Server ACD vs. Traditional Switch

[LT01]

I've been out of the loop somewhat on ACD trends. Are server based ACD's reliable or, is the traditional switch still the best solution?

[syamnt]

Hi,

Still the traditional systems are able to maintain thier competetive edge & its gain on server based switches.

1 Expansion
2 Point of failures
3 Performance
4 easy intorpability to teh basic TDM levels

and increasing & advanmced R& D options world wide.

Feel free to come back to me if any clarification

Syam N T (Syam.naga@wipro.co.in)

[mediatel]

I believe that although traditional PBXs do have fewer possible points of failure, A server PBX is much more flexable, just as scalable, much less expensive and if it is a good system, it is more than relaible enough.

[Ross B Talbot]

We have been using ACD server from Interactive Intelligence for six months and have been amazed at the flexibility and reliability. It is ready for prime time...

[brettz]

Fewer points of failure is not accurate. Many Server ACD's are Bundled solutions that there for, have minimal points of failure compared to Traditional ACD's. Bundled solutions have CTI, ACD, Multimedia ACD, Unified Messaging, PBX, IVR, Wireles, and much more all in a single platform. Therefore they have far less moving parts than traditional systems.

Plus many Traditional ACD's are Servers off of a PBX. Each time you have an application you add a server. So in many cases you can have up to 11-15 servers to duplicate what new telephony servers are providing in a single solution.

Down side is that you have a single point of failure, but most of these newer systems have gotten quite stable. The end results are that you have less integration points, tighter integrations, centralized admin and reporting, and lower failure percentages.

Traditional ACD just say "we have 99.999% reliablility. But that is not true outside of the PBX. And these other boxes bring that reliability stat down quite a bit.

[Frank A. Engle]

I agree with brettz. I represent a couple server based switches that, because of the nature of the components, provide full redundancy at a fraction of the cost of a traditional switch. In fact, in light of the 9/11 disaster, many municipalities are going to server based solutions for that reason.