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Fonality, Allworx top SMB IP PBX appliance reviews
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InfoWorld put SMB IP PBX appliances from Allworx, Critical Links, Fonality, Microsoft, and Sutus through the hoops in the lab, finding that all of them combine sophisticated features and low cost, differing in breadth and complexity. Fonality's PBXtra 4.0 got an 8.8 out of 10 points, but Allworx 24x v6.8 wasn't far behind with 8.6 points; there's less than half a point between four of the five systems tested.
Key points to glean from the tests are that you can get an IP PBX appliance and five phones for less than $3,000 and you can set up everything in less than an hour. Also, there aren't any real "dogs" in the bunch, so if you didn't buy Fonality, you don't have to re-justify everything to the boss tomorrow morning. Fonality is just an IP PBX solution while Allworx, Critical Links and Sutus bundle in additional functionality like firewall/VPN, router, WiFi, a web server, and file server.
Business should, of course, select the solution most appropriate for their needs, not grabbing who scored the highest in the lab--one size does not fit all. To nitpick, it would have been interesting to see Digium's SwitchVox in the line up.
For more:
- InfoWorld's Review of SMB IP Phone Systems
- Read TMC's Fonality's PBXtra Beats Out Microsoft, Other VoIP Products report
Related articles:
Fonality Launches Boomerang Mobile Integration in PBXtra 4.0
Microsoft announces VoIP partners for Response Point
Comments
Posted by Newbie | December 28, 2008 - 4:07pm
What is a good entry level phone system (new or used) for a small business with the following requirements:
4 analog lines (3 voice, 1 fax)
8 extensions
Voicemail
Auto Attendant
What can I expect to pay for such as system (new and used) with installation.
Posted by Anonymous | July 18, 2009 - 12:26pm
Take a look at the TalkSwitch VS480 it will give you all of that and more. www.talkswitch.com
Posted by Ben | March 5, 2009 - 5:21pm
Newbie, I'm looking for a similar solution to the one you requested. Did you come up with a good one? Any advice would be appreciated.
Posted by Rurik Bradbury | June 24, 2009 - 6:31pm
Unison is another option (www.unison.com). It includes a PBX system integrated with e-mail, instant messaging and calendar. You can download and use it for free - you would pay for a server to run it (around $1000) plus hardware IP phones if needed, for around $120 each.
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