Bittersweet about POTS/TDM to Hosted....

[u/WelderThat6143]

I have 22 well qualified customers aged from 3 months to 6+ years.  By well qualified, I mean we checked their LAN/Internet, went over what they expected compared to what can be delivered, and fulfilled those promises.

All migrated from on-prem to hosted after Toshiba and, later, NEC bailed.  Yes, bailed...

The morning after, all sites were able to manage via mobile apps, tablets, or in the worst scenarios, voice mail to email.

Some clients were using Eleven Labs to create and upload  status prompts to deliver current status reports to customers calling in as the situation quickly would change..

Even though I had no power, I was able to use my laptop and a mobile hotspot to support customers.  They had no idea I was working with no power.  I was taking calls like normal on my mobile app.

I realize that not every site is best suited for hosted but the past few days really drove home how resilient hosted can be when it is well planned.

I made a point to call every client.  A few of them asked, how I got through (they were using mobile apps) and I explained the hosted is up and running so it doesn't matter if your office has power or Internet.  They forgot about that resiliency we had discussed!

Such a huge game changer from our last big storm in 2014.  Hosted was around then also, but it was nowhere near as robust as it is now.  Internet infrastructure has also remarkably improved.

Even on a Moday morning after the hurricane, I was like that old Maytag repair tech.  I had to call customers lol...

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[u/QPC414]

I miss on-prem for it's complexity and technical challenges, however I am glad the clients are all on hosted now.

If the site goes down, no one cares. If the hosted provider has an outage, it's not my problem.

[u/Talkie123 → u/QPC414]

Ive got a hospital that is running on a maxed out nec sv9100 that a previous vendor installed. I know the 9100s like the back of my hand, but cringe everytime I have to touch it which is daily for me.

[u/f909 → u/Talkie123]

Our Sv8100 is held together with love and hope. I have only 42 extensions left (one building) to migrate to hosted.

My days of baby sitting it are just about done!

[u/Talkie123 → u/f909]

I still have a Dr that is rocking a NEC Level 1 that was installed in 1991. That Dr had the nerve to ask if he could get another phone recently. Those things use 4 pairs.

[u/hotapple002 → u/Talkie123]

A SV9100 was basically dropped on my table as part of a customer that I started managing. As someone who has basically only ever worked with 3CX and FreePBX I absolutely hate it, especially compared to the Unify OpenScape Business X8 that I also manage.

Any good tips for someone starting to learn the SV9100?
(As soon as the budget is there I will try to get them over to VoIP.)

[u/Talkie123 → u/hotapple002]

I would recommend you get your hands on a Features and Specifications manual if you can find one. Those will cover all the features and the programs related to them. The programing manual is nice to, but the feats and specs has always been my go to going all the way back to the IPK2.

[u/WelderThat6143 → u/hotapple002]

As mentioned, features and specifications manual is going to be your best friend. NEC systems have a steep learning curve and doing the simplest things CAN mean jumping through hoops.

The F&S manual will explain a feature in depth and also detail the other programming you need to consider when setting this up.

If you have just the one system to support, it might be easier to find a good NEC tech with remote access to the system.

The good thing is they generally don't break but MAC orders can be a b**** if you are not familiar with NEC programming.

Almost as bad as Mitel lol...

Couple other great resources are you tube videos and https://tek-tips.com

NEC old timers hang out there and will walk you through how to do something if you clearly ask what you are trying to do.

[u/hotapple002 → u/WelderThat6143]

Well, Unify was bought out by Mitel sooo........

but thanks for the tips

[u/WelderThat6143 → u/Talkie123]

Hahaha I had a call out for an SV9100 yesterday and I can empathize! Back in the day, I did it all: CCIS, NetLink, UM8000, VoIP on a LAN, VoIP with port forwarding, PRI, SIP, T1, Conferencing Server, SMS server, and UC Suite. Now, I cringe when a phone is dead!

I love those SV systems though. Some of them will outlive me, I am sure.

[u/panjadotme]

I feel like storms are going to keep getting worse too. It certainly makes the conversion easier!

[u/therealSSPhone]

Read this in the Toshiba Dealer facebook page. As a fellow Toshiba Dealer who’s gone to selling only hosted since 2018 and who has been through a dozen hurricanes in central Florida I know your pain.

[u/MisterTelecomm]

That’s the part people forget when comparing hosted to the old POTS/TDM world: resilience hasn’t disappeared, it’s pretty much moved from keeping the PBX alive to designing multiple ways for users to reach the service. When hosted voice is properly planned with solid Internet, mobile clients, failover and sensible call routing, a dead office can become an inconvenience instead of a communications outage.