterisk is the most popular open source telephony software by far, holding 85% market share. In addition, the report finds that 18% of North American telephony installations now include open source components.

Two Leading Reasons for Choosing Open Source

The two main reasons for choosing open source, provided by respondents to the survey conducted as a basis to the report, were:

1. The minimal investment needed to create an open-source telephony system (open source PBXs typically cost ~40% less than conventional telephone systems)
2. The higher flexibility of the systems, as compared to proprietary, for integrating software applications

More Things to Look For...

In order to choose the open source telephony system that best suits your needs, you should keep the following in mind when reviewing your options:

1. Openness

One of the strengths of open source is the fact that the customer is less dependent on the vendor, that is, after the solution is implemented he has a variety of partners to work with for support, maintenance and upgrades. It is important to make sure that the system is not linked too tightly to a specific vendor. Some systems are based on open source, or have open source components, but as a complete system are “locked” to the specific vendor for any practical purpose. In today's economical atmosphere it is extremely important to know that even if the vendor goes through significant changes, the customer will still be able to get appropriate support from another company dealing with such systems.

2. "Parents"

Without contradicting the previous point, the customer should verify that the system they purchase has a good reliable vendor behind it. Since open source telephony, lead by Asterisk, makes it very simple to create an IP PBX, many integrators are tempted to do it all by themselves. Such "home-made" units may be well built, but they also may be unstable and hard to maintain for the long run. In this respect it is better to get a system that was produced by a manufacturer of open source IP PBX rather than a system built by the integrator.

3. Total Cost of Ownership

One of the most important drivers for open source telephony is the attractive price. However, it is important to do the right calculation and see what the total cost will be. Factors like additional network components (replacing a router, purchasing a new switch), maintenance costs and the like should be taken into account. One of the ways to significantly reduce the system's cost is to maximize usage of existing infrastructure such as wiring and handsets. This can have a significant effect on the overhaul system cost.

4. Good Integration Partner

It is important in any telephony system, but since open source systems are more flexible a good integrator will know how to take advantage of this flexibility and optimize the system.

5. Stability

Since there is a wide range of open source based offerings in the market today, and since the entry barrier for vendors is much lower with these new technologies than it was in the proprietary world, the customer should check references and talk to other end-users using the proposed system to make sure the system is right for him.

I agree with many of the previous answers. There is no 'best' solution. The answer is very dependent on many factors within the company desiring service. For the most part, I would heartily agree that a hosted solution, though it sounds enticing on the service, is a better fit for very small distributed groups, or companies that have a serious need to physically move their presence quickly (such as a construction trailer or mobile company). Don't do 3 year math. Consider 5 or 7 year math. As a former legacy phone system salesperson (15+ years at Nortel and its partners) I can tell you that many years ago, the life cycle of a phone system could be measured in decades, especially for large enterprise groups. I frequently come across former customers of mine that still have reliable and feature rich solutions that were installed in the 90's. VoIP, IP Telephony and advanced applications have tossed that concept aside when it comes to new system purchases. So...what's the best solution out there? Can't be answered. An excellent solution for Company A is a poor solution for Company B. Some systems have excellent call center apps, some are clunky. Some have extremely simple user and administrative interfaces (Shoretel gets consistent high rankings here), some are nightmarish, require multiple interfaces, don't tie together well with multiple applications and require serious study and patience. Some systems play better on a data network than others. Naturally, Cisco has a very strong solution, particularly when running within a Cisco data network. Some of the newest technology offerings have seriously cool and cost saving features, yet they have completely ignored features that have been available for 30+ years (paging applications, connections to necessary 3rd party applications). Some solutions work great with customized message on hold programs (my industry), while others (particularly hosted solutions) have practically eliminated the ability to easily support this basic, yet productive feature. Even the most basic of legacy features (a lighted button on a phone that would indicate busy status of a co-worker) is often a problem for newer technologies. Sure, a 'presence' application solves this, but not all 'presence' applications are easy to deploy and typically require your PC / laptop to be up and running with a window ready to roll. Also, most of the posts in this forum have mentioned newer groups like Fonality and Altigen. I would encourage anybody to not forget about those stalwart players like Avaya, Samsung, NEC, and others. They have committed serious resources to advancing their solutions and have rock solid history and current offerings that deserve a serious look.

Sum and substance. You have to know your requirements and shop them. There ain't no 'best' system.

John is totally right. You will not understand the true meaning of frustration until your VoIP service fails. I talk with small business owners and office managers weekly who hate their VoIP because of it's fragility. A hosted VoIP service is totally dependant on the data service at the client end (DSL, T1 etc.) and if the voice and data are sharing the same "pipe". So, one client may have a great experience with their VoIP and another would hate it but both have the same supplier.

Mitel, hands down and less expensive than most of the "entry level" systems available. Buy from a credible interconnect. Watch out for the re-occurring licenses and support fees. They can be a money-pit in the long run. Watch your back on putting all your eggs in one basket with hosted solutions. Open source systems will need some in-house expertise. When they're gone your toast.

We have seen many companies come and go, even Nortel!! But the one company that is standing and growing is tried and true( Avaya). Avaya has broght enterprise technology down to the SMB market at an affordable price with the IP Office 500, this solution can give customers the ability to go VOIP in between locations, and still have a mix of the Digital and IP world if they wish.

The Avaya IP Office incorporated with ATT's new offering Business in a Box for network services will give the SMB market an affordable and most importantly a solution that works!!.

Both comapnies are here for the long haul!!

www.pbxnsip.com - Its all about the integrator. Do you do your own plumbing, carpentry and electrical work at home? Some people can and do, but most companies need an expert. Voice is the most important customer - facing application in any company, don't skimp.

Have you considered AltiGen?

Traditional telephone systems have become obsolete with the convergence of voice and data networks. Selecting the right VoIP phone system is now one of the most important decisions facing businesses today. It will not only determine a company’s ability to leverage the applications and technology currently supporting their business, it also determines the complexity and cost of implementing new technologies in the future.

AltiGen’s IP PBX is a completely integrated unified communications platform for businesses looking to stay ahead of the technology curve. We offer comprehensive VoIP business phone system solutions for:

• Small to medium businesses
• Enterprise businesses
• Multi-site organizations
• Call Centers

Our focus is on delivering world class VoIP communications solutions which meet all of your business requirements. Since these capabilities are delivered in the form of software, instead of proprietary hardware systems, you are able to use just those applications, and number of users, which are right for your business.

AltiGen’s VoIP Business Phone Systems include:

• IP PBX Softswitch
• Windows Soft Phone Client
• VoIP Phones
• Call Center Agent Client
• VoIP Servers
• Call Center Supervisor Client
• Auto Attendant / IVR
• Windows Administration Client
• Voice Mail
• Operator Console
• Call Reporting
• IP Audio Conference Bridge
• Advanced Call Routing
• Mobile Communications
• Call Center (ACD)
• Multi-Site Enterprise Manager
• Call Recording
• Application Program Interface (API/SDK)

AltiGen’s all-in-one IP phone systems include standard PBX functionality, a comprehensive voice mail system, call detail reporting, call recording on demand, meet-me conference bridges, and an advanced auto attendant. The system is easily scaled in both size and capability.
Also
AltiGen Communications Successfully Completed Microsoft's Open Interoperability Program for Office Communications Server 2007 R2
Becoming the First Company to Offer an All-in-One Integrated Contact Center Application Server and PSTN Gateway for OCS 2007

www.altigen.com

Great responses. I'm in the telecommunications industry myself and I was hoping to strike up a nice debate. You all have made some great points. I believe that you need to assess the customers needs before you start pitching your product, but every sees a chance for business and they jump on it. Anyways, thanks again for your responses and the great discussion.

The best solution depends on the client needs. The question isn't about what is the best hardware or setup, but really about how you pay for your services. I consult with a company that has simplified the way businesses pay for telecom expenses and their clients love the peace of mind and accessibility they get from working with my client.

The interesting thing is that the company I'm referring to isn't married to any one service provider or any one hardware manufacturer. They simply go to bat for their clients to leverage their national buying power to bring in the lowest possible market price for their clients and then manage all of the vendor relationships to ensure reliability.

It is quite an interesting solution! If you are considering VOIP or you already have it this company guarantees they can reduce your monthly operating expenses and give you the peace of mind by simplifying your companies communication needs.

I help businesses attract more clients and be more successful!

Contact me if you would like more information on this Vendor Consolidation Program!

Message me at jscaggs@dynamicelementsolutions.com

I believe, VoIP is only useful when you have multiple branch offices spread across vast region and you want a secure and free of cost converged communication between them. As mentioned earlier Fonality and Avaya are 2 good switches you can look as support is never a constraint in these solutions, they can be managed 95% from remote location as well. Reliability is one concern if you are also trying to accommodate Call Center with your office switch or any other critical application. And for that also Fonality is one of the best switch. The company is growing at tremendous rate and very successful in UK and European market.

We sell a Hosted PBX VoIP platform currently run on by the largest wholesaler of VoIP in the country. We use Cisco and Polycom phones, have every feature imaginable, Outlook/IE integration and constantly monitor your network 24/7. We are also giving away the phones and router with contract. Our 3 year average of uptime is 99.997% and have true redundancy and backup generators. The nice thing about a "hosted" platform is you don't need any additional service technicians to help you with your issues. Our customer support is 24/7 and we are always read to help. Give me a call at 210-GET-VOIP if you are interested in hearing more. Cost is still 20-40% of what traditional phone companies are charging.

Contributors here make some good points. Some can make this pretty complicated. It's all in the TCO / ROI analysis for your particular need, if you want an analysis spreadsheet, let me know.

Basic, general info is available in this article I wrote for the SMB market: http://www.business-voip-phone-service.com/small-business-phone-systems.html

CRI is Your Business Communications Authority. We had the ability to test and try and research virtually every VOIP system on the market and eventually agreed on the Allworx product for the smaller business and the ShoreTel product line for Mid to Large Enterprise. Having been a Nortel provider for 30 years, nothing comes close to the features, flexibility, ease of use, ease of management, pricing, and functionality of these two products! Feel free to contact me with any other questions at 865-686-3055.

This is a short question with a long answer.

The best VoIP phone system would be the specific system that works the best for the customer asking the question. The determining point is the customers needs and wants.

many questions on what does the business do? who is their client base / market? how do they sell their product / service? where do they call? is there a contact center? Sales people on site or roaming?

business continuity a large consideration?

I have worked with Avaya, Cisco, Mitel and ShoreTel systems. I have also completed research on several hosted systems. I find that another real issue is the vendor / partner putting in the system.

One thing to investigate is "are you going to change your PSTN (public switched telephone network) connection"?

right now I'm saving my clients 35% on their PSTN connection; this has paid for many a system.

There is a new type solution designed for SMB which are All-In-One office communication.
It is an IP-PBX, Auto Attended (IVR), Voice mail with unified messaging, Data Router, Firewall, WiFi Access point and more all in one unit with unified management system. ITS Telecom offers such "Office-In-a-Box" solution with unique Fix to Mobile Convergence (FMC) with GSM and 3G connectivity in addition to DSL.
For more info look at ITS Telecom Connecto solution at ITS Web site www.its-tel.com

The 'best' solution is the one that has the best local support. Ask around locally at networking events and seek out similar sized companies i.e. same number of users, find out who did which system in the area and what went right/wrong etc..find out who the engineers were that put the systems in and configured the call manager etc.. Find out if they are local and are they still with that company. I have lost count of the times I have heard the comments 'he was really good but he has left and things are not the same' or 'he was really good but lives 500miles away and no longer wants to travel' especially from the bigger companies. Try to get behind the salesman's 'talk'.

All the technology works but the key factor is the 'engineers & technicans' that have built the system and maintain the system. In my experience one or two engineers make all the difference.

Make sure you also ask about 'in service' syetem upgrades and service updates, this is where the real 'capability' of IPT/VoIP suppliers is demonstrated.

Although the quality of the product to preform the job is important, it is not so much the quality of the equipment, to preform the job, as they are all pretty much equal. I have sold them all and have had to service them all. It is like anything else you pay for. Higher $ sign, better quality. My recommendation after selling and servicing all of them, I favor NEC. They are a 100 year + company who has been making VoIP equipment for over 15 years. ( Carriers just couldn't figure out how to charge for it!) That equipment synopsis doesn't really apply here, pricing is the factor to differeniate the added features you want to have access to. It is really going to be based on the strength of your bandwidth! That is what makes a quality call! The equipment differences are only of the basic simple feature to feature rich, and price is based on the feature package. And the way technolgy is going, mobile really seems to really be the way to go. You get free equipment, and voice, data, with internet supporting 5g's for only $69.00 a month, You pay less for 3 services than you pay for one, connection! Look at your employee to lan ratio. Look at what you have to pay to have a phone line. Then your internet charge for that employee's desk. Bet it is over $69.00! Let me know, if I can offer any more input! Until then, take care Debbie Pidick ClearSignal Networks, Inc. eyerock4ver@gmail.com

Practically it depends on which part of the world you are in because every company has a strength because of dealer base or support system. I was reading Mitel as one of the best but they truly lack support in many parts of the world same goes with other companies. Regarding Cisco you can find cisco trained engineers in almost all the corners and same goes with Avaya as they have such vast area which they have already addressed and coverage is fantabulous. Fonality is again hands down.. one of the best evolutionary soft switch. I have served 9 years in this field and trust me I can give you insight of almost all companies performance and shortfalls atleast in APAC.

One last thing from my end, as far as my experience and prediction goes Soft Switch is going to be the future of IP PBX systems. So think carefully before investing as the solution should be future proof and if someone invest money in procuring a solution (IP PBX) it should be a safe investment for atleast 7 - 8 years. Go for soft swicth as all the companies (name anyone) are coming up with soft switch offerings also. And the company which has already proved their iron is Fonality.

Best - Worst ?
It is a very interesting debate though. It is difficult to speak on 1-0 as the answer would mostly be on a gray scale. Absolute decisions are difficult as we still need to incorporate the environment ( Outside Network, Inside network ).

There are solutions which take part in the network infrastructure and in most cases the understanding of a VoIP system is the solution (minus) the external network which is assumed to be a Telco or the WAN.

Given the same conditions (i.e., when the network is assumed to be WAN or the Telco) the ratings would hardly vary in almost 1-2 % of the points awarded to the respective solutions. (Please note that the center of discussion is Voice and has nothing to do with Video or Chat or any other Web or Doc sharing). It does not seam to be of any significant difference in using a CISCO MGW or an AVAYA or the Packaged Opensource products with redundancy.

The opensource Packaged products are newer and younger and would take time to get into the space of the so Called best VoIP solutions unless some giant would adopt one of them. But things change and they change for Good. The recent recession has made many an enterprises to broaden their vision and horizon of their understanding about solutions. Many of them no more see it meaningful to invest in rudimentary boxes when flexible and more intelligent and cost effective options are available. No Doubt , " Hardware is Out & Software is in " is poised to be the next mantra for the IT managers. Cost of Computing is dirt cheap today and it does not make sence why should some one choose expensive RAW materials to make a solution.

Still no one can run away from the human perception. And if we go with it ,

Microsoft is the best OS, and so on the telephony front would be a CISCO or an AVAYA product and now a days AVAYA+NORTEL (as if one set of Boxes were not enough).

As Lawrence mentioned above, part of the best solution is one that has the best local support, in actuality, the Best solution is one that provides close ties with the local support provider (i.e. Channel Partner) and close ties with the manufacturer at the same time. Regardless of the expertise of your support staff, in the worlds of Telephony and Networking, there are instances where there is a demand to correct problems immediately and having very tight ties with both the local partner and manufacturer, along with your staff's expertise, will increase your channels of opportunities to fix the problem now.

Beyond the support solution, which is after implementation, key requirements for the best solution are best fit of product/applications to a company's specific business and operational needs. This takes time to research the solution stability, manufacturers depth of product, future commitment to product, channel partner expertise and commitment to product, pricing overall, pricing divided down to desktop level, i.e. what's it take and cost to provide the up-front solution, as well as, ongoing adds to the system. Items that should be taken into account include, system ability to grow, cost to grow, how far can you go before it is maxed out (if you go cheap to start and then end up hitting the wall that will require a forklift upgrade to increase in size you are going to pay more incrementally), does it provide the ability to implement survivability / redundancy, and a host of other items.

The devil is in the details and need to be taken care of up-front or you will pay almost double on the back-end. It is important to be as vendor and product agnostic as possible during this process to get the best fit and bang for the buck or you will be stuck with a solution you will regret down the road in as little as 3 months.

In addition to my previous comment. While there are several good VoIP platforms out there, Cisco being a leader in both the Telephony and Contact Center areas, you must watch out for the hidden costs associated with making sure your network infrastructure is sufficient to handle the Voice traffic with a high level of Quality. Without this, your call quality could end up being bad and the perception your callers have is that you have a cheap system and conversations will be hard to handle as the callers will have a hard time understanding the conversation due to noise, drop offs, etc.

Partners and manufacturers will offer "Network Assessments" at a high cost (no corrective action performed so you are only paying for an analysis service) and then recommend (rightfully so) network upgrades to bring the network to the proper level needed to support an IP Telephony solution. These costs are outside of the costs of an IP Telephony solution cost and therefore usually come as a surprise to Executive Management as "additional" costs above and beyond the cost savings information they may have already been provided with regarding a move to VoIP.

You need to start by building an RFP (Request-for-Proposal) that defines your business needs & priorities.

If you are unsure of what questions to ask vendors, all of them will have a "sample" RFP (heavily slanted to highlight their features), but it will give you an idea of what an evaluation document might look like (especially if you get one from each vendor, then decide what questions are most relevant to YOU). (They can also provide you an insight as to where the tradeoffs are with the other vendors).

Make sure you take into account the WHOLE VoIP infrastructure. If you install a VoIP system, then have to go back to your CFO for upgrades to routers, firewalls, switches, servers, UPS power and Air-Conditioning for wiring closets, it won't be easy! Watch for the details, especially where teleworkers are concerned, as NAT, VPN encryption and other common teleworking "features" can add significant complication to a VoIP deployment.

Especially if connecting multiple sites, ask lots of questions about QoS, Disaster Recovery, Security, Mobility Support, and Tech-Support/Assisted Operations!

--Tom

Tom

I agree with everything you say, but in a lot of companies there is a step before the RFP stage. The current LAN/WAN network needs to be fully audited and documented including software version status of routers, firewalls, switches, servers, etc... as well as status of hardware gurantees/support. As you say there will be a need to update & upgrade and many companies do not rigoursly keep their maintenance information updated.

Issues with Active Directory and SAN capacity also need to be fully understood before any decisions are made.

Lawrence

My company does marketing and PR for telecom companies with focus in the CALA region and I personally have over 12 years working with companies that offer VoIP systems for enterprise and carriers. I think Metaswitch www.metaswitch.com offers a pretty complete NGN carrier solution from a very reliable softswitch to an extensive suite of applications for service providers and cable operators. Let me know if you need to contact somebody in your region and I can set it up (and I don't get any commission for this ;)

When considering a VoIP system you really need to look at the Broadview Nationwide OfficeSuite product. It offers connectivity through the companys servers, they do complete "pre-sale" qualification and inspection, they offer one of the best SLA's in the industry as well as a disaster recovery mode as well as wan failover options.
Should you desire more information please contact me and I will be happy to help you in your "quest for the Best".
Steve

I would also say that there is no best voip privider yet. However, I think one of the most important thing is to get a good customer care with a reliable voip service. I have been using voip for almost 4 years and I decided to stick with Voipvoip which I think is one of the best. Though, they do not have fax services that is why I have a back up voip provider for that.

We only sell 3com VCX, Adtran, and Cisco because we know we will be supported now and in the future. We stay away from the upstarts like Altigen, allworx, because their future isn't clear, there warranties are poor and don't have 4 hour equipment replacement programs.

Which is best? It depends on your business objectives. No one can recommend a system without knowing your business objectives and growth plans.

Star2Star Communications has developed the only true Fully Distributed, Pure IP Business Communications Solution. www.star2star.com

The Star2Star End-to-End approach is built upon a fully managed, blended architecture offering both the on-premise IP/PBX and Business Grade Internet phone service.

Star2Star built the phone system and the phone service together from the ground up. Having them work together means building them together.

Star2Star allows you to leverage the Internet to create a common business communications network across multiple locations:

Star2Star Phone Lines may be pooled and calls may be
distributed across all locations – Reducing the total numbers
of needed Lines.

Never Get a Busy Signal – Star2Star automatically ”bursts”
phone lines on demand.

Never Miss a Call - Inbound calls can failover to other locations
across multiple time zones to multiple ques. With the correct
escalation path you should never miss a call

Star2Star dramatically reduces many of the expenses related to a company’s equipment and service needs by including mission critical tools and services such as:

Unlimited Voice Mail, Long distance included with each
line* and advanced features like Voice Mail to email, all
included!

Unlimited Conference Calling

Free Intercom calls between multiple branch locations

Disaster Recovery… Is built into the Star2Star solution architecture, offering complete Business Continuity features.

The Star2Star Data Center maintains a constant communications path with every Starbox PBX. Every customer’s configuration is mirrored in our Data Center which is immediately able to detect an equipment or Internet service impairment or disruption and will automatically take over when necessary.

No single point of failure among customer sites

Dual WAN capability, Cell phone failover, analog line backup

Data Center houses all key call processing functions including
in-bound call distribution, auto-attendant, unlimited voice mail
and conferencing.

Inbound calls failover to alternate extensions, locations or
individual cell phones.

Compression with G.729a Means 3X More Calls and GREAT Sounding Voice
Internet Routing Control From Both Ends
Quality of Service (QOS) Priority for Voice from End-to-End
Traffic Shaping End-to-End
Quality weighted BGP routing End-to-End
The Entire Call Path Monitored End-toEnd 24x7x365

Also Star2Star is the only VOIP provider confidnet enough in it's quality and Reliability to offer not just an SLA on service but a full 30 day no questions asked money back guarantee.

For the last time! Equipment is 2nd. Bandwidth connection is 1st. Connection depends and determines how well your equipment works!

Hosted solutions have many advantages; on premise solutions have many advantages. If someone could just put both these solutions together as one product that would be a real deal. Star2Star has done just that. All the advantages of a hosted product with a solid state on premise IP PBX to handle switching on the LAN when appropriate all monitored and managed 24/7 365.

Ah … “Best” is very subjective. I‘ve scanned the replies … seems to be several “product pitches” disguised as answers.
Bottom line ‘it depends.’
I think the question was very open to allow for a broad range of replies. Disclosure: I work for a Carrier/Phone Company in CA & NV. In CA, we are the largest competitor to AT&T and Verizon. We do NOT sell Hosted VoIP we do NOT sell hardware. We do provide the critical voice & data services that allow the PBX(s) (any flavor) to operate properly. From where I stand, I think it is “BEST” to work with good people and a good company because THAT may have a bigger impact than the specific label on the hardware/software. Phone Companies are the silent partners. We rarely get credit when we do well and almost always get blamed if service is interrupted.
If you have clients in CA and you would like to discuss service options or bill review, drop me a line … I am happy to chat.
danthomas@telepacific.com

I am reseller in middle east. I use Voipvoip too. Good prices, services. Do you know cheaper voip. Please tell me... Mohamed Saddik

I really don't believe you can say a best or a worst in this scenario without knowing what applications or what the client does for a living. Looking around it is challenging to suggest one or the others services. I worked for Nortel for years and now I work for 8x8 and our service is good but if it was me I would look to a blended solution using the best of both worlds to ensure connectivity and disaster recovery. Today's economic climate looks grim while companies are fighting for their survival they look to reduce expenses whenever possible. I believe by blending the services they can really take advantage of lower costs while still ensuring connectivity and disaster recovery. Aptella, Phonality, Vocolosity, even Ring Central are good at what they do as well. Premise based solutions are expensive, look to augmenting your current system with a hosted solution for the short term to get applications that will get you through the tough time.

Mitel is the #1 provider of VoIP systems to the SMB in America. Mitel also provides customers with the opportunity to do business directly with the manufacturer. I would suggest you look at the 5000 system which will support up to 250 IP endpoints and those endpoints can be on your premise or anywhere you have access to a broadband connection (no VPN required). Mitel also provides an entire line of peripherals such as reporting packages, audio/web conferencing systems, twinning with cell phones/home phones and many others. I would also suggest looking in to Mitel's popular Managed Services program which allows a company to procure systems through operating budget as opposed to capital budget dollars. Mitel has a direct office in most major cities in America. The system is cost effective, easy to use, easy to upgrade and priced very competitively.

Here's important info that I received from Erik Krapf. He states:

VoiceCon eNews: The Hidden Costs of IP Phones

Gary Audin always devotes a chunk of his VoiceCon tutorial, “IP Telephony/UC Basics to Best Practices” to the new challenges posed by the need to power IP phones via power over Ethernet, and the many implications of this need: Most obviously, you have to buy new PoE switches or, alternatively, install in-line appliances to add the powering if you're keeping your legacy non-PoE switches. Then, there are the implications of that PoE decision — start installing PoE switches in very tight wiring closets, and you're looking at a buildup of heat in those closets that will require new cooling measures — venting, for sure, and possibly even the more expensive and disruptive need to add air conditioning.

It's a second-order disruption that hardly anyone besides Gary talked about — until now.

In a blog post on No Jitter last week, Irwin Lazar of Nemertes Research wrote that these new, costly challenges are starting to come up in discussions he's been having with enterprise decision-makers. But while Gary has approached this as a technology issue to be solved, and a cost to be understood (and not ignored), Irwin suggests that the costs of facilities changes to support IP phones are being seen as a reason not to deploy those phones in the first place.

It's a convincing argument. Very few IP phones are different and better enough, compared to their legacy predecessors, to justify the trouble and expense of upgrading closets and switching infrastructure. Enterprises aren't looking to invest in their legacy wiring infrastructure at a time when their workers are decreasingly desk-bound. And for those who remain desk-bound, digital telephone sets work just fine at what they're supposed to do: Make good voice calls.

Indeed, one of the perennial straw-man arguments is whether the desk phone is “going away,” and the answer is always, “No, nothing goes away.” The real question is whether the desk phone market as a cash cow for voice vendors is going away, and the answer to that is increasingly looking like a “Yes.”

It really makes a lot of sense: For workers who want or need phones, they've already got phones. Giving them a new IP phone doesn't just cost you a lot of money rebuilding the closets, it adds on the less-quantifiable but still real costs in re-training end users on the new phones, imposing changes on these users in return for incremental improvements in the functionality of an appliance whose fundamental look, feel and function has remained essentially the same.

Much of this reluctance to upgrade has been predictable and even predicted — for example, Dave Michels suggested last year on No Jitter that IP phone sales had already peaked. What's different now seems to be that, per Irwin's latest blog, enterprise decision-makers are starting to agree.

As Irwin suggests, this is a critical moment in many enterprises' deployment of next-generation communications technologies. Many enterprises are ready or are getting ready to resume investments in communications technologies, in anticipation of an economic recovery — but they aren't necessarily inclined to simply pick up where they left off when rollouts slowed down almost two years ago. They're revisiting the whole architecture, and increasingly, they're not seeing a reason to invest in new IP phones.

As I noted in a No Jitter blog post last month, Brent Kelly of Wainhouse Research has pointed out that a significant dropoff in the market for new IP phones will have a major impact on the revenues of the voice vendors. Irwin Lazar's latest blog should give them more reason to beware of just such a trend beginning.

Eric Krapf
Editor & Lead Blogger, NoJitter.com
VoiceCon Program Chair

Question is what are your telecom needs. Furthermore, what kind of service model are you looking for. Normally a hosted system is more cost effective than a on prem-system.
On prem means you are under constant attack of your vendor to buy new cards with new functionality etc etc because at the end they are just hardware vendors that 'IP-ed' their old fashioned TDM system.
Hosted means no upfront investments, no maintenance, no techs that have to come and do all moves adds and changes that will cost you $$$. Plus hosted means business continuity. When your internet is down, you are out of power or your office is for instance flooded your hosted system is still up and running in a secure datacenter. All calls will be picked up by the auto attendant or go to voicemails to moment your office is down. Then you just dial into the platform using a cell phone or any landline and forward your company number to phone numbers where you and your employees can be reached and it is business as usual without any interruption or lost calls.

Choose for a Hosted IP Provider that has a long history in Telecomms and knows that a every company, small or large relies on their phones and that any problem that might occur has to be solved directly.

As the dedicated AT&T provider for IP PBX Solutions we monitor all our clients status, their bandwidth and QoS on a 24/7 basis and most of the time when there is a problem we have it fixed before even you or your clients notice it.

Feel free to contact me when you need more info: 305-471-8467 ext: 156

You may want to look at Hosted and investigate Broadsoft as they are the undisputed technology leader in the space. Happy to assist if you need more info.

T3i offers a tool that does a side by side comparison of 30 different venders. The Comparison screens clearly highlight a product’s advantages vs. the competition. The tool give you a vey unbiased opinion of all the pros and cons, pricing, phones , features,system compatibility, Migration Paths, etc.
etc. If you looking to expand it will tell you what equipment you can keep and what you have to get rid of. This tool is updated on a monthly bases. We also provide IP PBX / PBX / KEY Systems, IP Telephones, Unified Messaging/Voice Mail,
Contact Center/ACD, Desktop Tools/Mobile Clients, and wireless.
Wireless

My immediate answer is; “Let’s do our homework and figure that out.”

I think that “homework” is the key here. In reality, the “homework” is much more important than the logo on the front of a phone or any other network component. It’s also the most difficult phase of a telephony project. In the IP Telephony world we rely on so much more than the telephone or phone system itself. The business applications, business process, utilization, cabling, and network foundation are all key to a rewarding Telephony solution. The “homework” determines whether or not you’re going to be happy or totally frustrated with the investment or lack thereof.

When I mention “homework”, what am I really speaking about?

At Matrix Integration, we follow a process of Preparation, Planning, Design, Implementation, Operation and Optimization. These steps define the homework. It can be a daunting task but with a little work and understanding they determine whether your project is an “A” or an “F”.

There is no pat answer to this question, there are a number of mitigating factors that need to be taken into account. Let's take a look at what considerations need to be addressed:

1) What is the purpose of the system? Is the objective Unified Communications, Unified Messaging, low cost Long Distance? Business objectives all, how do you solve your business problem?
2) Will the system be for 1 location? Multi-Site? Are your sites local, regional, national, international?
3) Is there Router/Switch technology in place today for LAN/WAN access or transport?
3a) Who is your incumbent R/S technology provider?
3b) What IP services do they support?
4) Is there a TDM network in place today?
5) Is there an IP network in place today?
6) Are you under contract with a Local Exchange Carrier? Are they Regional, National or International?
7) Do you have in-house technical resources to configure and support your infrastructure, are they proficient with IP Types of Services (ToS)?
8) Do you intent to use TDM services?
9) Do you intend to use IP services?
10) Do you intend to use SIP services?

These questions provide a starting point for the needs analysis, they are designed to invoke a discussion on each point, so that a functional specification can be arrived at, again based on the business need.

If you have the in-house resources the answers to the above questions will give you the foundation to build an RFI/RFP. If you don't have the services in-house find a good consultant and build the RFP/RFI and distribute it to 4 or 5 good VAR's that have been referred to you.

The answer is not short and sweet, it requires an in depth analysis of your needs as well as your present environment, and must take into account the service and support mechanisms required to maintain and operate the system.

Good Luck

I can't answer what is the best VOIP product, although I see many have offered their opinions on what is best based on what they know.

However, there is clear evidence that the products on the market today that are based on Open Source products have taken the market share. http://pbx2sip.com/?p=96 They have an 18% share, which is larger than any one company, maybe until we see the numbers of the Avaya/Nortel combined sales.

Many of the products listed by others are based on open source, with a commercial support component or a bundling of services and features.

My take is this. Open Standards are what is key. You can buy a system that is open source, or Cisco, or Avaya or Mitel or any other as long as you are using OPEN STANDARDS.

The benefits of open standards are that you can pick and chose products that fit your technical and financial needs, and you don't rely on a single vendor solution that locks you into their proprietary solution for the next number of years.

For instance, Polycom Phones with Fonality. Or snom with a hosted solution. Or Cisco with a hosted solution. Should you tire of the switch or the hosted provider, the open standards phones can work with other vendors equipment as just one simple example.

Lets face it, the phone systems of tomorrow and today are not going to be installed on the customer premise for 20 years like the PBX of yesteday that had expensive updates every few years. Instead, a newer server, with a software update will be replacing the old system.

Today, it's important to list the features that are required for your business - including reliability factors, and consider a system that provides reliable, affordable features that meet your needs. Is it a tomato or a potato, depends on your individual needs.

It won't depend on the label on the phone, the size of the box, or the longevity of the manufacturers, as most of the old time manufacturers don't offer any more than some of the newer entrees to the market offer.

What you do need to consider is response and experience. Does your IT guy know how to troubleshoot a sip telephone issue? Does your telecom guy know how to troubleshoot a DNS issue? Are either capable of communicating with the other to work at solving your issues?

Does your service provider have onsite spares so that an equipment failure that shuts you down can be brought back up quickly? Have they engineered reliability into the design they are proposing - trunk diversity, x9's reliability, etc. to ensure you will have service today and tomorrow when you need it.

And, you need to read carefully to see through the smoke and mirrors of many solutions to ensure you have med your basis needs - dial tone that rings the other end when you need it.

Lastly, is the user interface so poorly designed that it requires hiring an expert just to make simple changes, or does it have a nice, clean user interface that allows me to intuitively make changes to my user configurations myself?

Its nice to know a lot of opinions from other people about VoIP phone system, but if were to be ask, I think potential buyers of VoIP phone system, should not be only focusing on the features of VoIP phone system, yes..it could bring an impact to your company, but I think its more important for the buyers to understand briefly what it's services and benefits it could offer, and i think its one way of finding out what's the best VoIP phone system.

Maybe not the best answer but in my case was "Localphone". It was the cheaper service i found to my personal need (international calls). You can sign up using this link http://www.localphone.com/?rb=DdxGHb7mAHMPvqEfO%2F6RUbe22BXfAbZcwPVODCyAgbQ%3D

Whether a business goes with a hosted or premise-based solution has many factors. In our experience, here are the leaders in three categories:

1) Hosted = Polycom phones on the BroadSoft platform. Usually not more than 100 users and as little as one user at any location. Lots of bang for your buck. Higher monthly fees and lower capital outlay. No technical expertise needed in house. Feature rich and upgrades are pushed out from the vendor.

2) Premise-based = ShoreTel. Usually best with more than 10 people and up to 1,000 users an any one location - up to 10,000 users in total. According to Nemertes, #1 in customer satisfaction eight years in a row and super low TCO.

3) Premise-based = Avaya, Cisco or Mitel. No real advantages of the above except maybe in the enterprise space with 10,000 plus users, certified techs in house and a larger IT staff. Usually more expensive over time and higher TCO. We have seen these decisions be tied more to internal and/or external politics and name recognition rather than facts, reason and logic.

First I would like to thank you all for the response to this question as this string helped me when I made the decision to look at a hosted phone system. Although I initially jumped the gun on a purchase I did an extensive amount of research before my final decision was made and have what I consider to be the best option for my business. In an effort to be as helpful as you all were to me I will share the details and what led me to this decision. I do not want to insult anyone so I will leave most of the names out.
Early 2011 I began the tedious task of replacing our old Avaya system and found many articles around hosted PBX offerings and since I am in IT I was intrigued. I decided to look at the key players in the PBX industry and found that almost all of them did not have a hosted offering but thanks to Google I found many what I would consider Unknown companies that did. I will warn you there are many and most of them are mom and pop. There are a few out there that have developed their own platform but the large majority of them are hosting a Broadsoft or an Astrix system so once you learn one you pretty much will understand them all. I narrowed my company selection down to 4 companies and had them come in and bid against each other. Many do not have sales people that will come to your office so it was easy to eliminate them. All the features were comparable so my decision was made on price and chose to go with all Polycom phones through out 15 locations for a total of 175 seats. The up front cost was pretty expensive because I had to buy the phones but the monthly cost was reasonable and when I factored in my service cost on the Avaya system along with my telco services my monthly cost was much less and I was able to make up the cost for the phones with in 6 months so it was an easy decision at the time. This was a HUGE mistake. The implementation was a nightmare and took way too much time to get turned up. I want go into all the nightmares but I will tell you when you think you have done enough research triple check everything because you probably did not. There was so much that I was not prepared for. Once the system was finally up and running call quality became a major issue. According to my sales rep I did not have enough bandwidth to cover my call volume and my data traffic so I had to increase bandwidth to the majority of my locations but fortunately I was able to do this and still maintain enough savings to justify this move. Even after the bandwidth increase our problems still persisted and our provider was not being responsive. I made the decision at that time to go elsewhere and I was convinced at that time to get back to a premise based system.
While this was all going on I received a call from Mitel and knowing they were a manufacturer I invited them in. I quickly realized the sales rep was there to talk to me about Mitel’s hosted offering and because of the issues I was dealing with at the time I was a little rude to him but he was very understanding and insisted that we at least look at their hosted offering. I had looked at Mitel when this all began but did not receive a return call from the rep I was working with originally so I eliminated them from the bid and come to find out my original rep was not longer with Mitel which was probably why I never heard back from her. The new rep came to my office with a Mitel phone in hand and then he had his manager put me in a webinar and demonstrated the online portal along with features that were much different than the system I had prior. I have to say I was very impressed at the time and the fact that Mitel was mentioned in this string as a solid VOIP system made me look further. I had him leave his phone with me and I used it religiously for 2 weeks on my network and even took it home. When the rest of my users where complaining about quality issues that my current provider told me was because my IP circuits had latency issues I was not getting the same quality issues on the Mitel phone riding the same network. After speaking to a few of their references I decide to take the chance. I was disappointed to find out that I could not use the Polycom phones I had spent all that money on but Mitel was able to help me off set that with some credits and they included their phones so I did not have to worry about making another capital purchase. After the install I sold the Polycom phones on ebay At first glance the Mitel pricing seemed higher which did not really bother me because my issues where still happening with my current vendor but when I added in the cost of the features I paid extra for it was pretty even because the same features where included on the Mitel system. They are actually a little more per month but I really don’t care as long as it works.
The install with Mitel had some issues but we were able to get through them pretty quickly and I have had the system in place in my office since October and the other locations where brought on in November. So far we have not had any of the quality issues and the online portal is very easy to navigate through. The system applications do have some limitations but nothing that is really important so all in all I am very happy with the system and you would never know it was a hosted system unless I told you.
I think hosted offerings have come a long way since this string began but if you are seriously looking make sure you do all the homework not just around the product itself but the implementation and network requirements. Get an SLA on anything you can because that will be your saving grace if you have to rip it out later like I had to, Good luck to you all and thank you for keeping this string going.

Best is Fonality as they have comeup with lots of great features and has emerged as one of the most powerful and feature rich IP PBX or for bigger config you can look at various options but Avaya is one of the best.

I'd suggest an easily manaeable windows based on premise system. Windows because most SMBs know how to use it, on premise because it allows them to retain control.

The system is deploy successfully is 3CX Phone System for Windows

I would not use a VoIP system at all. I would use a hybrid PBX system from a traditional voice vendor (Panasonic, Avaya, Mitel or Siemens) as these are much more reliable, have better quality voice and will work for years without any faults. What ever you do avoid buying voice systems from data companies (and that includes Cisco) as the voice quality and PBX features are not up to it. Cisco (and Cisco data users) will tell you they are the leaders in VoIP voice (which they are) but VoIP voice and features is really what you do not want.

www.switchvox.com
The brain of the system is SwitchVox. However, it needs to be implemented in a tight, controlled LAN environment. Sonicwall Firewall, Cisco / Linksys 10/100 Switches with POE and QOS buildt into each switch port, Polycom IP phones with custom programming so that they work like typical PBX digital phones with message waiting light, off hook announce, programmed buttons, etc. By packaging the system in this way the users in a business that want a phone to behave like older systems will be happy while the users that want to use the computer interface are also happy. The reliability and voice quality is great. Works with POTS, PRI, or SIP trunking. It even works better when deployed over a Metro Fiber Internet circuit such as EasyTEL Communications in Tulsa. www.easytel.com.

Since we have no horse in this race (our products are PBX agnostic) I would say that for an IP PBX check out the iProphet by Executive Telephony or the Connecto from ITS Telecom. The iProphet is a fully featured IP PBX with more capability than you will ever need. The Connecto is in essence an Office in a Box with nearly every standard feature but also includes Wi-Fi and cellular connectivity.

As a telecom consultant we work with many Hosted VoIP providers and the first thing is the phones have to be a brand that many other hosted providers are using like Polycom or Cisco in case they go out of business. Depending on size we can also broker leasing which is great since OPEX is a must to go forward these days. Our partnerships have no minimum and since we handle large volumes we can get good pricing for our customers. We can get you in front of a service provider to provide broadband or you can bring your own broadband (BYOB). Our customers are Happy with Fusion.

I would be careful with Free, it can be so much more expensive in the long run... Bad QoS, downtime, going out of business, etc....

Avaya IP Office...

the best Hybrid IP system for small and medium businesses. Watch this short demo:

http://www1.avaya.com/campaign/demo/ip-office/index.html

For a painfully detailed description (both techie and non-techie), check out the IP Office Knowledgebase:
http://marketingtools.avaya.com/knowledgebase/

FYI -- IP Office will replace NORTEL BCM's.

NOTE: IP Office can use backup lines (regular POTS/Copper lines) in addition to a T1/PRI, so you can make/receive calls even when your T1 goes down.

Need help planning? A live demo? We can help you explore your options, no matter where you are in the U.S. We are one of Avaya's top business partners in the country. Just call or email me.

Regards,

Jose Ruiz
Account Executive
SPS / STRATEGIC PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
973.867.5313 direct / 888.777.7280 ext. 5313 main
jruiz@spscom.com / http://www.spscom.com
www.twitter.com/AvayaExpert

AVAYA
Platinum BusinessPartner

IP Telephony - VOIP - Call Centers - Unified Communications - Carrier Services - Data Networks - Voice/Data Wiring - Networking - Conferencing - Video Conferencing - Paging - SIP - Wireless Networks - Telecom Expense Management and Audit Services

You can check with any of the VOIP service providers..

Check these links:
http://www.therealpbx.com,
http://www.ringcentral.com

IMO, Allworx is the best system for small business. It does almost everything that big VOIP system do and still 25- 40% cheaper. You have to put in consieration for the maintenance contract for first 5 years. Big system manufactures typcially will get you at the end.

Pitomy Communications offers a range of SIP-based IP PBX solutions for the SMB market space. The products are all inclusive, priced to be highly competitive in the market space, and are sold exclusively through a network of IPitomy-certified dealers. Not only does the end user benefit from state-of-the-industry technology and features, but is assured of excellent technical support from a local dealer certified and backed by IPitomy. Check it out at www.IPitomy.com

Good day, If you would have put just a little effort into finding the answer, instead posting on this stupid bulletin board, you would have found NEC. Thay have been making VoIP equipment long before the service was ever created. . Worst? Haven't come across one yet. I am working, and helping businesses save $ on their telecom charges by reviewing their current costs, and providing a cost effective, up tp date solution, without jeopardizing the quality of service. At no charge I might add. I get paid by my partners IF I sell their services.

I'm with the 1st reply. There is no best VOIP. Because the best would be:
1. Free
2. 100% reliable
3. Have every feature ever made

The worst is any VOIP system that can't guarntee you 100% perfect calls. Who cares if it is 30% cheaper of 99% cheaper - if it isn't perfect 100% of the time, you will throw the damn thing out d window for sure!