Pro 700

I have a profitec pro 700. It’s about 8 years old now and I’m just as happy with it now as when my wife gave it to me. Rather than buy a new machine for programmable pre infusion, I’ll add the flow control device and maybe upgrade from plastic to walnut wood knobs. https://preview.redd.it/ewj92i107esg1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=96c704c2fa5fa598e2598d0ec6a294d89399d8cc

For sure - I'm lucky that the pro 700 maintains pressure at 9 bars, but I can adjust it via a screw. Where I'd want to use flow control to unlock more variables is in pre-infusion. The pro 700 only has a 3 second pre-infusion, so when I want more, I have to pull the lever to just before the pump engages for more water flow. The flow control mechanism would give me a valve to open and close on the brew head to do it more consistently :)

ECM / Profitec pro700, I got mine in 2017, it gets used every day multiple times a day, I turn it on at 6am ish and back off at 1-2pm ish everyday. I get it serviced every 1-2years for about $400-500 I just replace parts as they ware out. 8years later it still belts out amazing coffee.

Profitec Move is solid and consistent, great for home use, go for ECM/Pro 700 only if you really want fully programmable shots.

I would probably go for a two machine setup. For your budget, I don’t believe there is a one size fits all solution to espresso that is usable for the entire office. A semi-automatic espresso machine is just too difficult to use for the masses, and the commercial grade super automatics are expensive. To start, I would get a nice Fetco drip machine for the bulk of people that just want a good cup of coffee. Focus on supplying actual good coffee, and this machine will be awesome for most people. For the espresso nerds who don’t mind learning to operate a semi-automatic machine, get a high end dual boiler “light commercial” machine like a Linea Mini, Micra, or Profitec Pro 700. I would get a grind-by-weight grinder to go alongside it for throughput optimization.

Until recently I had a Profitec 700 v1 and hadn't looked around for anything else. I bought it used and unfortunately had some scale issues. Watching a few videos, I was able to open it up, take it all apart and clean every corner of it without much fuss. Amazing machine, left it like new. Used it for about a year without issues. Didn't think much of ECM vs Profitec quality comparisons as the Profitec is amazing. Came upon an opportunity on a Synchronika I and took the plunge. I took a couple of weeks to decide which one I was going to keep as internally they're basically the same machine. ECM is a little nicer but not by much, the top tray, I actually liked Profitec better, ultimately what won out was the ease of opening it up, ECM can be done from the top, on Profitec you have to unscrew from the bottom but I would've been very happy with either. As far as your predicament, the new ECM Synchronika II does have the advantage of faster heat-up with assisted heating in the group while the Drive has included flow control. I don't care much for the fast heat-up as I use a smart plug to get it ready in the morning. Flow control can be added to Synchronika easily if that's of interest. So, I'd say, if there's a significant price difference, I'd go for the cheaper one unless you prefer the looks of one over the other.

For maintainability, base quality… Micra. I had an ECM Technika wtm which broke due to a bad design decision on material choice. With LM you know there are plenty of repair centers around. When I was looking for a machine I did have a few alternatives ECM Synchronika Profitec 700 drive (even a Move would have similar features to a Micra) Lelit Bianca I’d stay away from very young trendy brands with crazy features.

It's a bit unclear what your hard constraints are. The Synchronika has a group heater, and the 700 has the ECM/Profitec fast heat trick, but neither will be ready in 1:30 or even close to that. Is it okay to pull blank shots until everything is warmed up, or have the machine on much of the day? Typically a thermocoil / thermoblock would be used to get less than five minute heat time and a dual version of that if you want to freely mix brewing and steaming. E.g. the (20 amp) Acaso Steel Duo. Are you invested in E61? That excludes most machines. As an aside you'll almost certainly want soft water. BWT (among others) makes in-line and in reservoir softeners.