To me, there's nothing like "seeing is believing". I've been in telecom and computers, well, let's put it this way. When I was a kid, I used to go to Thrifty's drug store and test my vacuum tubes to see which one had failed so I could get my Zenith shortwave radio working again to listen to Chick Hearn in his early years - and I digress.

Flash forward, I have been in IT 30 years and we're all over what is new. But newer is not always better, as so many of us have learned. The key in entertaining any new voice technology platform is asking a few simple questions:

      •  Is what we have now at or near "end of life", meaning we're looking at a replacement anyways?
      •  Is it better than what we have now, and if so how? Will it help us be more efficient in a tangible manner?
      •  What if we don't do anything, what might be the downsides?
      •  If I get this, will it scale for my needs for many years downstream?
      •  Does it have a useful life of more than 5 years, thus lessening my annual total cost of ownership?

Then I put on my IT and voice hat and ask a few other questions:

      •   Can I get the best of both worlds - that is less expensive digital phones inside and VoIP for remote sites or remote users and the
           functionality is basically the same for both?
      •   Can I leverage existing CAT3 cabling so I can use the CAT5e for data at 1Gbit (as although some IP phones have 1Gbit switch, they
           come at a cost premium)?
      •   As handsets tend to be about half of the hardware cost, can I leverage any of my existing handsets so I can upgrade the 'core' now,
           and handsets later to hedge costs?
      •   Can I use packet-tagging if using VoIP so I don't have to create VLANs?
      •   Can it "follow me" so it stays current with my mobile world?
      •   Does it integrate into my Microsoft environment and have functionality such as Unified Messaging?
      •   Are the phones full duplex so they don't cut out while on speakerphone?
      •   Does it have conference bridge ability and automatically adjust levels so everyone can be heard?
      •   Can it use remote IP phones in a widely distributed environment of both remote sites and individual users?

Lastly, I have an additional consideration for those contemplating or in process of moving. If you are moving, is your money to move your phone system better spent on a new one? Remember, to move the phone system you'll have to pay cash, but when buying a new system even the labor can be bundled into the lease, so your out-of-pocket during the expense of the move can be reduced, at least on the voice end.

So being an authorized AVAYA IP Office Reseller, we figured the best way for you to know if this is something you might want or need, is to tell you about it, show it to you, and feed you to limit your out-of-pocket time!

To attend, please RSVP to Shani Griffis at 949 273 5220 or shanigriffis@roundbrix.com . We have limited space so please reply promptly to ensure a spot!