SoundPoint IP vs. VVX?

[nlra]

I'm trying to make sense of what has become the Polycom desktop handset product line recently.  With the introduction of the VVX 300/400/500/600, there seems to be a lot of overlap with existing products...specifically, the majority of SoundPoint IP, including 33x/450/5xx/6xx.  The VVX phones seem to be both better priced and more feature-full than their SPIP equivalents.

But when the latest round of VVX models were released, SPIP was not removed form the market and, as far as I can tell, is still being not only sold (clearing out existing inventory?), but even manufactured.  So I'm trying to figure out why Polycom is selling two product lines that seem to compete against each other.

Is there a compelling reason to use one product over the other?  Are there advantages to SPIP, or features from SPIP that haven't (yet?) been carried over to the VVX line?  Is there something that I can't do, say, with a VVX 300 that I can do with a SPIP 335?

In other words, is there a reason that SPIP is still being sold?  Is it mostly just to staisfy existing customers that need new handsets but don't want to switch over to VVX yet?  Is provisioning on VVX so different that it would be difficult to integrate VVX phones and SPIP phones together on the same network?

Is the plan to eventually EOL SPIP products and have the newer VVX models entirely replace them in the product line-up?

Thanks,

-- Nathan

[SteffenBaierUK · Accepted solution]

Hello Nathan,

The “old” and current phones can easily work together as we always ensure to support the so called legacy phones.

Many customers offer services and therefore chose certain handsets and their functionalities. A VVX phone may not what they want for their customers or clients.

A SPIP335 or the smaller SPIP321 / SPIP331 offer a smaller foot print on a desk than for example a VVX300 or VVX400 in comparison.

In addition a SPIP321 is cheaper than a VVX300 so a Customer may consider purchasing this instead.

There is no competition between these handset ranges as we want to offer our customers the broadest choice to suit their environment.

I have no details if and when the existing SoundPoint IP range would be made end of life but any software updates in the future are only maintenance releases and no additional features are being added.

For more details I can only suggest to work with a Polycom sales Engineer.

Best Regards

Steffen Baier