[asterisk-users] Cisco vs Asterisk

[Alex Balashov]

T G wrote:
> I'm a CCIE and CCVP. I have worked in the Cisco TSBU on both CCM and 
> Telepresence systems I have two IP patents for the VoiP Lite protocols 
> and have been designing and building OSS IPBXs for companies including 
> Google going back to 2001.
>  
> I'm not mentioning any of that to be jerk I mentioned it to say I'm as 
> qualified as anyone to to compare the CCM and OSS servers.
>  
> The only fair way to compare the two is a list of weights features, for 
> example if cost is your biggest feature then OSS is better, if support 
> is your biggest feature than Cisco wins.
>  
> When a customer is comparing the costly (TCO) and best supported systems 
> in the world with hundreds of thousands installed systems for the large 
> global companies on the planted backed by 54,000 employees and over $25b 
> in the bank vs, a FREE system with one layer of support maybe two layers 
> of support, the features don't even come in the evaluation in my opinion.
>  
> I once asked a manager why did you buy the CCM and he said no one ever 
> got fired for buying Cisco if anything wrong, If push the OSS and it 
> goes I could loose my job.
>  
> I would get a list of the important features, because there is no answer 
> to your question of which is better.

Yet amazingly (if this is, indeed, a source of amazement for you), CCM 
and other Cisco software can be just as buggy as anything OSS, if not 
worse.  Depending on how critical the bugs or other support exigencies, 
the TCO can be driven way up.

Except with the OSS community, you report the bug, and usually get a 
quick fix - even if it's a significant issue for you, not necessarily 
most of the installed base.  If by chance that proves not to be the 
case, the source code is available, and you can fix it yourself.

With Cisco, you pay for expensive support and get to file some complaint 
with the TAC.  Yay.

There are many, many angles from which onec an look at this in one's TCO 
/ OPEX formula.

-- 
Alex Balashov
Evariste Systems
Web    : http://www.evaristesys.com/
Tel    : (+1) (678) 954-0670
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