Nortel BCM Versus Avaya IP Office - New Product Comparison
Cost-effective Communication Using Nortel's BCM, Avaya IP Office
VoIP offers an inexpensive and in many cases, a fixed cost to your telephone bills. You can make unlimited calls to any destination with this solution. Many service providers such as Nortel and Avaya offer VoIP solutions for the home and office. Each solution has its unique features and is suitable for a wide variety of users. Listed below are some of the pros and cons associated with Avaya's IP office and Nortel's BCM solutions:
Avaya's IP Office
Suitable for Small Businesses
Avaya's IP Office- as the name suggests, is meant for small businesses such as home offices and offices with up to 250 employees. It comes in three variants - so allows you to control costs even further. It offers a lot of flexibility such as ease of communicating via laptop, mobile phone, office phone, and home phone through wireless devices, wired devices, or broadband. This unified messaging system is a great hit with employees and a productivity booster.
Also, each employee's needs vary - your receptionist uses the phone differently when compared to your travelling knowledge worker. Avaya's solution helps each employee choose their individual mode of communication, thereby satisfying all.
Teleconferencing with up to 64 People
Apart from reducing telephoning costs, Avaya's solution also cuts costs in other ways. Each Avaya IP Office unit comes with two built-in 64-party teleconferencing bridges. This ensures that you spend nothing extra on conference calls. The latest version of Avaya's IP Office has the ability to record conference calls, a definite plus point for most businesses.
Though point-to-point video calling is possible, video conferencing is not an option yet in Avaya's product.
Like the Avaya IP Office product, Nortel's BCM too supports conferencing. Some of the conferencing features are available only in specific models, so be sure to pick the right model if you require conferencing facilities.
Built-in Redundancy to Reduce Missed Calls
Yet another advantage with Avaya is the built-in resilience factor. This ensures that in case of a power outage, calls are automatically routed to your other office location, thereby greatly reducing the number of missed calls.
One problem with this solution is that you need a minimum of two office locations for it to work.
Centrally Administered to Reduce Operating Costs
Avaya's office solution can be easily managed from a central location. This reduces the need to have more than one administrator to manage the entire system. Besides, the system itself proactively identifies potential problem areas, thereby preventing major communication outages.
Call Center Solutions including Call Recording Facility
Avaya offers call center solutions as well in its IP Office product. The latest offering from Avaya can also record calls - a plus point in call center operations. IP Office 500 can support up to 32 sites and offers geographical redundancy as well.
While Avaya's IP Office is a great product, so is Nortel's BCM, it too has a host of similar features. Apart from the standard features, Nortel's BCM has some unique applications as well. Some of these include:
IP and IP-enabled Services for Unified Messaging
Nortel's BCM or Business Communication Manager can offer both IP and IP-enabled services. The system offers unified messaging just like Avaya. It also offers the user the flexibility to use call center applications and interactive voice response systems.
Scalable to Support Growth
Nortel's BCM is a scalable model, meaning you can start small and upgrade it as your business grows. This system can support up to 250 employees, the same number as Avaya's product. Some of its great features include a message box where you receive messages and leave a voice greeting. These can be password protected and will provide information such as caller ID and time of receipt of call.
The BCM also allows universal Internet access. Besides, it permits computer telephony integration. This ensures that you can use third-party PC based solutions to control your telephone services.
Easy Mobility for Enhanced Productivity
The entire Nortel BCM system is easy to set up and use. It offers converged voice, data, and Internet services that are easy to manage from a central point. Multiple location networks can be controlled from a centralized office location. Again, this saves on administrator costs. The access is mobile, enabling people to take their communication equipment where ever they go. By freeing people from their desks, overall business productivity is increased.
Security of Communication
The entire network and all communications are absolutely secure in the case of both Avaya and Nortel's products. Moreover, IP telephony is less expensive than conventional telephony, so you save on costs as well. With this VoIP solution, one no longer needs a conventional telephone to talk to a colleague across the world. A computer and a headset will do just as well.
Paging Facility
Unlike the Avaya product, Nortel's offering has an advanced paging facility. This is of great use if your employees need to be away from their desks frequently. Nortel also offers an integrated voice response solution in the basic BCM product.
Voice Clarity
Both Avaya and Nortel offer superior voice clarity when making calls - both local and international.
Both Avaya and Nortel's solutions are ideal for small offices. They offer a lot of flexibility in terms of usage. Nortel scores by being more scalable. If you plan to increase staff strength in the long term, then choose Nortel as their solution offers better scalability.
These VoIP solutions not only reduce telephoning costs, but also enhance productivity with their great features. As these systems support unified communication and mobility, they are ideal for both small and medium businesses. Whether you have telecommuting workers or not, these are a great solution to your communication needs. They are robust enough to prevent outages, so you need not fear for breaks in communication capacity.
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