BE3000 development status update?

[response3]

Hi all,

I have just posted this under another discussion but after further consideration believe it best to start a separate discussion.  We are a partner that has just sold our first BE3000 for a 15 user office and are realizing there are some currently significant limitations to the system.  After reviewing other posts here, it appears that others have voiced many concerns and requests.  The last updates to some of these are dated August 2012. 

In light of it is now being Feb. 2013, it would be appreciated if the Cisco folks could provide an update on this product and its development status.

[nalbert]

Hi Partner,

The BE3000 is indeed under a Early Adopter Program (depending on the country you are in) and is on New Product hold  (NPH).  Currently BE 3000 is being sold in markets where customers are looking for basic UC features.

A large team within Cisco is developing features to fill in the feature gap that the product currently has. This will take some time and the upcoming release that fills this gap will be available Fall 2013.

[response3]

Hello Navin-

Thank you for your reply.  I understand that this is a basic UC system, but I think even saying it has basic functionality is misleading.  I am currently trying to get one working for a small office and quite frankly, I never would have sold this if I had known how limited it is.  We're replacing a 15+ year old PBX with this and the BE3000 can't do many basic things that were common in 1995.

Regarding your reply, can you tell me what New Product Hold means, and why it is in this state?  The datasheet lists all of the features but none of rediculous limitations and caveats that I have never seen in any other phone system before.

I appreciate that a "large team" is working on features, but how about making what's there work the right way instead of adding more?  I simply cannot wait another 6-8 months for the ability to have 1 hunt group include another, or call park a hunt group member.  These are simple, basic things that are expected by any buyer of a modern UC system.

It has been 8 months since the last software update and Cisco is asking us to wait 8 more?  After the debacle that is the UC500 series and now this, I am going to seriously reconsider Cisco's commitment to the UC market for SMB customers.

[nalbert]

Dear Partner,

Apologies for the frustation and I do understand pains of a new system that is not fully baked yet. However we are building a next generation platform form scratch and we need to start somewhere. If you are looking for a SMB platform that is truly powerful, I would look the BE6K. It is currently priced extermely well and adoption is going through the roof.

Navin