 what is negotiable. Therefore many organizations spend up to 100% more than is required. The Telecom Handbook " 61 PURCHASING A PBX Identifying the Requirements Why Do You Need a New PBX? First of all, be very clear why you are going to buy a new system. Valid reasons may include: System Out-of Date and Difficult to Arrange for Maintenance Your PBX is SO old that it can no longer be maintained prop- erly. This may mean that all the technicians capable of working on the system have retired. Or it may mean that the manufacturer is not longer making replacement parts for the system. Be sure that both of these "facts" have been carefully researched, as they are seldom the case. Most telephone systems, though aging, can be supported indefinitely buy finding the right resources. One company now even advertises that it specializes in the support of "vintage telephone systems." Few of these PBXs installed. Maintenance support unavailable One can make a good case for not being the first one on your block to purchase a particular new telecommunications system, either from a familiar or a new manufacturer. If few organiza- tions buy the system and it is not a commercial success, you may be stuck with an unsupportable system that is not very old. For example, Avaya (formerly called Lucent. Lucent was for- merly called AT&T) used the name Merlin for several different systems. Avaya also came out with the System 25 and then dis- continued it several years later, SO although there are still some System 25s around, the companies who maintain them are few and the cost of maintaining them can be high. System at its Maximum Capacity As PBXs reach their maximum capacities, particularly if they have not been efficiently maintained, they tend to not operate as well as they had in the past. Problems arise, such as callers being 62 The Telecom Handbook CHAPTER 3 lost when transferred. Also every system does have a maximum capacity beyond which it cannot expand. You may need the capacity because you are adding people or you may need it 