outages will disrupt a business’ operation in a heartbeat. One minute everyone is working, taking phone calls, talking to customers, them wham! Out go the lights, all the computers go down, the internet is offline, and you can’t get a dial tone. The power just went out, and no one knows for how long! The sad part, it’s a true story.

How Does A Dead Toshiba CTX28 Phone System Station Turn Into Full IT Support?

September 10th, 2018 by admin

Power outages will disrupt a business’ operation in a heartbeat. One minute everyone is working, taking phone calls, talking to customers, them wham! Out go the lights, all the computers go down, the internet is offline, and you can’t get a dial tone. The power just went out, and no one knows for how long! The sad part, it’s a true story. When the power came back on, one of the 14-year old Toshiba CTX28 phone stations was dead. That’s when TOTLCOM got the call from a commercial lighting distributor.

What Can Be Done When A 14-Year Old Toshiba IP Phone System Dies?

The first thing most IT companies will try to do is see if 1) they can fix or reset the phone system or 2) if they can find a replacement, compatible with the old system. Some 2004 refurbished Toshiba CTX28 are still around and located on sites like Amazon, eBay, PC Liquidators, or Wholesale Telecom. But more than likely, especially after a power outage, a new up-to-date IP phone system will have to be introduced into the existing setup. If, however, the old phone system is not compatible, with the new one, then it will be recommended the client needs to replace the entire IP Phone system. As you can see inside the box, there are circuit boards, wiring, switches and any one of those components could have been affected by the power outage, or the system’s end of life had finally arrived. One thing to note, many IT companies, should they find a, 2004 refurbished or used Toshiba CTX28 replacement, may not warranty the used equipment. Also, pricing on these rebuilt old CTX28 legacy equipment runs between $250.00 to $399.99, but may not come with the IP phones.

Then How Does An Old, Dead, Toshiba CTX28 Phone System Turn Into Full IT Support?

When a company has their phone system initially set up, the last thing on their mind is to remove it, replace it or update it. If it’s not broke, why fix it? It’s not until something happens to the phone(s), like when your Toshiba CTX28 stops working after a lightning strike, that you start looking around for assistance. In This Instance, The Lighting Distributor’s Location Had a Power Outage If you’ve ever had a power outage due to fire, earthquakes, lightning strikes, hurricanes, or other natural disasters, your electronics will experience disruption or total loss due to damage. It’s not until the power comes back on; will you need to assess what is or is not working. When you discover the hardware that’s not working, you call a company to go and fix or replace the equipment. When an IT company, like TOTLCOM, is brought in to look at the phones, usually that one, most common question is asked, “I know you can work on our phones, but can you do…?” You’ve probably had the same situation happen at your business. The technician is on the scene, and you ask, “I know you can do this, but can you do…?” When you work for an IT services company, customers and clients always want to know; what else can you do for them while you are there. We’re all that way. One stop shopping is just as relevant in Information Technology, as it is when all of us are shopping online.

Was It An Omen The “Can You Do This…” Question Did Get Asked?

Before the outage, the commercial lighting distributor was running Epicor’s Prophet 21 wholesale distribution software. They had an onsite server running the program and eight systems. So, when the power went down, access to the software, the customer files, inventory records, and a host of other data, was out of reach, and worse; once the power came back on, the client didn’t know how much of their company’s information would still be there. It’s at the precise moment every client realizes it’s time to ask about full IT Support. Fortunately for this distributor, IT companies like TOTLCOM offer more than phone carrier support. For example:
  • If you only backup your system onsite and once a week, they will advise that you also backup off premises and in the cloud as well as daily.
  • If you only have an onsite server, they will recommend a cloud-based server or a hosted off-site server, in the event your on-premise hardware goes down.
  • If your hardware is running your software, they will recommend hardware virtualization that runs your software, while freeing up your hardware’s resources.
  • If you only call for support when something breaks, they will recommend ongoing support of our network, systems, applications, and your backups to prevent any downtime.
Fortunately for the commercial lighting distributor, TOTLCOM was able to assist and introduced new technologies, which saved the company money, reduced labor costs, and if they experienced another power outage, they could still access all their files from any device, fixed or mobile. Like this article? Check out, Replacement Options For ShoreTel Phones (Questions And Answers) and Can A New Telephone System Help Us Communicate Better? Or The Business Advantages of IP and Virtual Communications and discover more.

Posted in: Business Telephones


VoIP Desk Phone with TOTLCOM Voice and Data Systems Logo

More Accessible and Cost-Effective Business Telephone Services

Fill out the form to get started.