>How does one justify the extra cost of a managed switch for an office of no >more than 5-10 users with limited SMB file sharing and lightweight internet >access going over the thing? It's just not doable. In larger organizations, >I agree entirely, a managed switch *is* worth its weight in gold, but not >for small businesses.
Simple formula: 1. Total Revenue 2. % of revenue derived from phone usage 3. =Cost of downtime by using SoHo or consumer gear. It's not a question of if a SoHo or low cost device will screw up, it is a question of when. This is 23 years of experience talking. Where I work, the value of #3 above is $16 Cdn a *second*. We are below 500 employees, so we fall into the SMB segment. Sometimes I'm appalled by statements that a $700 switch or a $400 phone isn't worth it. Huh?? Maybe in your home office, or whatever, but in any kind of meaningful business context, you *always* buy the best, and you only cry once. If you argue that your business can't support that kind of cost (which is really, actually quite cheap. Anyone remember $6000 switches? I do.) then perhaps you may want to re-evaluate whether it's appropriate to use VoIP in your business in the first place. Sure, a managed switch is not a silver bullet - but it is part of a quality implementation that *is* a silver bullet. Weakest link, and all that. _______________________________________________ --Bandwidth and Colocation provided by Easynews.com -- Asterisk-Users mailing list To UNSUBSCRIBE or update options visit: http://lists.digium.com/mailman/listinfo/asterisk-users
