Never a truer word said.....
I'm currently going through a migration from a legacy Nortel system
(using a Citel Gateway) with one of my clients and the hardest part so
far has been the constant comparison between old and new.
The Gateway cannot provide all the functionality of the old system and
so alternates and workarounds need to be found.
The majority of people are still using their Nortel sets and didn't get
the shiny new IP phones with all the additional functionality, so there
may be a bit of resentment there as well.
The biggest issue for me was time - I didn't realise just how much
longer it would take to integrate with existing sets as opposed to
replacing everything.
As Jim said - It's all about managing expectations (mine included).
Good luck
Martin
Jim Van Meggelen wrote:
Roy,
Any way you slice it, transitioning to a new telecom environment will be
stressful and emotional. I've done a lot of PBX installs, and the only time
there was no drama was when the users and management just didn't care.
Integrating Asterisk with a legacy PBX is technically not that complicated,
but managing user expectations is. People will constantly be comparing the
two, and you will discover all kinds of things that do not work between the
two systems, even though they work fine on one or the other.
Unless you have a clearly-defined need for integration, it's probably time
to replace the whole system. Having said that, pick up a copy of a good book
on Project Management (such as O'Reilly's The Art of Project Management) and
follow a strict methodology with respect to outlining needs, goals,
deliverables, timeframes and such. Also, keep in mind that using the old
phones will predispose people to expecting the new system to work as the
old. With new phones, people will be more tolerant of the fact that there
are a new set of skills to develop. Price out new IP phones in addition to
the integration piece. You may be surprised that there is not as big a price
difference as you might think.
Really the trick to acceptance of new technology is managing people's
expectations. If you know exactly what is required of the new system, you
can build it, test it, and get buy-in before you cut over. Then, when you
finally do cut over, make sure that you plan for several days of bitching,
whining, and sometimes even yelling while people adjust emotionally to the
change. Make sure you have some user training sessions. This is a good way
to get a feel for how people are responding to the new system, and it allows
you to catch complaints before they escalate.
If you have never done a PBX installation before, make sure you plan this
out very carefully, or you will be in for some serious pain. This holds true
whether you integrate or replace.
Never a dull moment.
Jim
-----Original Message-----
From: Roy Morris [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: March 5, 2007 4:52 PM
To: Asterisk Group (E-mail)
Subject: [on-asterisk] Nortel Integration
G'day,
I have been working with our Asterisk system for a while now
and getting close to final stages. I hate the thought of just
pushing all the users over to a new system over night and
hoping for the best ;)
Anyone seen any integration between the old Nortel stuff and
Asterisk (hardware/software) ? My current plan just uses a
box that converts my existing Meridian phones to SIP.
Thanks in advance for any advice.
Roy
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