Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sdd.hp.com!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!swrinde!ucsd!casbah.acns.nwu.edu!accuvax.nwu.edu!nucsrl!telecom-request From: William.Degnan@f39.n382.z1.fidonet.org (William Degnan) Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Wanted: Recommendations For Small Key-System Message-ID: <16623@accuvax.nwu.edu> Date: 31 Jan 91 12:36:28 GMT Sender: news@accuvax.nwu.edu Organization: TELECOM Digest Lines: 48 Approved: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 11, Issue 86, Message 7 of 11 On Kent Hauser writes to All: U> What's the latest and greatest in small business telephone U> systems? U> 6-8 incoming lines 16-20 telephone lines U> "Normal" features such as intercom, paging, DND, etc. U> Ability to connect normal two-wire devices such as FAX, answering U> machine, cordless phone, etc. U> Good value (ie cheap). I suspect the advice you receive will be worth the price paid. It is not enough to know that you are looking in the 8x20 range. The answer depends on what you _really_ need. It depends on what you can get installed properly and supported. It depends on the track record of the manufacturer and the installation/service company. And if you buy the first one in town, will the vendor have spares? For how long? We would be distributing questionaires to your users, looking at your phone bills, wandering around looking for ways that a skilled implementation could improve your operation and we'd be writing a specification based on all that. We'd qualify vendors, looking at past installation work and talking to their customers. We'd find out what references _they_ were given when they bought _their_ system... and we'd call those references. We narrow the field down to three finalists and recommend one. The client picks. It can be a long process but the fit of a telephone system to your operation is very important. All the details are important. Find yourself an honest, reliable, independent consultant. Disclaimer: Contents do not constitute "advice" unless we are on the clock. William Degnan | wdegnan@mcimail.com Communications Network Solutions | !wdegnan@at&tmail.com -Independent Consultants | William.Degnan@telemail.com in Telecommunications | UUCP: ...!natinst!tqc!39!William.Degnan P.O. Drawer 9530 | ARPA: William.Degnan@f39.n382.z1.FidoNet.Org Austin, TX 78766-9530 | Voice +1 512 323 9383