Driving Factors to Upgrade Your PBX
By Charles Carter
Your PBX system has served you well in the past and with a bit of upkeep and
maintenance will continue to meet your needs in the future. However change is on
the horizon.
It’s not so much that the PBX features have changed, it’s the technology delivering
those features and your co-workers interaction that is changing.
In the end the choice to upgrade your voice communications system may not even
be yours. Many PBX manufactures are embracing Voice over Internet Protocol
(VoIP) and the newest technology, Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) as their new
flagship systems while limiting the support of their Legacy TDM (Time Division
Multiplex) systems.
Whether you have a small system or a large system, it’s imperative as a
Telecommunications manager that you understand the latest technologies and
begin to blueprint when a system upgrade would make sense for your company.
Many managers are put off by the fact that they have to upgrade their
telecommunication system – after all it’s worked fine for many years. They are
even more upset when they are notified or find out that the system they have is
reaching or is end-of-life and will no longer be supported by the manufacturer.
What’s the driving factor behind these changes? The short answer - Convergence.
Convergence views voice communications and data communications as a
comparable information nucleus – they are doing basically the same function.
Passing data from an originating point to an end point. Voice communications
uses dedicated paths to connect parties and data communications uses non-
dedicated paths and protocols to send and retrieve information.
Is this the first convergent of seemingly different technologies? Not at all, the fax
revolution of the 80’s was produced by a convergence of telecommunications
technology, optical scanning technology, and printing technology. There are
countless other examples of convergent technologies on the market today.
When should you begin planning for your upgrade? The simple answer is of
course; there is no time like the present.
As with any project you will need to make a presentation case for the project,
outlining the immediate and future benefits to your company’s business culture
and the company’s bottom line. I’ll discuss three common driving factors, End-of-
life schedules, culture/business shift and company reorganization.
I’ll use Nortel’s SIP Multimedia PC Client as an example.
1. Identify your current systems End-of-life schedule.
A. Pbx systems are comprised of software and hardware. In some system
configurations, the hardware will follow a different end-of-life schedule than the
software and vice versa. B. You should review all aspects of your
telecommunications system from the software, to the cards, to the telephone sets
and catalog all concerns. C. Upgrading your system outright to the latest and
greatest may make more sense to the bottom line than continually upgrading the
various parts of the system.
2. Determine if new systems features will improve your company’s
telecommunications culture.
A. Nortel’s SIP Multimedia PC Client as an example offers many features beyond
traditional telephony. It supports video calling, instant messaging, call screening,
real-time call disposition, conferencing, file sharing, and white-boarding. B.
Advanced Web communications include pushing Web pages and co-browsing the
Web with customers, co-workers, and associates C. Virtual Office is always an
exciting feature of the newer VoIP and SIP systems.
3. Company growth, downsizing or related projects.
A. Company growth is a good time to analyze your telecommunications systems. It
might be cost-effective to embrace the new system features and create Virtual
Private Networks (VPNs) that in turn, reduce your requirements on T1’s. B. If
your company is downsizing in property. It might prove fruitful to allow the older
systems to convey with the property, while focusing on re-growth and the newer
systems. C. If you company is engaged in related projects (Infrastructure
upgrades, IT system upgrades, etc.). It is crucial that you as the
Telecommunications Manager are part of the process to ensure that newly
installed systems will communicate with your vision of the future for your Pbx
department.
Of course there are other driving factors that are unique to each and every
business and this article briefly touches on only a few factors. More important are
the key factors in planning that can be categorized into anticipation on your part
and the effective management of information, quality, and scope.
Anticipating changes in the telecommunications sector and taking advantage of
those changes to benefit your company are paramount to a competent, executable
plan. In addition, effectively managing the information, ensuring quality research
and developing a scope of action will assist in the creation of a sound
telecommunications project.
Whether you’re just beginning the research process of upgrading your Pbx
system or are well along in the process – PbxInfo.com is a great place to perform
research, post questions and get answers about a wide array of systems.
* - Nortel’s SIP Multimedia PC Client and Nortel are trademarks of Nortel Networks.
Article by Charles Carter www.cs2communications.com
Charles Carter is an administrator for the Nortel Portal and Vice President of
http://www.pbxinfo.com. He has 20 years experience in the telecommunications
field, is a software owner/programmer, author of the fictional book Chaos Theorem
and is currently the President of CS2Communications
http://www.cs2communications.com - A Southern Mississippi
Telecommunications LLC specializing in Nortel Meridian Programming, Nortel BCM
Programming, Structured Cable Installations, Nortel Symposium Programming and
Smart eM Technology.
By Charles Carter
Your PBX system has served you well in the past and with a bit of upkeep and
maintenance will continue to meet your needs in the future. However change is on
the horizon.
It’s not so much that the PBX features have changed, it’s the technology delivering
those features and your co-workers interaction that is changing.
In the end the choice to upgrade your voice communications system may not even
be yours. Many PBX manufactures are embracing Voice over Internet Protocol
(VoIP) and the newest technology, Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) as their new
flagship systems while limiting the support of their Legacy TDM (Time Division
Multiplex) systems.
Whether you have a small system or a large system, it’s imperative as a
Telecommunications manager that you understand the latest technologies and
begin to blueprint when a system upgrade would make sense for your company.
Many managers are put off by the fact that they have to upgrade their
telecommunication system – after all it’s worked fine for many years. They are
even more upset when they are notified or find out that the system they have is
reaching or is end-of-life and will no longer be supported by the manufacturer.
What’s the driving factor behind these changes? The short answer - Convergence.
Convergence views voice communications and data communications as a
comparable information nucleus – they are doing basically the same function.
Passing data from an originating point to an end point. Voice communications
uses dedicated paths to connect parties and data communications uses non-
dedicated paths and protocols to send and retrieve information.
Is this the first convergent of seemingly different technologies? Not at all, the fax
revolution of the 80’s was produced by a convergence of telecommunications
technology, optical scanning technology, and printing technology. There are
countless other examples of convergent technologies on the market today.
When should you begin planning for your upgrade? The simple answer is of
course; there is no time like the present.
As with any project you will need to make a presentation case for the project,
outlining the immediate and future benefits to your company’s business culture
and the company’s bottom line. I’ll discuss three common driving factors, End-of-
life schedules, culture/business shift and company reorganization.
I’ll use Nortel’s SIP Multimedia PC Client as an example.
1. Identify your current systems End-of-life schedule.
A. Pbx systems are comprised of software and hardware. In some system
configurations, the hardware will follow a different end-of-life schedule than the
software and vice versa. B. You should review all aspects of your
telecommunications system from the software, to the cards, to the telephone sets
and catalog all concerns. C. Upgrading your system outright to the latest and
greatest may make more sense to the bottom line than continually upgrading the
various parts of the system.
2. Determine if new systems features will improve your company’s
telecommunications culture.
A. Nortel’s SIP Multimedia PC Client as an example offers many features beyond
traditional telephony. It supports video calling, instant messaging, call screening,
real-time call disposition, conferencing, file sharing, and white-boarding. B.
Advanced Web communications include pushing Web pages and co-browsing the
Web with customers, co-workers, and associates C. Virtual Office is always an
exciting feature of the newer VoIP and SIP systems.
3. Company growth, downsizing or related projects.
A. Company growth is a good time to analyze your telecommunications systems. It
might be cost-effective to embrace the new system features and create Virtual
Private Networks (VPNs) that in turn, reduce your requirements on T1’s. B. If
your company is downsizing in property. It might prove fruitful to allow the older
systems to convey with the property, while focusing on re-growth and the newer
systems. C. If you company is engaged in related projects (Infrastructure
upgrades, IT system upgrades, etc.). It is crucial that you as the
Telecommunications Manager are part of the process to ensure that newly
installed systems will communicate with your vision of the future for your Pbx
department.
Of course there are other driving factors that are unique to each and every
business and this article briefly touches on only a few factors. More important are
the key factors in planning that can be categorized into anticipation on your part
and the effective management of information, quality, and scope.
Anticipating changes in the telecommunications sector and taking advantage of
those changes to benefit your company are paramount to a competent, executable
plan. In addition, effectively managing the information, ensuring quality research
and developing a scope of action will assist in the creation of a sound
telecommunications project.
Whether you’re just beginning the research process of upgrading your Pbx
system or are well along in the process – PbxInfo.com is a great place to perform
research, post questions and get answers about a wide array of systems.
* - Nortel’s SIP Multimedia PC Client and Nortel are trademarks of Nortel Networks.
Article by Charles Carter www.cs2communications.com
Charles Carter is an administrator for the Nortel Portal and Vice President of
http://www.pbxinfo.com. He has 20 years experience in the telecommunications
field, is a software owner/programmer, author of the fictional book Chaos Theorem
and is currently the President of CS2Communications
http://www.cs2communications.com - A Southern Mississippi
Telecommunications LLC specializing in Nortel Meridian Programming, Nortel BCM
Programming, Structured Cable Installations, Nortel Symposium Programming and
Smart eM Technology.
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