I’ve been working on a new Telephone System install for a large business client, and I’ve been enjoying the change in pace. I work with computers of every sort every day – laptops, servers, desktops, Windows XP, Vista, 7, sometimes even Fedora, CENTOS or OSX (though rarely). But the thing that I’ve really been enjoying about this project isn’t the hardware, the operating system, or even (mostly) the software – what I’ve REALLY been enjoying is STANDARDS COMPLIANCE!

For anyone who’s ever performed a large network upgrade or (better example) Telephone System upgrade or expansion, you may have been unlucky enough to discover the “joys” of Manufacturer specific protocols or hardware.

They suck.

With a few exceptions, nothing good has come out of Manufacturers going there own way, and leaving everyone else to go theirs. Enter, Standards.

In the technology world, several bodies make standards. The IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) is the most important single entity in the Technology field, but they and other, smaller bodies oversee development of standards for all kinds of things – from Wired network cabling standards to Computer Bus interface specifications to Power Supply output connections – almost ANYTHING that is universal between manufacturers has been developed and approved by a Standards committee.

And that, my friends, brings me back to where I started – Telephone systems.

You see, more than any other field that I’m involved with, Telecom is the one that has had LEAST (in my opinion) standardization – at least at the consumer level. I can’t tell you how many different Telephone systems I’ve seen by how many entirely DIFFERENT vendors (coincidentally, many of those vendors now defunct or bought-out). Nortel, Executone, Comdial, AT&T have now been superceded by Vodavi, Shortel, Avaya, Inter-Tel, and many others. And guess what? Nobody works or plays with anybody else. Period.

As a computer guy getting into the Telecom field, it was initially very surprising and frustrating to realize that a PBX (Public Branch eXchange – a Commercial Telephone System) from vendor A could not be swapped out with a PBX from vendor B. Nor could Phones from vendor A be used with Vendor B’s PBX.

In FACT, to add insult to injury, I learned quickly that you couldn’t even use Vendor A’s Model A telephone with their Model B PBX – or their Model’s C,D,E,F,G,H, or XIII.5! Model A PBX’s had their own Phones, their own Voicemail cards, their own interface modules, their own – EVERYTHING. As did Models A through triple-Q. You either learned to find and record Serial and Model numbers very thoroughly, or you found another career, quickly.

So…. where was I….

Ahhhhhh…. Standards!

Enter 2010 and the arrival of the IP-PBX (Trumpet blast please)!!!
Ok – honestly, IP-PBX’s aren’t new for 2010 – they’ve actually been around and gaining popularity for quite some time.

But that’s not the point. The point is, Eberly Systems has been using them – and they’re WONDERFUL!!!

I’ve had some great experiences with Trixbox, Asterisk, even AsteriskWin32 (yah, that’s a mouthful) – there’s a growing number of solid IP-PBX solutions out there. But what’s really cool? Un-like their older brothers (the PBX), this new breed supports Standards-based SIP Telephony – and that means OPTIONS!!!

Oh, I love that word – Options. It makes me think of Nvidia GTX-480′s, 2011 Camero SS, or a Starbucks Vanilla Latte with a Double-shot of Espresso – all kinds of wonderful things come to mind.

But back to reality – what SIP Standard Telephony means is gone are the days of a $10,000 system switch-overs because your PBX goes down – gone are the days of being tied to a dinky out-of-date telephone because your PBX doesn’t support anything newer – gone are the days of calling Uncle Moe’s Phone Place in Texas looking for the last VM card this side of China! It means OPTIONS BABY!!!

My last several ventures have been with the 3CX Phone Systems server for Windows. I love it. It does everything (everything I need at least) that Trixbox or Asterisk can do, but it does it with an attractive GUI that is pleasant to look at, even when you’re programming extension 4056 out of 10,000 (ok, it might actually be getting old by that point) – but the point is, the guys at 3CX have take a phenomenal feature set, and wrapped it up with a huge bow and flashy wrapping paper – and it delivers!

I’m a 3CX partner, but I don’t get paid to toot their horn – I do it because the system has saved me time, hassle and frustration, and has won me contracts, wowed my customers, and satisfied every need I’ve had in a phone system to date.

I love the SIP-standard compliant phones – you can pick Snom, Yealink, Polycom, Linksys, Cisco, Aastra, etc etc etc… VOIP gateways, providers, ATA’s, FXO/FXS cards – you name it, there are options. And guess what? They all (with a very few black-sheep exceptions) work with EVERYBODY’S STUFF.

It’s great. If a couple of outfits like Executone or Comdial had figured this out, they might still be selling hardware!

So…. the moral of the story.

Look for standards – not Manufacturer “standards”, but true Independently developed Industry Standards, and use them – and APPRECIATE them. No matter if your field is Telecom, Computers, Consumer Electronics, or Aviation – Standards make work POSSIBLE, and much more enjoyable!

By the way – if you want more info on 3CX Phone Systems, or a free Demo, drop me a line – http://www.eberlysystems.com/contact.php.

Ahhh….. Maybe it’s the rebel in me, but it’s so refreshing to be able to give “The Big Guys” the boot. Standards are here to stay, and the days of groveling before the Mega-Corporation as you purchase it’s latest proprietary Telephone hardware are OVER! All hail the age of the IP-PBX!!!