Avaya IP Office vs. Proficonf (discontinued)

So it's sold and targeted at small and medium enterprises, which is pretty perfect. So it maxes out at 2000 phones. You're never going to go bigger than that. It's probably by price, one of the cheapest phone systems out there. It fits really well in a dentist's office and a small medical office. It fits well in retail stores that are not part of a chain. So, independent shops, the general small business category, if it's a brand that's only in your neighborhood, that's one of the few spots where you can still sell an on-premise phone system, is for those types of folks. I've always recommended it to small businesses. I've got some family members, too, who have these in their own small businesses by my recommendation, and they love them. And I'm going to use the word cheap, the system's not cheap, but the pricing is pretty wildly low in a good way. So it's a stable machine. My recommended use cases are usually for small businesses. I would not put it anywhere that needs high availability, though. That's that.

Incentivized

Whenever you need to speak with someone who is not an experienced internet-user, Proficonf is the best. I mean there's a big green button you need to press. Sometimes you need to put your name. That's it. Even the old folks can handle it well. Also, we find Proficonf surprisingly good working with a non-stable internet connection. I mean, of course, quality is decreasing (they say it's adaptive), but the video remains smooth. Even in those cases, Proficonf has probably the smoothest video among all video conferencing services.

• So my favorite thing that it does well is the mobile client. It's very easy to use to access my contacts as if I'm sitting at my desk in the office. I can send text messages to other parties within my department as well. So that's the best thing. Staying in touch even though I'm not sitting at my desk.

Incentivized

• Super-easy to start a meeting
• Available from mobile phones
• Bunch of presenting tools

• Rush for updates. At times an updated will fix one problem, and inadvertently create another. However with due diligence from your business partner (Tektivity) patches are tested before being rolled out in production environments.
• Part itemization. If you purchase a new system, the power cord does not come with the unit, that is a separate part. Very minor in the grand scheme of things but as a reseller and a customer still somewhat annoying.
• Large convoluted organization. As a user trying to navigate the AVAYA website, and track down information can be daunting. Even calling support can be challenging, you never know if your call will be routed to India, Brazil, or Denver. That is why the relationship with Tektivity is so important. You can leverage your business partner to get the answers you need so you can spend your time tackling issues that need your attention.

Incentivized

• They need to fix their iOS.
• Maybe more features would be good.
• Separate service for webinars.

Oddly enough I have been impressed with the IP Office platform so much that I have integrated one into my home. My wife was not happy with it initially but once she started using it she was very happy with the results. It helped that I programmed it to work just like a home phone but with features and options that I can utilize remotely. I would be more than happy to put an AVAYA IP Office against any other phone system on the market, and let you be the judge.

Incentivized

Avaya IP Office is a great system that is somewhat affordable for most SMB's. However, In our experience, Avaya IP Office has a tendency to shelve some of the license as you upgrade the software release on the PBX switch without giving back any comparable license to compensate. The Voicemail Pro license is quite expensive and most of the functionality that most business needs are not covered in the standard voicemail offering.

Incentivized

Much better feature set with Avaya IP Office, and I really feel you're getting feature-rich telephony for a well priced switch. The system is very adaptable and a much better fit than legacy key systems and cloud-based UCaaS solutions competing in the same market. With the Avaya brand behind the system, there is also a form of working with a Trusted partner with many years in the UC space.

Incentivized

Proficonf proved to be a bit better than appear.in in terms of video quality and features. Zoom and Skype weren't any good for us. Proficonf is completely web-based, so it doesn't require a download like Skype or Zoom. Proficonf has much better video quality, there's no competition on that subject. And it's so much easier to use. However Skype is also a messenger, so we are still sometimes using it.

• When selling to a prospective customer, I always do a 10 yr ROI to show the benefits of Avaya IP Office or ACO and which scenario would fit best.
• CAPEX vs OPEX
• Number of phones needed as well as other features need to be considered to determine if Avaya IP Office fits best.

Incentivized

• Increased quality of sessions
• Increased outreach to clients
• Save time