one-X Quick Edition is a peer-to-peer phone system for locations with 20 users or less. It is simple to set-up and use, and is ideal for small businesses and small branch offices requiring an intelligent communications solution that is easy to support and maintain.
Distributor Nimans believes that the product will form an integral part of their business in 2007 with their Tim Freeth saying he believes the average configuration will likely be around 5 users. The small business sector is a critical part of the UK economy and presents a massive opportunity for IP Telephony, with over 99% of businesses in the UK having less than 50 employees.
Avaya’s Quick Edition is a plug-and-play solution with system intelligence based in each Quick Edition IP phone. No advanced installation skills are required and the need for a separate server or processor unit is eliminated. All that's required is a standard 10/100Mbps switched Local Area Network (LAN). Quick Edition is a professional phone system tailored to the needs of small businesses supporting the most commonly used telephony applications including voicemail, conferencing and auto-attendant.
The system is based on the fast emerging SIP standard and Quick Edition phones support connection to SIP trunks. This gives small businesses the potential to reduce their telephony costs by connecting to an Avaya-validated SIP service provider. Enterprise branch offices can connect via SIP trunks to a central site with an Avaya SIP Enablement Services (SES) environment. In either case, traditional analogue trunk connections can also be made using the optional Quick Edition G11 4-port PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) Gateway.
Installation and set-up is simple. Avaya’s Quick Edition phones are plugged directly into the LAN and once powered, automatically “discover” each other and prompt for network and user name. Once entered, the phones are fully operational in a matter of minutes. As an office grows, new employees can be added to the system by simply adding a new phone to the network. When deployed in small offices with 20 phones or less, Quick Edition does not require any QoS (Quality of Service) configuration or formal network assessment.
The distributed nature of peer-to-peer technology provides business continuity advantages by eliminating a single point of telephony failure. Avaya one-X Quick Edition phones also automatically back-up one another’s voice mail.
For Avaya BusinessPartners, Quick Edition provides incremental revenue potential by addressing the sub-20 user market with low operating overheads, and minimal capital expenses. In addition to the sales of Quick Edition phones and gateways, there are multiple revenue opportunities in providing a total solution to small offices, including bundled voice and data services, and leasing.
Tim Freeth, Avaya Business Manager at Nimans, which recently won EMEA Growth award distributor at Avaya’s Partner Conference 2006 with 59% growth in Avaya product sales from 2005 to 2006 said: “We see Quick Edition as an attractive alternative for small businesses who may have thought that IP telephony was still too costly, insecure or intimidating to evaluate in 2006. Avaya’s Quick Edition provides advanced IP benefits using a familiar PBX style handset. This mix of the classic and the new makes it an ideal IP telephony solution for all users, fundamentally providing SMEs with a platform for the future as well as today.”
If business needs change or functionality requirements outgrow the capabilities of the system, Avaya’s Quick Edition offers businesses the flexibility to migrate to more advanced solutions such as Avaya IP Office or Avaya Communication Manager. This enables businesses to reuse the Avaya 4600 series IP handsets with these other systems
“Small businesses today demand the same benefits from technology as their larger competitors but also demand simplicity and a low cost of sale” said Paul Louden, Country Manager, SME Business, UK & Ireland “With the availability of Avaya’s Quick Edition, our Distributors and BusinessPartners will be able to provide their SME customers with a highly efficient, flexible IP telephony solution, with a product migration strategy that can be developed at their own pace without risking their investment.”
Avaya are recommending their 4610 and 4621 IP phones for the product and Louden added that the Quick Edition afforded users a simple cost effective upgrade path to IP Office as their businesses grew.