Did you know that phone sets are pretty much "dumb" terminals and that the features and capabilities come from the Key Service Unit or PBX that the phones are tied into? Many manufacturers such as Nortel, Avaya & Vodavi allow you to use your old telephone sets and upgrade your system to allow for the latest features and capabilities. Given that the cost of the phones is a major portion of the price of a new phone system, there is an opportunity to get upgrade for a fraction of the price of an entirely new phone system.
Even with Nortel phones dating back to the mid 1990's, you can upgrade to the Nortel BCM or the state-of-the-art Avaya IP Office. This allows you to implement features such as VOIP lines and VOIP Phones and to do cell phone integration while still using your old digital phones.
We were a Vodavi dealer dating back to 1991 before they were purchased by Vertical a few years ago. One of the most popular phone systems for small business was the Vodavi STS phone system. (STS 24 button digital phone pictured at left). The STS was a digital system that offered PBX features and capabilities at a price point that was very affordable for our customers. The system was very reliable and we sold hundreds of these before the STS was discontinued recently. The STS was what I would call all the best in digital telephony but it had some major drawbacks. It would not do VOIP and it had a non-user friendly interface making it difficult for our customers to administer the system. Fortunately, when Vertical discontinued the STS about a year ago, they made the phones compatible with their new VOIP system for small business: The Vertical SBX IP 320. The SBX has an easy to use browser based interface making it easy to administer. You can also utilize SIP(VOIP Phone Lines) and VOIP Phones.
And no discussion of telephone upgrades would not be complete without mentioning the Avaya Partner System, probably the most popular phone system for small to medium size business ever manufactured. The system was on the market for about 10 years before being discontinued. Avaya now offers a "Partner Mode" on their IP Office phone system that allows you to use the old Partner phones.
If you don't think you should upgrade right now, you might want to consider the fact that once a system is discontinued the price for replacement parts goes up. The pricing on Partner ACS processors has about doubled since it was no longer manufactured. Vodavi STS parts are very scarce at the moment. Not only you are you at risk of being down while you scramble around looking for replacement parts, but you could get stuck with an expensive repair bill!
Would you like to discuss your upgrade options? Please feel free to give me a call.
Adam Stern
410-239-2227
astern@absphones.com
www.absphones.com
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