(newbie) What's a good small-business PBX?

Edwards Finance > Phones

Q. I looked around and found the AT&T Partner system, which, as I understand, is compatable with a regular analog phone. What other options do I have, in the used market, for a good quality PBX for a mis-sized system of 19 phones? (I may be using the term PBX incorrectly here, as I noticed most people call the 308 a "controller". I always assumed the PBX did the switching, but you folks in this group know a lot more than I do about this.) Voice mail is not that important, and if it comes to a big price difference, we can live without it. However, having analog compatability is a must.

A. The Partner system which has an optional voicemail module would be fine for your app. Is this an office building where the space is leased to various businesses? If so, I have known many of those types of businesses to use a little more sophisticated system (such as Avaya Intuity AUDIX) and sell the advanced messaging capabilities to the tenants. This is not a cheap system but many tenants love the capabilities. As far as your teminology goes, typcially you hear about three kinds of systems these days: * Key System - Every phone can see every line and typically presses a button to choose a line to talk on. * Hybrid - mix between Key and PBX * PBX - Each phone has an extension number and individual users do not typically pick a phone line to talk on. They just pick up the phone and dial. The PBX handles the switching to an available phone circuit to the public network. There is also a lot of hype about Voice Over Internet Protocol capabilities which are available as stand-alone systems and as functional options on more traditional systems. For your small app, VoIP might be something to consider though. Especially if you are going to have to rewire as part of your upgrade. You might consider putting in a QoS enabled data switch with wireless network endpoints and provide the telephony functionality over wireless. You would be surprised at how cost effective something like that can be depending on the alternative wiring requirements. It is especially effective in older buildings where there are latent asbestos issues. During rewiring, asbestos lagging is often uncovered which leads to large expeditures for environmental concerns. If you go wireless throughout, you eliminate the need for rewiring at all. This looks like a great application for a Panasonic KXTD system. Every digital extension has an analog port on the back of the phone..err or it can have anyways. This would allow everyone to keep their wireless handsets. These systems are fairly inexpensive. The Partner system is a good key system and can be found (like everything else) used at a very competitve price. You will be able to use a regular analog (cordless or corded) phone, but will not have any feature functionality, which of course, you don't have now. The Partner mail is a card in the system, not a standalone server like Intuity Audix. You could easily spend more for Audix than for a capable key system. Your organization will likely save quite a bit of money by pooling your LEC facilities (probably 8-10 trunks instead of 19 1FB business lines) and combining your LD for volume. The AT&T Sprit was end of lifed many years ago, and while it was built like a tank, is not suitable for resurrection. Keep in mind that if you are growing, the Partner will max out at about 35 stations, which includes analog ports for fax, modem, credit card machine, etc. Do not buy too little system just to save money upfront.

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