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BCR BEST-IN-TEST
We tested four hot, "lower-end" IP-telephony packages, aimed at the under-100-stations marketplace.
Many IP-PBX shoppers' short lists include just the usual suspects-Avaya, Cisco and Nortel. And while that may prove adequate for some high-end, and even mid-range installations-with hundreds or thousands of stations-the low-end is a whole different world.
Having earlier tested high-end and mid-range systems (see BCR, January 2005, pp. 24-37 and February 2005, pp. 24-36), Miercom and BCR decided to also sample the wares at the low-end of the IP-PBX marketplace-where "typical installation" and "target customer" sizes are under 100 stations.
How do these IP-telephony packages compare? Do they stack up to high-end competitors? Do they offer the same features? Options? Performance?
We invited more than a dozen vendors to submit their low-end IP-PBXs for review. Four showed up. And their systems, it turns out, all represent very serious, very capable packages:
* Dialexia Communications, which submitted its Dial-Office, sold as a software-only package. In our case, the vendor included all the hardware pieces-mixing and matching third-party components, which the open, standard-SIP environment enables.
* EADS Telecom, which sent us its Nexspan L system. We tested the product with the then-current shipping software version, Release 3.2, though we also peeked at some of the impressive new capabilities that will be coming by year-end in the next major release.
(EADS has recently been re-named Aastra Intecom, to reflect the company's acquisition by the Canadian vendor Aastra, as well as the company's original name, Intecom.)
* Mitel Corp., which sent its SX-200 Integrated Communications Platform (ICP). The system consists of a compact chassis, which contains all the various modules-call controller, Tl gateway, etc.
* Pingtel Corp., which submitted its SIPxchange PBX. This package, too, is also purely SIP-based and is also offered as software only. The vendor brought in a fully assembled system, with third-party SIP phones, gateways, etc.
While the usual "high-end" suspects do also offer "low-end" systems-Cisco's CallManager Express, Avaya's IP Office and Nortel's BCM, for example-all three sat out this test.
And The Winner Is...
As shown in the Scorecard (Table 1), congratulations go to Mitel, which edged out the competition in areas including Performance, Management and Administration, Features and security. Mitel's SX-200 earned 83 points overall, out...