Whether you are a business or private VoIP user, at some point or another you need to pay some attention to the equipment you are using as it affects your VoIP experience. As the VoIP market has grown over the past decade, so has the number of providers. There are dozens of equipment manufacturers and solution providers, which means better prices through competition, as well as higher quality and functionality. Below are some of the most popular and most popular providers.
- Avaya
- What do we like?
- What we don’t like
- Cisco
- What do we like?
- What we don’t like
- Shoretel
- What do we like?
- What we don’t like
- Siemens
- What do we like?
- What we don’t like
- mitel
- What do we like?
- What we don’t like
- star
- What do we like?
- What we don’t like
- taridium
- What do we like?
- What we don’t like
- Other providers
Avaya
Avaya is the leader in the VoIP market. It has a wide range of equipment and solutions, including IP telephones, media gateways, routers, communication servers, PBXs, cordless telephones, voice applications, etc. The most popular product is the IP Office platform and communication system.
What do we like?
-
Improved for call centers.
-
Well-known name in the industry.
-
Good documentation.
What we don’t like
-
Requires the use of Avaya brand telephones only.
-
Advanced technical support.
-
Bad customer service.
Cisco
Before VoIP, Cisco was a giant of network providers. It has now become a leading player in VoIP equipment with good IP telephones, routers and other devices and solutions. Cisco owns Linksys, which is also well known in the market.
What do we like?
-
Reliable VoIP system.
-
Easy to set up.
-
Easy to use interface.
What we don’t like
-
More expensive VoIP system than most.
-
A certified technician may be required to set up.
Shoretel
Shoretel is a rapidly growing provider of end-to-end IP telephony and PBX solutions. ShoreTel’s strengths are performance, ease of installation and use.
What do we like?
-
Less expensive than other providers.
-
Excellent communication quality in small systems.
-
Includes mobile integration.
What we don’t like
-
Customers report random unreliable systems.
-
Bad customer support.
-
The system is not intuitive.
Siemens
Siemens is another technology giant that has expanded into VoIP and Unified Communications. It supplies telephones, automatic telephone exchanges and … everything that has to do with communication.
What do we like?
-
Reliable service.
-
Stable VoIP system.
-
Excellent call quality.
What we don’t like
-
Basic user interface.
-
Slow web interface.
-
Phones do not have a headphone jack.
mitel
Mitel is a global provider of communications solutions for enterprises and small businesses. It aims to combine a good human interface with a strong infrastructure. Mitel’s brands include the SX and ICP series.
What do we like?
-
Good selection of phones.
-
Scalable for any business size.
What we don’t like
-
Bad customer service.
-
Complicated installation.
-
More expensive than many other providers.
-
Unreliable systems.
star
Asterisk is not hardware, but a software PBX that can run on Linux, Unix, MacOS and some other operating systems. It is open source (ie free), very flexible and very robust.
What do we like?
-
Integrates with computer systems.
-
Stable VoIP system.
-
Cheaper solution.
What we don’t like
-
Difficult to solve.
-
Outdated web interface.
taridium
Taridium is a fast growing provider of open standard VoIP solutions. Taridium’s offerings range from managed VoIP services for small and medium-sized businesses to high-bandwidth telephony solutions for large enterprises and service providers.
What do we like?
-
Suitable for small and large companies.
-
24/7 technical support.
-
Cheap solution.
-
Contains multiple providers.
What we don’t like
-
New provider in the industry.
Other providers
TalkSwitch
Toshiba
phonality
3Com
Polycom
Alcatel
Lucent (owned by Avaya)
Linksys (owned by Cisco)
D-Link
Sipura (owned by Cisco)
Grandstream
snom
NetGear
ZyXEL
Belkin