by Joe Gleinser
12. August 2009 16:28
Reluctantly, I've become a big fan of Avaya's IP Office product. My early impressions of this product were not favorable. However it's mobility and remote connection features have developed into best-in-class features. The IP Office has always been very reliable. Finally, it is price competitive from ten - several hundred handsets. The IP Office is getting even better with the impending release of the 5.0 software upgrade. What's new in 5.0?
Failover: IP Offices can now failover between switches either geographically or within the same location. This is only supported with IP handsets.
Exchange 2007 Integration: Voicemail integration is now supported.
Web Based Telephony: Many users that previously relied on Phone Manager Lite will be able to access similar functionality over the web.
Conference Bridge: The conference bridge can be upgraded from 64 ports to 128 ports.
Small Community Network: IP Offices can now be installed at up to 32 individual locations and networked for 3 or 4 digit dialing between locations.
SIP Endpoints: Though I'm sure this feature has been heavily requested its impact on the market will be negligible. Additional licenses are required per SIP handset. Avaya's 16xx handsets rival SIP handsets in price, do not require an additional license and provide more features.
Licensing: Avaya has simplified the licensing by bundling user and phone switch licenses by user type. There are now three types of switch licenses. Essential uses the Embedded voicemail, which now includes Dial by Name directory. Preferred adds Voicemail Pro functionality. Advanced bundles call center reporting, recorded call management, conditional call routing and more. In addition to the switch licenses there are six types of user licenses - Mobile Worker, Tele Worker, Power User, Receptionist, Customer Service Agent and Customer Service Supervisor. Mobile Worker is essentially for remote extensions without any telephony or handset use. Tele Worker includes all licenses for remote IP phone or telecommuter access. Power User bundles Mobile and Tele Worker licenses. Receptionist adds the soft console application.
Support: IP Office 5 is only supported on the 500, 412 and 406V2 switches.