[Asterisk-biz] Best stable asterisk release for SOHO for 35 users

[Tom Rymes]

On Nov 1, 2005, at 12:35 PM, Greg Boehnlein wrote:

> On Tue, 1 Nov 2005, Tom Rymes wrote:
>
> [Deleted]
>
>> Now, if you are the type of person who wants unlimited control over
>> asterisk, then you shouldn't use AMP/A at H, because the GUI necessarily
>> places limits on the level of customization you can make.
>
> Yes. My point exactly. And the complexity it provides to make it  
> simple to
> the end user makes it a nightmare to troubleshoot from the command  
> line.

IMNSHO, it sounds like AMP/A at H doesn't work for you or your business  
model and/or customer base, and more power to you. However, I think  
that many companies would like to have control over Moves, adds, etc.  
and AMP provides that and more. I make this observation as a small  
business owner who hated the fact that I had to call (and pay!)  
someone every time I wanted something changed on my old Vodavi system.

Basically, a small business that has a reasonably tech savvy person  
(not necessarily someone whose full-time job is tech, but someone who  
is not afraid of it) and wants some control over their system would  
do well with A at H. However, a company that wants nothing to do with  
administering their system would be hiring a consultant like you, and  
consultants like you wouldn't like the limitations of AMP for the  
reasons you listed.

So, in the end, contrary to your original post, this boils down to  
"Different strokes for different folks" and "I don't like AMP because  
it doesn't mesh with the way I work" rather than (and I'm  
paraphrasing here....) "Asterisk at Home is a piece of crap that isn't  
fit for small business use."

>> However, I  would venture a guess that at least 95% of small  
>> businesses
>> are
>> looking for a system that is full-feaured, affordable, and reliable.
>> They are much less concerned with massive customizability. (Witness
>> the success of the AT&T/Lucent/Avaya Partner systems with small
>> businesses. Far less customizable or full featured than A at H.)
>
> Right. Fixed, comfortable, non-maintenance intensive. They don't  
> WANT to
> maintain a phone system.

Again, some do, some don't. That's one of the great things about  
Asterisk: It has so many different options!

Tom