As of March 15th, 2012, Avaya is now only offering a maximum one year contract term for maintenance on these older systems. Multi-year terms are no longer available. The Legacy systems affected are listed below:

Merlin Classic

Merlin Legend

Merlin Magix

Merlin telephones

PARTNER Endeavor

PARTNER II

PARTNER Plus

PARTNER ACS

PARTNER telephones

Spirit systems

In order to ease the pain of purchasing a new phone system, Avaya is running a new promotion called Avaya Trade in PLUS. If a customer purchases an Avaya IP Office phone system and returns the legacy equipment and phones to Avaya, they will receive a bonus rebate of up to $6,000.00! The full rebate amount is the standard Trade-in Trade-up value plus the Trade in PLUS promotion bonus.

The promotion started February 15, 2012 and will run until June 29, 2012. All equipment and phones must be received at Avaya by September 30, 2012 and the check will be issued within 60 days after the equipment and phones are received.

Teltek offers multi-year maintenance plans for almost all types of phone systems, including legacy models. For more information on the Trade In PLUS program or upgrading your Avaya legacy phone system to IP Office, call Teltek today!

Teltek is a Certified Avaya Business Partner, NEC Dealer, and Microsoft Partner with two locations in the Baltimore Metropolitan area. We specialize in providing one call technology support for small to mid-sized businesses and nonprofits in Maryland, Washington, DC, Virginia and Pennsylvania.

“I messed up. I owe you an explanation.

It is clear from the feedback over the past two months that
many members felt we lacked respect and humility in the way we announced the
separation of DVD and streaming and the price changes. That was certainly not
our intent, and I offer my sincere apology. Let me explain what we are doing.

For the past five years, my greatest fear at Netflix has
been that we wouldn’t make the leap from success in DVDs to success in
streaming. Most companies that are great at something – like AOL dialup or
Borders bookstores – do not become great at new things people want (streaming
for us). So we moved quickly into streaming, but I should have personally given
you a full explanation of why we are splitting the services and thereby
increasing prices. It wouldn’t have changed the price increase, but it would
have been the right thing to do.

So here is what we are doing and why.

Many members love our DVD service, as I do, because nearly
every movie ever made is published on DVD. DVD is a great option for those who
want the huge and comprehensive selection of movies.

I also love our streaming service because it is integrated
into my TV, and I can watch anytime I want. The benefits of our streaming
service are really quite different from the benefits of DVD by mail. We need to
focus on rapid improvement as streaming technology and the market evolves,
without maintaining compatibility with our DVD by mail service.

So we realized that streaming and DVD by mail are really
becoming two different businesses, with very different cost structures, that
need to be marketed differently, and we need to let each grow and operate
independently.

It’s hard to write this after over 10 years of mailing DVDs
with pride, but we think it is necessary: In a few weeks, we will rename our
DVD by mail service to ‘Qwikster’. We chose the name Qwikster because it refers
to quick delivery. We will keep the name ‘Netflix’ for streaming.

Qwikster will be the same website and DVD service that everyone
is used to. It is just a new name, and DVD members will go to qwikster.com to
access their DVD queues and choose movies. One improvement we will make at
launch is to add a video games upgrade option, similar to our upgrade option
for Blu-ray, for those who want to rent Wii, PS3 and Xbox 360 games. Members
have been asking for video games for many years, but now that DVD by mail has
its own team, we are finally getting it done. Other improvements will follow. A
negative of the renaming and separation is that the Qwikster.com and
Netflix.com websites will not be integrated.

There are no pricing changes (we’re done with that!). If you
subscribe to both services you will have two entries on your credit card
statement, one for Qwikster and one for Netflix. The total will be the same as
your current charges. We will let you know in a few weeks when the Qwikster.com
website is up and ready.

For me the Netflix red envelope has always been a source of
joy. The new envelope is still that lovely red, but now it will have a Qwikster
logo. I know that logo will grow on me over time, but still, it is hard. I
imagine it will be similar for many of you.

I want to acknowledge and thank you for sticking with us,
and to apologize again to those members, both current and former, who felt we
treated them thoughtlessly.

Both the Qwikster and Netflix teams will work hard to regain
your trust. We know it will not be overnight. Actions speak louder than words.
But words help people to understand actions.

Respectfully yours,

Reed Hastings
Co-Founder and CEO
Netflix

p.s. I have a slightly longer explanation along with a video posted on our blog, where you can also post comments.

—

We can all take something away from Netflix’s mistake and follow-up “mea culpa”. No one is infallible; when a company makes a mistake, from a one man shop to a small business to a large corporation, it’s all about reacting quickly,  owning up to the error,  apologizing, and making it right.  Not acknowledging the problem exists – or even worse, denying it – only makes things worse.  Arthur Andersen and Enron, anyone?

Like Netflix, Teltek has been proactive in responding to customer feedback.  We strive to provide the outstanding service our clients deserve, and look for ways to improve not only our day to day practices but also the technology and products we offer.

Comment or shoot us an email with suggestions or kudos!

End of Sale Notices can be very frustrating. But fear not, Avaya has a solution: Avaya IP Office Essential Edition – Partner  Version. This allows for the migration of the Euro Series 1 & 2 phones in addition to the newer, sleeker 1400 Series Digital Deskphones.

Telek wants to assure you that we will continue to support the Avaya Partner ACS system for as long as it’s cost-effective for both you and Teltek.

Click here to learn more about the Avaya IP Office Essential Edition – Partner  Version.

If you have a Partner system and want to learn more about your options, please contact a Teltek Account Executive at 1-866-9-TELTEK

What’s makes RapidRun® different from other types of cable?  RapidRun® can carry several signals over a sole Runner cable, such as VGA, Composite Video, S-Video, Component Video, HDMI® and DVI.  Because you won’t have to buy, install, and terminate multiple cables, RapidRun® will save you time and money when you need to upgrade the projector system, interactive whiteboard, digital signage or audio/video system.

Visit our website or contact a Teltek consultant today at 1(866)9- TELTEK today to get information on this award-winning product for your next install!

Source: http://www.quiktron.com/

Jarrett Cummings, Datel Software Solutions, LLC

–

Some business live by the mantra “get big fast”; big possibly translating to deeper pockets, and being faster and servicing more clients.  But, the value that these traits offer to their customers is only a perceived value. 

Although a larger telecom company may offer an initial lower price than a smaller company, take a close look at your quote.  Did they include all necessary modules and components to ensure that your phone system is functioning as promised (i.e. voicemail, cabling, licensing)?  Are they integrating all of the services you need to ensure successful operations (i.e. phone and internet service, etc.)?  Does the given price include some sort of maintenance should your system go down?  This lack of attention to detail will always cost the customer, whether it is money out of pocket, lost sales opportunities, lost employee productivity, or client dissatisfaction. 

Teltek is of a different mindset – “think big, stay small”; being small translates to quicker decision-making, more flexibility, and increased customer interaction.  During a difficult economy, it is our innovative and entrepreneurial spirit, dedication to honesty, and commitment to excellence that allows Teltek to remain a trusted authority in our field. 

The comparison boils down to quantity of work versus quality of work.  In the world of “bigger is better”, Teltek proves that great things come in small packages.  If you’re looking for a telecommunications company that knows its business, and services what it sells, give Teltek a call at 1.866.9 TELTEK.

• Digital telephones for the value-oriented customer

• Straightforward, familiar access to the most common telephony features

• Cost effective, competitive price point

• Quality and reliability you expect from Avaya

If you are a small business  located in Maryland, DC, Northern Virginia or Pennsylvania looking for a PBX phone system click here to learn more about the Avaya  1400 series telephones.

-

I can probably speak for most techs when I say that throughout the years of installing telephone systems, working with tech savvy customers is something we’ve typically preferred.  Whenever a non-savvy client wanted to make even the smallest programming changes to their switch (and do it themselves) we techs grew just a bit nervous — as we’ve seen the adage “a little knowledge is a dangerous thing” prove itself accurate time and time again.

Why?

Telephone system programming first required a solid fundamental understanding of what the system was capable of (what it could and couldn’t  do), second: knowledge of how to read and understand  programming manuals, and third, genuine knowledge of overly complicated programming codes and their associated limitations.

With the IP Office Partner Edition, we techs can relax a bit as the system has something that, for smaller systems at least, really hasn’t been available until now — a genuinely intuitive and easy to use programming interface.

Using the PC based interface, or “programming program” as we call it, a short 30 minute administrator’s class with the client is all we techs need to fully prepare the customer for items such as changing telephone feature buttons, voicemail passwords, main greetings, and yes – even inbound call routes. Using the simple onscreen telset graphic, the administrative software is effectively written in “plain English” and even has built-in safeguards… if the switch won’t do it, the software won’t let you program it.

Thanks Avaya!

Dave Fedorko

Telecom Technician

Management enhancements, SIP and other core features, as well as many IP Office applications improvements.

Product Overview

Avaya IP Office Release 6.1 is the latest advancement in converged voice and data technology from Avaya. IP Office combines high-end voice and data applications, allowing the smallest of businesses to deliver cutting edge customer service.

IP Office Release 6.1 will be supported on the following control units:

• IP406v2 (64Mb PCS 8 and later), IP412, IP500, IP500v2
• Licensing is needed in order to upgrade to Release 6.1 from a previous release;  an upgrade License must be purchased. There are two variants:
  • Upgrade to 6.1 for sites with over 32 users or when expansion modules are used
  • Upgrade to 6.1 for small sites up to 32 users where no external expansion modules are used (applies only to IP500v1 and IP500v2; not available for IP406v2 or IP412)
• For new installations, no upgrade license is required on the IP500v2 platform to run IP Office 6.1.
• No upgrade license is required on Essential Edition – PARTNER®
• Version systems or Essential Edition – Norstar™ Version systems.

IP Office Release 6.1 will NOT be supported on the following control units:

• IP401, IP403, IP406 (v1), IP406v2 (16Mb PCS7 or earlier), Small Office

Edition

Note: The WAN3 and WAN3 10/100 expansion modules were supported on the IP406v2 and IP412 platforms in Release 5. In Release 6.0 & 6.1 this support has been removed.

Source: IP Office Technical Bulletin number 127

To learn more about Avaya IP Office upgrades or other telephone system products and services please visit our web site by clicking here:  Maryland’s Avaya Partner

Avaya’s Positive rating is based on continued strength in unified communications, telephony, contact center and integration with business processes, even as the continued integration of assets acquired from Nortel, and competition with vendors in the data and collaboration markets remain priorities.

Source: www.Gartner.com and Avaya Business Partner Portal