Launching this week in the UK and the rest of Europe, the SL2100 range will take over from its predecessor, the SL1100, to provide cost-effective and intelligent communications solutions for growing SMEs.
Built specifically for smaller businesses, the SL2100 is said to provide a set of fully flexible, cutting-edge features that can accommodate up to 128 users. Promising extreme value for money, the SL2100 also claims to be an all-in-one, user-friendly solution that is powerful, reliable and an ideal choice for growing businesses looking to boost their communications and save money.
However, does the SL2100 really stand up to the hype NEC gives it? As a global leader in Enterprise Communications & IT solutions, you would expect nothing short of excellence from the brand, but can an on-premises solution really compete in a world that is already heavily dominated by the cloud?
Before we go ahead and find out, we just want to confirm that the opinions expressed in this review are entirely impartial and given only as a means of informing our readers of the latest product released in the UC market. UC Today in no way endorses, promotes or markets any of the brands and products discussed.
How does it look?
The NEC SL2100 chassis comes in elegant black colouring, measures out at a modest 435 x 92.9 x 330 mm, is wall mountable and features 240 ports per chassis.
It also features two compatible handsets; one for basic requirements (TXH-A) and one for agents that require slightly more advanced features (8IPLD). The former features 12-24 programmable buttons, 2-line display and a 100-number personal directory, while the latter offers 32 programmable buttons, a large backlit 168 x 128 LCD display and a full duplex speakerphone.
What can it do?
Built-in Features
Along with built-in, enterprise-grade Voice-over IP (VoIP) capabilities, Smart Mobility and Unified Communications and Collaboration (UC&C), the SL2100 also offers businesses a wide range of highly sophisticated, built-in features such as voicemail, music on hold, mobility, auto-attendant, audio conferencing, video conferencing & collaboration and call recording all at an extremely competitive price point.
By doing this, small businesses are given a highly cost-effective solution that prevents them from having to make further investments in external features and enables them to access Unified Communications features that may ordinarily been out of their reach. Once more, it can be used as a resilient TDM solution that offers future-proof upgrade potential and presents considerable savings and functionality over and above alternative hosted solutions.
As well as improving customer service and allowing the businesses to engage with their customers more successfully, the SL2100 also helps improve collaboration and efficiency in (and out of) the workplace by means of single number reach, built in web based conferencing, remote/home worker support and BYOD compatibility.
All-in-one solution
Another major selling point for the SL2100 is that it requires no additional PCs or servers and instead offers an all-in-one solution where each of the following UC features are built into the chassis itself. NEC call them InApps:
InUC – enables businesses to access video conferencing, collaboration, document sharing, Presence and instant messaging for up to 128 users.
InReports – gives access to a Smart Call Management application that provides 24/7 ‘visibility’ of the entire company’s communications, presenting graphically enhanced reports as Lists, Charts or Wallboards.
