Large Enterprise PBX Comparison Guide
Manufacturer 3Com
Product VCX IP Telephony
Features
Starts at $6,000 for VCX
Cost Connect 100
Midsize, large, and
Target business size campus enterprises
Number of users 100 to 50,000
Software platform Security-hardened Linux
Hardware platform IBM x-Series servers
Supports multisite
deployments Yes
802.1d, 802.1p, 802.1q,
802.2, 802.3af, 802.11, and
Supported protocols more
Integrated Automated Call Yes; call center support
Distribution (ACD) with optional add-on
Includes Interactive Voice
Response (IVR) Yes; with optional add-on
Yes; integrates with
Unified messaging Microsoft Outlook
Additional integrated
applications Unified messaging
IP Conferencing Module,
Optional applications Telecommuter Module,
supported Call Center
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Altigen Avaya Cisco
S8730 Media Server
with
Communication Unified Communications
Manager 5.0 and Manager 6.0 with the
the G650 media 7800 Series Media
AltiServ gateway Convergence Servers
With software
Starts at $6,000, duplication starts
including voice mail, $15,000; with hardware
on-demand call duplication (DAL2
recording, and auto duplication boards) Starts at about $400 per user,
attendant starts at $20,000 depending on deployment
Midsize and large Midsize and large
enterprises enterprises Midsize and large enterprises
As many as 5,000 Less than 100 to 36,000 Up to 60,000
Windows server-based
Microsoft Windows implementation or Linux-
Server, Exchange based appliance
Server Enterprise Linux 4.0 implementation
Intel-based 7800 Series Media
Convergence Servers;
Industry-standard appliance model available for
Intel platform Intel Xeon server midsize deployments
Yes Yes Yes
SIP, MGCP (Media
Gateway Control
SIP, H.323, 802.x and Protocol) H.323, H.450, SIP, H.323, H.261, H.263,
more and more H.264, and more
Yes; additional call
center applications
available, including
AltiAgent and
AltiSupervisor Yes Yes; as optional add-on
Yes Yes; as optional add-on Yes; as optional add-on
Yes; Unified
Communication
Yes; integrateswith softphone links to
Microsoft CRM, contact management
Microsoft Outlook, software such as MS
Goldmine, ACT! Outlook Yes; via optional add-on
Includes the Unified
Communications Manager
Attendant Console, an
Voice mail, call detail impromptu conferencing
reporting, call application, and the Unified
recording on demand, Communications Manager
advanced auto Call Detail Record Analysis
attendant IP Softphone R2.0 and Reporting Tool
AltiConsole operator Includes call center,
console, IP Audio conferencing, collaboration,
Conference Bridge No and unified clients
Manufacturer
IP device support
Analog device support
USB device support
Mobile communications
support
Security
Reroute to PSTN (public
switched telephone
network) on failure
Redundancy
Management and
administration
Number of telephony
features
Emergency services included Available via third-party
Management tools for end
users Yes
End-user language support
Supports third-party
applications
3Com Altigen Avaya Cisco
Unified IP Phones 7985G,
7975G,7971G-GE, 7970G,
7965G, 7962G, 7961G-GE,
7961G, 7960G, 7945G, 7942G,
7941G-GE, 7941G, 7940G,
3Com 3101 Basic Phone 7931G, 7911G, 7906G, and
and with speaker, 3102 3911; Unified IP Conference
Business Phone, 3103 Stations 7937G and 7936;
Manager Phone, 3105 IP710 executive IP Unified IP Phone Expansion;
Attendant Console, VoIP phone; IP705 standard 4600 Series IP Phones, Unified Wireless IP Phones
Gateways desktop IP phone 9600 Series IP Phones 7921G and 7920
Supports 2500 series-
compatible devices,
including cordless Yes; 3 USB ports to
phones, fax machines, support modems,
night bells, and door compact flash readers, Phones via the ATA 186
ringers Yes etc. Analog Telephone Adaptor
Yes; 3 USB ports to
support modems,
compact flash readers,
No No etc. No
Yes; extension
anywhere, one-
Yes; optional applications number access, and
include presence and VoIP remote
twinning extensions Yes; Visiting User Yes; Unified Mobility
STRP (Secure Real Time
Runs on a security- Protocol), Access Secure HTTP, device
hardened Linux OS; Security Gateway (ASG) authentication, encryption of
includes integrated Suite of security embedded security signaling and media, and
firewalls applications software more
Yes Yes Yes Yes
Yes, in appliance models;
Deployed in pairs; redundant hot-swap 800W
Includes backup and optional RAID 1 Disk power supplies, redundant
1:1 active/standby or n:1 disaster recover Drive and 2nd power hot-swap fans, hot-swap SCSI
active/standby operations supply RAID hard drives
One centralized set of
applications configure,
Centralized manage and monitor
management via the media servers,
Browser-based AltiAdmin; Enterprise media gateways and Unified Communications
centralized management Manager endpoints Management Suite
Undisclosed Undisclosed 700+ 300+
Undisclosed Undisclosed Enhanced 911 service
Yes Yes Yes; as optional add-on
Arabic, Bulgarian, Catalan,
Chinese, Croatian, Czech,
Danish, Dutch, French,
German, Greek, Hebrew,
Hungarian, Italian, Japanese,
Korean, Norwegian, Polish,
Portuguese, Romanian,
Chinese, English, French, Russian, Serbian, Slovak,
Italian, Portuguese, Slovenian, Spanish, and
Spanish Undisclosed Undisclosed Swedish
Yes; via Application
Enablement Services or
the Avaya Developer
Yes; SIP-based Yes; SIP-based Connection program Yes
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Manufacturer 3Com Altigen Avaya Cisco
Includes software Yes; Application
developers kit (SDK) Yes Yes Enablement Services Yes
Designed for easy Flexible system with
installation and many configurable Straightforward
Ease of installation deployment. options installation Complex system
Yes; module can be
deployed as an overlay to
Supports incremental legacy PBXs via VoIP
migration to IP-based gateways for
system interconnections Undisclosed Undisclosed Yes

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Large Enterprise PBX Comparison Guide
NEC Sphere
Manufacturer Mitel Communications NEC Nortel
Univerge SV7000
Mitel 3300 IP VoIP Communication
Communications Communications Server 1000
Product Platform (ICP) Sphericall IP PBX Server Release 5.0
Features
Starts at $250 per user,
depending on
Cost Starts at $20,000 Undisclosed Available end of Q1 deployment
Midsize and large Midsize and large Midsize and large
Target business size Midsize and large enterprises enterprises enterprises enterprises
Number of users 10 to 65,000 Up to 30,000 50 to 16,000 Up to 22,500
Software platform Linux and VXWorks Microsoft Windows Linux Linux and VXWorks
3300 ICP; multiple models Open system runs on
Hardware platform based on capacity industry-standard servers Proprietary Proprietary
Supports multisite
deployments Yes Yes Yes Yes
SIP, 802.1d, 802.1p,
801.1Q, 802.3, 802.3af,
SIP, H.323, 802.x, 802.3af, and SIP, 802.11a/b/g, 802.11a/b/g, H.323, H.
Supported protocols more SIP Q.SIG, and more 225, H.245,and more
Integrated Automated Call Yes; via departmental call
Distribution (ACD) Yes features Yes Yes
Includes Interactive Voice Yes; as optional add-
Response (IVR) Yes Yes on Yes

Yes; with add-on

CallPilot, which
supports MS Outlook,
Yes; integrates with MS Yes; integrates with MS Yes; integrates with Lotus Notes, and
Unified messaging Outlook Outlook, Exchange MS Outlook, Novell Groupwise

Call management, presence,

unified messaging, instant Conferencing, one-
messaging, audio number-follow-me
conferencing, desktop video Personal Call Director,
conferencing, integrated recorded
softphone, advanced call Conference bridge, announcement,
forwarding, call recording, rich presence, network-wide
Additional integrated Standard unified messaging, auto attendants, and call federated IM, and attendant and
applications auto-attendant, wireless queuing more messaging

Nortel Contact Center,

Customer Interaction
Solutions contact center,
NuPoint Messenger and Mitel
Optional applications Messaging Server for
supported advanced unified messaging
IP device support MiNet Phones Plus
Sphere VG3 MeetingHub
conference bridge
Open system supports
variety of IP phones from
Aastra, Eutectics,
Grandstream Networks, and
Polycom
CallPilot unified
messaging, Nortel
Multimedia
Communication Server
5100, Microsoft Live
Communication Server
Call center 2005, and more
IP Phone 1100 Series
and 2000 Series plus
expansion modules, IP
DtermIP,  DT300 and Audio Conference
DT700 IP phones Phone 2033

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Manufacturer Mitel
Phones, fax machines,
Analog device support modems
USB device support No
Mobile communications Yes; single phone number
support and single voicemail box
Encrypted VoIP, phone
authentication, management
Security security
Reroute to PSTN (public
switched telephone
network) on failure Yes
Redundancy Yes
Management and Web-based Enterprise
administration Manager
Number of telephony 500+
Emergency services included E911
Yes; includes text to speech,
Management tools for end voicemail management from
users any Web-enabled terminal
Arabic, Chinese, Dutch,
English, Farsi, French,
German, Italian, Mandarin,
Portuguese, Spanish, and
End-user language support Turkish
Yes; APIs supported for third-
party applications through
Supports third-party Mitel Solutions Alliance
applications (MSA)
Includes software
developers kit (SDK) Yes
Installation via configuration
Ease of installation wizard
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NEC Sphere
Communications
Headsets, voice media
gateways, phones
Headsets, video
conferencing cameras
Yes
Has been submitted for
testing by the U.S.
Department of Defense and
National Security Agency
and has met all the
requirements of these tests
Yes
Dynamic load balancing,
automatic failure recovery;
certified for government
and military deployments
Sphericall Manager
Undisclosed
Undisclosed
Yes
Undisclosed
Yes; via Web services and
industry-standard protocols
Yes; includes WSDL files and
sample application source
code for Web browser and
mobile PDA
Sphere Communications'
installation and cut-over
services include the
installation of the Sphericall
product, endpoint
installation and testing,
trunk testing and on-site
customer troubleshooting.
NEC Nortel
Wireless LAN Handset
2200 Series, Wireless
LAN Handset Series
Various NEC handsets 6100, analog phones
Enhanced USB Headset
Adapter, Mobile USB
Headset Adapter for IP
Yes Softphone 2050
As optional add-on; IP Softphone 2050
full unified (Windows) and Mobile
communications to Voice Client 2050
mobile device (Pocket PC)
Message
authentication, SIP
signaling traffic
encryption,
management traffic
encryption, and media
End-to-end security on media
encryption endpoints
Yes Yes
Component
redundance, IP fail-
over for stations and
trunking, clustered Yes; redundant call
survivability servers
Web-based Manager Enterprise Telephony
and Assistant MA4000 Manager
780+ 750+
Campus Notification,
and 911 Alert E911
Yes Yes; CallPilot
Czechoslovakian,
Danish, Dutch, English,
Finnish, French,
German, Hungarian,
Italian, Japanese,
Chinese, Danish, Latvian, Norwegian,
Dutch, English, Polish, Portuguese,
French, German, Russian, Spanish,
Japanese, and Spanish Swedish, and Turkish
Yes; via the Nortel
Yes; SIP-based Partner Program
Yes No
The telephony
server's run time OS
allows for smooth
installation as well as
low maintenance and Comes with Web-
low TCO (total cost of based provisioning and
ownership) installation wizards
 NEC Sphere
Manufacturer Mitel Communications NEC Nortel
Supports incremental Yes; interoperates with
migration to IP-based traditional PBX telephone
system systems Undisclosed Yes Yes

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Large Enterprise PBX Comparison Guide
Manufacturer Pingtel
SIPxchange Enterprise
Communications Server
Product (ECS) LE
Features
SIPxchange ECS LE Business
Server appliance, $6,645;
SIPxchange ECS LE High-
Availability
appliances, $17,240; software
Cost alone starts at $1,600
Target business size Midsize and large enterprises
Number of users More than 1,000
CentOS Enterprise (an
enterprise-class Linux
Software platform distribution)
Intel-based server to run Red
Hat Enterprise Linux (or
compatible) OS; appliance
Hardware platform model available
Supports multisite
deployments Yes
Supported protocols SIP
Integrated Automated Call
Distribution (ACD) Yes
Includes Interactive Voice
Response (IVR) Yes
Yes; integrates with Microsoft
Unified messaging Outlook
Additional integrated Voicemail, auto attendants,
applications presence intelligence
Optional applications
supported None
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Shoretel
Shoretel Enterprise
Edition 7.5
$354 per user for fewer than
1,000 users; $114 per user for
systems with more than 1,000
users
Midsize and large enterprises
1 to 10,000
ShoreTel 7.5
Proprietary ShoreTel
ShoreGear switches
Yes
SIP and MGCP
Yes; as optional add-on
Yes
Yes; includes integration with
MS Outlook
Voice mail and automated
attendant
Operator Call Manager,
Converged Conference,
Contact Center, collaboration
tools, and instant messaging
Siemens
HiPath 8000
Starts at 29,000 Euro/$42,250
Midsize and large enterprises
Either 300 to 5,000 with
integrated Media Server or
300 to 100,000 per node with
external Media Server
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server
9 (SLES 9)
IBM System x3650 T server
Yes
SIP and MGCP
Yes; via optional contact
center application
Yes; via optional contact
center application
Yes; optional voice mail
system integrates with
Microsoft Exchange/Outlook
and Lotus Domino/Notes
Standards-based SIP call
control for multi-media
communications, and unified
communications for personal
use
Voicemail, unified messaging,
presence-based
collaboration, video
conferencing, mobility,
presence-based contact
center, and integration with
various business applications
for communications enabled
business process (CEBP)
Manufacturer
IP device support
Analog device support
USB device support
Mobile communications
support
Security
Reroute to PSTN (public
switched telephone
network) on failure
Redundancy
Management and
administration
Number of telephony
features
Emergency services included Specific E911 routing
Management tools for end Yes; via a personal Web user
users portal
End-user language support
Supports third-party
applications
Includes software
developers kit (SDK)
Pingtel
ClearOne MaxIP Conference
Phone, Grandstream
BudgeTone, HandyTone,
Grandstream GXP2000,
Grandstream GXV3000 Video
phone, Hitachi WIFI WIP3000,
WIP5000, LG-Nortel LG 6804,
6812, 6830, Polycom
SoundPoint IP 301, 430, 501,
550, 601, 650, Polycom
SoundStation IP 4000 SIP,
Snom 300, 320, 360
Cordless phones, fax
machines, FXS gateways from
Cisco and Grandstream, any
SIP-compliant gateway
No
Undisclosed
Outbound calls
authenticated through proxy;
Denial of Service (DoS) attack
prevention; HTTPS secure
Web access; secure user
password management
Yes
Load balancing; HA based on
DNS SRV
Web-based management
tool
175
User interface can be
localized to different
languages using a plug-in
framework
Yes; SIP-based
No
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Shoretel
ShorePhone IP 565g, 560g,
560, 265, 230, 212k, 115, 110,
and 8000
ShorePhone AP 100
Yes
Yes; QuickDialer and Office
Anywhere
User IDs and passwords and
encryption
Yes
Yes; uses N+1 model
Web-based ShoreWare
Director, ShoreWare System
Monitor
250
E911 and E911 Notification
Yes; ShoreWare Personal Call
Manager
Danish, Dutch, English,
French, German, Italian, and
Spanish; simplified Chinese,
Norwegian, and Swedish
Yes
Yes
Siemens
OpenStage 20/40/60/80,
optiPoint 410/420 S,
optiPoint 150 S, optiPoint
WL2S (wireless), and
optiClient 130 S
Phones, fax machines, and
modems via adapter
Yes; headsets
Yes; One Number Service
supports any time, anywhere,
any device
Enhanced IP Security to
provide IPSec/IKE (Internet
Key Exchange) support for
HiPath 8000 interfaces; host-
based IDS (Intrusion
Detection System) for DoS
attacks
Yes
Cluster control software runs
all parts of the system as a
redundant unit, Resilient
Telco Platform (RTP)
Web-basedHiPath 8000
Assistant or command line
interface
240+
E911
Yes; via OpenStage SIP
phones
Any language can be
installed, including Czech,
Danish, Dutch, English,
Finnish, French, German,
Hungarian, Italian, Mandarin,
Norwegian, Polish,
Portuguese, Spanish, and
Swedish
Yes; SIP-based
Yes
Manufacturer Pingtel Shoretel Siemens

Plug and play; IP phones

Pre-packaged appliance with
browser-based system
management tool lets you
add phones, configure
Ease of installation system, and go
Supports incremental
migration to IP-based Yes; integrates with legacy
system systems such as TDM PBX
plugged into the network are
automatically recognized by
the system and configured
for immediate service. A new
ShoreGear voice switch will
automatically be discovered
by ShoreWare Director.
Yes
HiPath 8000 software comes
preinstalled on a DVD. The
installation provides any
system- or user-related
information where needed
e.g. IP address, station
numbers, etc.
Yes

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Enterprise Class PBX Comparison Guide
Manufacturer
Product
Features
Outlook Integration
Integrated Voice Response
Call Center Support
Software Platform
Hardware Platform
Supported Protocol(s)
Management and
Administration
Phone Support
Analog Phone Support
Security
IP Station Capacity
Modularity/Expandability
Reroute to PSTN (public
switched telephone
network) on failure
Documentation/Support
Pricing
Ease of Installation
Target Business Size
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Sphere
Sphericall
Included
Included
Included
Windows XP
Industry-standard
servers
SIP and MGCP
Sphericall comes with
Web-based and
Windows-based tools for
managing and
administering the
system.
End devices from Aastra,
Eutectics, Grandstream
Networks, Polycom and
SpectraLink
Yes
Has been submitted for
testing by the U.S.
Department of Defense
and National Security
Agency and has met all
the requirements of
these tests
Scales to 30,000
Modular and
expandable using
standard servers and
components
Yes
Enterprise level
documentation and
support levels
Unusual pricing model
more similar to hosted
solution - $199 per user
license
Sphere
Communications'
installation and cut-over
services include the
installation of the
Sphericall product,
endpoint installation
and testing, trunk
testing and on-site
customer
troubleshooting.
Medium to large
enterprise
Manufacturer Sphere
Open-platform based,
powerful solution. In
particular has powerful
features for building
custom SOAP and XML
VoIP-News Comments applications.

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