subject: Why Choose The Panasonic Ncp500 Or Ncp1000? [print this page] Panasonic's newest series of hybrid telephone systems is called the Panasonic KX-NCP Series or NCP for short, which stands for "Network Communications Platform." The NCP Series is nearly identical in features to the top of the line KX-TDE series but differs as follows: The KX-NCP was designed form the ground up with an emphasis on IP. By that, we mean IP Trunking (SIP) and IP Extensions (VoIP Phones). Installed NCP systems using primarily IP technology use almost no expansion cards whatsoever.
Trunks and Stations all use a single Ethernet connection. Therefore, large numbers of card slots are unnecessary but when the need arises for an analog station device for example (fax, modem, etc.,) a few slots are available. The KX-NCP Series currently has two models - the KX-NCP500 and the KX-NCP1000. These are smaller systems than the KX-TDE100/200/600 and, as long as you can live comfortably within the maximum configuration limits, is truly a remarkable product.
Although Panasonic touts the fact that the IP phones can coexist on the same Local Area Network using its VLAN features, we recommend that it be placed on a separate subnet. It makes managing the system so much more straightforward. Because of its compact size the KX-NCP Series PBX systems are also ideal for Emergency Command Vehicles, such as those most used by Law Enforcement. When comparing the KX-NCP Series PBX's, they can only compare to PBX's in the KX-TDE Series.
WHAT ARE THE PROS? The first PRO is the cost. It costs less than the KX-TDE Series since it has certain growth limitations. The second PRO is that it includes a built-in application called Communication Assistant. Communication Assistant is an interactive program that (for instance) allows users, agents and supervisors to see who is online and which facility they are using. The application comes in 4 flavors, Basic, Pro, Supervisor and Operator. The Supervisor version allows a Manager in New York to monitor the calling habits of a Customer Service Representative in Denver.
WHAT ARE THE CONS? The only CON (if you could even call it that) is that KX-NCP Series PBX systems have more stringent limits on growth - much like the KX-TDA50G does. This is in contrast to the KX-TDE Series, which is wide open. The KX-TDE Series is wide open because of its use of Universal Card Slots and its ability to grow to over 1,000 ports in a single system.
