What's good about the Avaya IP Office 500 phone system?

The happiest phone system purchases are made by customers that are receptive to how current technology can help them. They've done their homework and know what they need and where they're going. This is where the Avaya IP 500 really shines. The Avaya IP Office 500 v2 pbx offers the latest productivity enhancing features at prices previously unseen in Australia. It's a solution that almost any business can now not only afford, but would be hard pressed to go past. A combination of aggressive manufacturer pricing and a stronger Australian dollar have made this world class solution almost unbeatable. Below you'll find a review of the Avaya IP Office 500 v2 covering the good, the not so good and whether this is the right solution for you.

The Avaya IP Office 500 PBX is the biggest selling SME solution in the world!

The Avaya IP Office 500 phone system has a staggering 22% market share worldwide in the SME space (sub 250 handsets) which makes it the world's leading choice. Plus, over 90% of the Fortune 500 companies also use Avaya which tells you how good this brand really is.

Why is the Avaya IP Office 500 v2 so dominant?

The Avaya IP 500 simply does "technology" better than anyone and has the awards to prove it. What clients like most is how the Avaya IP 500 makes advanced features so user friendly and accessible that they actually use them on a daily basis. Once you've seen an Avaya phone system working you'll look at some other so called "solutions" very differently.

Where other brands are just starting to adopt CTI, Unified messaging, VoIP, Networking, mobility etc, Avaya has it down to a fine art and have been doing it brilliantly for years. If you're ready to transform the way you communicate then the Avaya IP Office 500 pbx will quickly become your businesses best friend.

The Avaya IP Office sounds expensive so what about pricing?

Whether you're starting out, or are looking for a multinational rollout, the Avaya is priced to suit.  As experts we could easily argue that the pricing is far too low for everything you get from a brand of this pedigree.

In the recent past Avaya dropped the IP 500 pbx pricing to aggressively take on other players in the Australian SME space. It comes with so many standard features built in that 95% of our SME customers get everything they  need straight out of the box. You now get an amazing Avaya solution for around the same money as lesser brands - it's a Mercedes solution at Ford pricing.

The Good features

• Incredibly Reliable
• Incredibly Robust and reliable platform
• Very easy to use - everything can be screen driven. In fact, it has the best on screen functionality of any system in Australia
• Features that other systems simply don't offer
• One of the worlds best call centre applications (option)
• Purpose designed conferencing solution (option)
• Avaya VoIP is market leading quality and easy for users
• Voicemail is included FREE
• Very sophisticated call routing capabilities
• Unified messaging allowing you to get faxes, voicemails and emails in your PC inbox (option)
• Administrator software and self programming is very easy and there isn't much you can't do yourself - this saves you money
• Expand up to 1000 users
• Easy Network Integration
• One of the world's best, and most awarded, systems
• Soft console is simple and easy to use
• Integrated Firewall
• Remote Access Server. VPN support
• Supports digital, Analogue or IP handsets
• CTI comes FREE (more advanced versions are extra) so you can dial from screen at no charge
• Full synchronisation with Microsoft exchange
• PC operator console available for more advanced use (option)
• Administrator software to manage your own system is included and this saves you money
• Excellent speaker quality for hands free operation
• Voicemail is very versatile allowing you to control and listen to messages with on screen prompts, listen to callers before picking up and record conversations (option)
• Comprehensive Auto Attendant & ACD (option)
• DECT compatible
• Great for multiple site networking & remote users

Feature sets like this may be quite uniform among the leading solutions.  With the Avaya it is more about their proven experience and the way these features work in such a seamless and easy fashion.

What's not so good about the Avaya IP Office 500?

Historically speaking there were three issues with the Avaya - handsets, price and the fact that it was predominately sold to larger companies so the SME market wasn't educated about the product.

A few years ago you would have paid well over twice what you do today for an Avaya IP Office 500 v2 phone system solution. At that time many suppliers chose not to sell the Avaya systems to the small end of town. Not because they didn't want to, but because the Australian marketplace was too price centric.  Avaya dealt with this glaring issue and now pricing is a moot point.

As a result more and more suppliers are choosing to sell this incredible Avaya IP 500 v2 phone system because they got sick of losing to them after the price dropped.  The price adjustment was two-fold - Australian dollar improvements and a conscious decision by Avaya in Australasia to garner market share.  As a result you are the winner - twice!

The other issue was the handsets.  In the USA, where this system hails from, they think anything less than 100 handsets is small.  Accordingly, the accompanying Avaya IP Office 500 handsets were built with large companies in mind.  They were more screen driven and eliminated features that Australian phone system consumers had gotten used to - being able to see which line is in use, who is on the phone with flashing lights - that type of thing.  This is the type of market and mindset that Panasonic, Samsung, NEC and Ericsson LG dealers capitalised on.

With their latest handset releases like the Avaya 1400 digital phones and Avaya 1600 IP phones they've squarely addressed those concerns.  Now they offer phones to suit small and large businesses alike.  In fact, they offer a massive array of different DECT, digital and IP handsets to suit every need and budget.  They even offer cheap and premium ranges to suit any budget conscious consumer. If you want flashing indicator lights you can have them.  If you want to see different phone lines...you can. But if you want to explore the upper limits of IP telephony with touch colour screens and the like then that's also an option. These big negatives of the Avaya that have now been firmly dealt with.

The Bottom Line on the Avaya IP Office 500 v2 phone system

If you have multiple locations, have staff working remotely, want to manage your own system, want a great VoIP solution, or simply want to improve the way you communicate then make time to look seriously at an Avaya IP Office 500 v2 phone system solution. At today's prices it's very had to go past.

The Avaya really lives up to the adage "you get what you pay for". The one constant is Avaya customers are never disappointed - it really does live up to the hype!

If you are looking at the Avaya to use as an IP solution with VoIP then you should also throw hosted phone systems into the mix. Today's hosted pbx systems offer an incredible array of features that rival hybird solutions, even one as good as the Avaya IP Office 500 v2.  Hosted phone systems are often priced differently, and you really need to do your numbers to see which delivers you the better deal and savings to your bottom line.  There is no fixed rule and it depends on your phone call composition, number of calls and phone lines. Speak to one of our friendly experts today and discover the right solution for your specific requirements.