Avaya Inc. has an interesting take on the small business phone system with its Quick Edition. Introduced in March 2006, Quick Edition does not have a server; all the intelligence is in the phones. Eric Robichaud, senior product manager for Avaya Quick Edition, says although Quick Edition doesn’t have an appliance, it is plug-and-play. Once the phones are connected to the end user’s LAN, the phones self-discover and configure.

A built-in browser on the phone enables access to features and administration. “From any phone, you can do most administrative tasks,” says Robichaud, noting that a wizard can be downloaded to a PC for administration as well.

In mid-June, Avaya released its latest version 3.1 of Quick Edition, so that it will support analog devices, such as fax machines and cordless phones with the addition of an analog telephone adapter. The system also supports presence, which emulates shared line appearances in that you always know the status of other users.

Familiar features make Quick Edition an even better proposition over multiline cordless phones or KSUs that are commonly purchased by small businesses, says Richard DeFabritus, senior product manager, Peer to Peer, Avaya.

Catalyst Telecom is one of the largest Avaya distributors. Chris Marlar, Catalyst director of merchandising for Avaya ECG products, says he expects the new release to help the company sell Quick Edition. So far, the company’s dealers have had modest success with the product, which he says sells for around $300 to $400 per person.

DeFabritus says business partners as well as customers need time to warm to the new approach, but the popularity of peer-to-peer is helping this along. “From a business partner perspective, they are used to selling what they have in their portfolio and here is something that is almost a paradigm shift. You are relying less on centralized hardware and it’s a little different than they are used to,” he says.

He expects that as more small businesses move to SIP trunking as a cost saver, they will realize the follow-on benefits of that connectivity by adding Quick Edition.

Catalyst Telecom, working with Avaya, will redouble its efforts to educate dealers on the peer-to-peer system and provide more support. This summer, the VAD will add systems integration services to reduce the need for technicians on site.

The Avaya Quick Edition Phone 4621.


The Avaya Quick Edition Phone 4610.

Avaya Inc. www.avaya.com
Catalyst Telecom www.catalysttelecom.com