By Sharla Sikes
Big-time computer manufacturer Dell formed a partnership with Fonality that will bring Fonality VoIP to Dell’s business customers.
Dell is looking to capitalize on that trend, and chose Fonality and its Asterisk opensource telephony package. Fonality’s product is “easy to use†and “directly installable,†making it a good choice for PC behemoth Dell to include in its small and medium business packages.
Fonality, meanwhile, can capitalize on Dell’s 28 percent U.S. market share and brand recognition, piggybacking the Fonality name along with Dell’s.
Fonality customized its IP PBX software for Dell, and is made for businesses with less than 150 employees. The system runs on a Dell Optiplex 330 PC, and Fonality’s Dell-specific software is based on its trixboxPro.
Some of the product’s key features include Fonality’s hybrid hosted model. Customer PBXs link back to Fonality for monitoring, administration and support. Fonality’s software for Dell comes with trixNet service—customers who work for other companies using the same system can talk to each other online for free. Fonality also offers a Heads Up Display graphical desktop application for handling the calls.
“Dell customers will plug brand-new Aastra phones in,” Fonality CEO Chris Lyman explained. “Our software will auto-detect them on the network, automatically give them a new extension and reboot them.” Initially, the system will work with Aastra 9112, 9133 and 480 iCT phones, as well as with the Polycom IP 4000 speakerphone.
Matt Asay’s CNet blog references a Dell’Oro Group group analyst quoted in The Wall Street Journal who estimates that 35 million small businesses worldwide will begin using VoIP in the next three years.
We’ve had fonality for 4 years now. Have a bonded T1 connected to it along with land lines.
Before I get into details, my single comment about fonallity is you get what you pay for! Cheap is never “cheap”.
I know this post is old, but surprised to see how many recent comments there have been. I’m also surprised to see the webiste fonalitsucks.com taken back by fonality.
That’s unfortunate. there’s nothing wrong with free speech.
The only reason I came across this post was because, after having used a fonality PBX for 4 years, we came across another frustrating situation with them. And the most amazing thing is when we escalted it to the manager (Mike C) he felt that there was nothing wrong, when in actuality there obviously was!
Keep in mind when we did purchased and installed our system, the now board members were the ones answering our phone calls and resolivng our issues.
In any case, I have to say I’m EXREMELY surprised and dissapointed to still see some of these internal issues there. Mike seemed more interestd in covering his own but with someone in his dept, than acknoledging there was a problem. Low and behold when he found out it was also related to the sale dept, he said he would jump on it right away and make sure to push it up the chain of command to have that corrected.
In the 4 years we’ve used their system, it’s been truly some very frustating moments and some great moments of amazement that was built into this system. We’ve gone through 2 servers already that crashed and in situation like that, it’s obvious they’re still going through growing pains. I think we had the first server that crashed due to a HD and they didn’t know what to do.
And of course along with their growing pains, we feel it directly. And it can be VERY frustrating working these issues out with them, while their lower level techs are running around with their heads chopped off. Of course it takes a few hours of very frustrating, yelling and hair pulling, before it gets escalted to a level of compentency that can do anything. But it is more afforadable than antyhing on the market.
Again, you get what you pay for.