Meeting Summary

The final user group meeting of 2008 was a well attended meeting with over 85 participants. The Bonnington Rooms were just about adeqate to hold the attendees, however the 'eating off lap' is becoming tiresome.

Our day could have started better with the first presentation from On-Communcations having to be pulled at the last minute. 

The time was more than adequately filled by a lively closed user session in which a range of issues / difficulties were aired and subsequently highlighted with the vendor directly. A list of actions to address these matters will be drawn up by the user group to raise with the appropriate parties and responses posted.

A strong endorsement was made by the presenting partners to Aastra and the MX-ONE platform. Paul Butcher (the new MD of Damovo) and Maurice Lee from Premises Networks (now part of telent) indicated that they would be working closely with Aastra, who for their part are investing in more UK resources and enhancing their CRM strategy to support existing and new partners.

What does that mean to the end user?

Well, we think the message is - better communication and dependable timing of product releases, and a better new release experience and support focus (certainly an issue highlighted in the closed session).

This is something we wil focus on in 2009 from a UG perspective, with your cooperation.

 

Closed session key points:

Problems with Their original TSE implementation highlighted by Cardiff and Vale and Notting Hill Housing Trust took far too long to resolve. Cardiff & Vale indicated a number of outstanding issues which are ongoing (some are disputed contractual issues). Both clients feel the problems they experienced rest with the vendor and not the service provider.  We have been advised that the original problems experienced were resolved and that current release of TSE is a mature and stable release(Service pack 4 on version 3.1 and the new release 3.2 which is yet to be installed by the partners in the field).

Action : The issues raised will be looked at by the user group and any known problems published on the portal. We will also investigate and report on overall  performance  and report back in the next closed session.
We will look to establish a mechanism that can enable members to highlight any ongoing issues via the user group portal that can be shared with other members and also directed straight to the vendor.

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Software Assurance issues were once again raised by the audience, with a number of different flavours of the product seemingly received from the partners by end customers. An update with regard to the progress of Aastra's own internal review of software assurance was provided in the Aastra update presentation. A new re-packaged offering is expected early in the new year. Existing clients with software assurance agreements will be taken into account in any re-packaging undertaken.

Action :  Waiting for vendor to agree a final offering internally and then with the service partners. Expected release of a new offering - Q1.... we will press for something before the Feb 5th meeting

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Information flow from Aastra was highlighted by a number of users as being poor. The Solidus product being one example where no definitive roadmap exists. The users indicated there should be a channel to funnel end customer ideas and requests to develop functions and features on the MX-ONE and associated applications.

Action: A specific area on the web portal will be assigned for requests / suggestions on product improvements / development requests for use by the members of the group.

Aastra will look at their own communication mechanisms to seek to improve the availability of information on products and also revisit the roadmap availability.

Aastra pointed out that the market has changed and that part of the issue of providing roadmap commitments is the need for flexibility to manage the rapid rate of technology change. A compromise needs to be found to satisfy everyone. Building a stronger local business presence rather than the centralised model adopted by Ericsson will result in better communication with customers.

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Confidence in the TSE platform needs to be strong to prevent the migration away from the platform to another vendor. There is strong commitment for the platform, recognising it as being more than capable of continuing to meet business needs, however, this is undermined by percieved weak support for the product from the vendor.
The majority of users also recognise upgrading is a much more cost effective however if they are to win their arguments internally this must be supported by strong performance at a product level especially with regard to new release upgrades and new feature introductions.

Action: The user group will seek to introduce a monitoring / reporting mechanism through the web portal  which will  enable members to provide feedback post project (upgrades and new feature additions) and enable us as a group to quickly pick up on any recurring problems. 

The vendor and the partners need to review their product introduction and support activities / processes and ensure they are sufficiently rigorous to achieve the right  results consistently,  in a timely manner.

 

Next meeting Feb 5th in Manchester.... details TBA

Any topics you would like to see presented please raise them via our enquiry form  here 

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