New User Group web portal addition
A new product develoipment / enhancement request will be introduced via the web portal.
This will be implemented for the beginning of March 09.
Downloads from Meeting |
| Aastra presentation (initial discussion points and the last MX-ONE TSE response (pdf 870K) |
| Closed session notes available on request. |
| Damovo partner presentation (pdf 3M) |
|
PNM partner presentation (pdf 702K)and some supporting notes to explain the slides (notes)
|
| B'ham University OCS experience (pdf 659K) |
Summary (please note if there are any errors or incorrectly interprepted information in the notes summary, please indicate via email and we will change if appropriate)
The meeting format was changed to kick-off with the vendor response prior to the closed user session (subsequent feedback indicated that this was considered betterby users who attended, it stopped a repeat of issues in the closed session). This followed a set of topic headings that swept up the issues outstanding. The main product related technical issues were addressed in the final session.
References to other products in the Aastra portfolio were made but at this time they are not relevant to the User Group activities and have not been included in the meeting summary. If you wish to raise issues about other portfolio products then we will forward them on to the Aastra team.
What’s happening in the Market Place today? – Lots of turmoil in the Market Place, particularly after the Nortel news and Chapter 11. Aastra in a very strong position financially. We are seeing growth in our Telephony Server Sales Globally which has exceeded our expectations. The next 12 months will be particularly tough within the IT Industry and there is a belief that there may be other casualties and many changes during this time period.
Changes in Aastra? – Over the last few months we have been restructuring our business to best meet our Global GTM plans. We have reviewed all aspects of the Business and have made changes to areas that we feel will make the most impact to our Business moving forward. Our biggest focus area has been around ‘Quality’ and ‘Development’ and moving decision making closer to our customers rather than the centralised model which Ericsson used. We are also introducing a new ERP system within the business which should be introduced within the first half of the year.
Software Maintenance Update? – We do plan to change the basic proposition for Software Maintenance. We have listened to our Customers and Partners and have taken the recommendations provided by the UK business. We have a ‘focus team’ working on the plan which should be based upon similar programs we have with other Product Lines in Aastra. We do not plan to release anything, however, until all of the ‘back office’ systems (ERP etc) are in place to fully manage this.
Roadmaps? - Hugh mentioned just about to be released – In line with the Aastra Policy on Roadmaps and the focus we have placed on Quality we are following strict guidelines with respect to Roadmap presentations. We are close to finalising V4.0 functionality on the MX-One along with a proposed ‘time-line’ for release. It is expected that this should be available for presentation over the coming weeks and will welcome the opportunity to present this at the AGM in April.
Aastra Branding? – We have made decisions regarding the Aastra branding which allows the local CSU’s to ‘own’ the branding plans locally within their own countries. We have provided clear guidelines and expect plans to be drawn up over the coming weeks. Now Brand imagery around "Aastra, the shining star" are being rolled out in various forms and will form the backdrop for a range of brand activities. In the UK, recent focus has been focused on a significant increase in PR activity to increase media coverage, and analyst and consultant programmes are being planned.
TSE today? - See Aastra slides – We feel totally confident with the MX-One TSE solution today. Release 3.2 is proving to be a success in the market place globally.
How are we managing the Quality Process? – We have introduced the ‘old Ericsson’ development teams to many new processes which have always been adopted in the Aastra world. We are proud of the Quality of our Products and absolutely believe that moving forward we have a very robust means of managing our Quality.
Metrix Tickets and TeamTrack? – We are introducing the TeamTrack trouble ticket and reporting system to the whole of Aastra ( this replaces the ‘metrix’ system used by Ericsson). We can also present this at the AGM should our customers wish to understand it.
Development Feedback? - We are supporting a new user group initiative to capture development feedback. Aastra welcome feedback as a Business and this forum is a fantastic vehicle to provide such information. We also welcome feedback from individual organisations with respect to functionality that they would like to see on our Product Lines. In terms of the User Group, it is expected that the web site will include a ‘feedback’ area for requests. We would also recommend that you talk to the local Direct Touch and Senior Management of Aastra in the UK to provide this feedback.
Closed session main highlights
Members raised the issue of branding visibility and whilst listening to Aastra's earlier feedback there remains a general concern / frustration that Aastra need to do more and be more aggressive in their marketing of the Aastra brand and the MX-ONE in the UK or risk losing customers on the basis of inaccurate / misleading information being distributed by competitors and consultants. Reference to senior IT management / consultants and analysts (Gartner mainly) as key targets to influence was highlighted.
Members have listened to the message from Aastra about ongoing actions - decentralising the organisation, rationalising of resource/functions and processes, and the strengthening the local operations, however, they want to see evidence of it and what it will actually deliver locally. Aastra need to communcate to the end users and not rely on their partners to pass on the information. Improvement in communicating product portfolio direction and the delivering of releases/functionality on time and with high quality is especiially relevant for MX-ONE V4 and Solidus 7 and new terminal release.
With the release of MX_ONE TSE Ver 3.1 SP4 and subsequently 3.2 the problems reported by some existing customers have been addressed. Aastra are confident the release is of high quality. An upgrade to the latest service pack is recommended. See the slides from Aastra on the TSE. After the last User Group meeting the group sought an independent review of the MX-ONE TSE. No major issues were identified as outstanding on the release with the latest SP installed. Early problems were clearly experienced in 2008 on a number of systems, looking at reports (outstanding numbers of fault reports and frequency of them) from partners, discussing with partners to gauge opinion, reviewing the metrix (fault recording and tracking system used by MX-ONE and BP portfolio) logs we have concluded these have been addressed. It is our recommendation that the maintainer upgrades their TSE base release to the latest version.
Aastra have indicated in their supporting slides that they are introducing a range of changes to processes and product production to cover software development, application interaction, testing and field trials and last but not least - subsequent dot/patch releases. These activities have been transparent to the users thusfar and benefits should now start to come through in 2009 along with the changes to 'Software Assurance' which is eagerly awaited by end users.
The decision taken by Aastra to reverse the Ericsson decision to phase out DNA and keep it in the portfolio (after pressure from the existing users) has been interpreted negatively by some consultants. This was a positive decision well received by the user base and supported Aastra's claim to listen to their existing customers. This is perhaps an example of Aastra's weak relationship with consultants and a lack of clear communication to external parties.
Known issues to monitor on upgraded TSE (vendor indicates these should be resolved with latest SP being installed):
Other General issues raised:
END
New User Group web portal addition
A new product develoipment / enhancement request will be introduced via the web portal.
This will be implemented for the beginning of March 09.