[asterisk-biz] Hosted PBX

[Jonathan k. Creasy]

It could be just an Asterisk system. It is hard to say with just the
information provided. 

 

There are good reasons to purchase a system from a "middle man" or
"consultant" or "someone who has done this before" whichever term may
apply in this case. 

 

1)       There are potential problems and complexities with any phone
system and knowing the subtleties of a particular system will make it
much easier to install and support the system. This will translate into
better performance and less man-hours in the long run.

2)       You can put someone else in the noose if it all goes horribly
wrong. 

3)       It's hard to be good at everything and someone installing a
VOIP system needs to be knowledgeable in several areas including
networking, telephony, and software support. 

 

Some reasons why you might want to do it in-house:

1)       You have qualified people in-house

2)       You have skilled Linux administrators and network engineers.

3)       You are willing to spend some time learning and possibly having
to deal with some significant hiccups in the early stages of
implementation. 

 

It is my experience that when people try to do it in house they think it
is just as simple as installing an operating system on a computer and
putting up a webpage. VOIP is significantly more involved and every
aspect of your network and facility can have an affect on the quality of
your phone system. Choosing poor quality handsets, running over poor
networks (which may have never had a problem on data alone), and
improper configuration of the operating system are common mistakes I get
called in to clean up on a regular basis. 

 

I know of a company which installed their own Asterisk system and then
hired a consulting company four months later to fix it for them. Their
installation just plain didn't work. Their server was on the internet
with no firewall and had been popped long before we got there. They had
a PRI installed but the hardware wasn't configured properly so they
couldn't use it. The decision to do it in house probably cost them close
to a half million dollars in lost revenues and because they had to do it
twice. 

 

My guidance is to get someone who has done it before and understands
some of the things that can go wrong and how to handle them. 

 

If you have qualified people in-house then have them setup a small
server with 5-10 handsets. Put them on someone's desk and have them use
them. Start small and implement in phases. Last but not least, don't buy
cheap handsets. Spend the extra money per handset and get a reliable
solid platform. For your users, this will be the difference between
loving you and hating you. 

 

-Jonathan

 

________________________________

From: asterisk-biz-bounces at lists.digium.com
[mailto:asterisk-biz-bounces at lists.digium.com] On Behalf Of Susan
Swanson
Sent: Wednesday, August 02, 2006 10:04 AM
To: asterisk-biz at lists.digium.com
Subject: [asterisk-biz] Hosted PBX

 

Okay, this is probably a stupid question for you guys but I am still a
novice so don't laugh!

We want to provide a hosted PBX solution for small businesses and have
been offered 200 extensions held server (i.e. 20 companies with each co.
having 10 extensions).  

Isn't this just an asterisk solution that we are being sold through a
middle man?  

Can't we do this in house by purchasing our own server and purchasing
licenses and perhaps hardware from Digium?

Any guidance is greatly appreciated!

Susan

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