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Cisco Unified Border Element (CUBE) vs. Sangoma Asterisk

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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Cisco Unified Border Element (CUBE)

    Score9.6 out of 10
    N/AThe Cisco Unified Border Element (CUBE) is a session border controller, which provides session control, security, interworking, and demarcation. CUBE is a software product available for licensing on the Cisco IOS® and Cisco IOS XE Software which runs on Cisco enterprise routers, but is also available for licensing as a software load for a virtual container.N/A

    Sangoma Asterisk

    Score8.7 out of 10
    N/AAsterisk is an open source toolkit for building communications applications, now owned and supported by Sangoma (acquired with Digium in 2018). Most Asterisk-based systems and solutions require additional components (e.g. IP-phones, VoIP gateways or telephony interface cards, and other hardware), and expertise.N/A
    Pricing
    Cisco Unified Border Element (CUBE)Sangoma Asterisk
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Cisco Unified Border Element (CUBE)Sangoma Asterisk
    Free Trial
    NoNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Cisco Unified Border Element (CUBE)Sangoma Asterisk
    Considered Both Products
    Cisco
    Chose Cisco Unified Border Element (CUBE)
    • Widely supported
    • Cisco TAC assistance
    • Proven solution
    Incentivized
    Sangoma
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Delivers good value for the price
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Happy with the feature set
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation went as expected
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Best Alternatives
    Cisco Unified Border Element (CUBE)Sangoma Asterisk
    Small Businesses
    No answers on this topic
    Sangoma Communications Platform
    Score8.9 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    No answers on this topic
    3CX
    Score7.9 out of 10
    Enterprises
    No answers on this topic
    Cisco VoIP PBX (discontinued)
    Score7 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Cisco Unified Border Element (CUBE)Sangoma Asterisk
    Likelihood to Recommend
    10.0
    (6 ratings)
    8.0
    (8 ratings)
    Usability
    9.0
    (2 ratings)
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    Support Rating
    8.0
    (2 ratings)
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Cisco Unified Border Element (CUBE)Sangoma Asterisk
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Cisco
    If you are in an environment that is primarily Cisco and switching from PRI circuits or other non-SIP circuits and are generally considered to be on an enterprise-grade platform, CUBE is likely a solid choice for you. From my experience, I cannot speak to the video handling that CUBE offers as we do not employ that, so hopefully other reviews will provide insight on that.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Sangoma
    Digium Asterisk is well suited for a city government as a communications solution for internal and external use. Other options like PBX are more expensive and hard to escalate. VoIP makes it easier to use the communications infrastructure instead that already exists rather than having to wire every phone when the solution is a digital or analog phone. In my city, government offices are not in the same place, which makes it harder to communicate everything together.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    Cisco
    • Call accounting (Integration with 3rd party applications for ease of use and comprehensive CDR's)
    • Address hiding (Keeping your internal network secure with PSTN calls)
    • Internetworking between multiple protocols
    • SIP profiles (message/header customization)
    • Billing, cost counting
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Sangoma
    • Easy communication and configuration with many soft phone and hard phone models
    • A great community that helps the software have more and more functionality
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Cisco
    • The way to configure is not so intuitive.
    • It cannot show SIP ladder diagram directly.
    • The learning curve is a bit steep.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Sangoma
    • Transferring to a Voicemail is particularly hard to do, and calls tend to drop when transferring.
    • I would like a different interface; the current one feels clumsy
    • Over the weekend, it logs you out, and you have to remember your password or reset it to gain access.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    Cisco
    I rated Cisco Unified Border Element’s (CUBE) usability an 9 out of 10. It offers excellent flexibility, reliability, and integration with Microsoft Teams Direct Routing. However, its configuration can be complex for non-experts. Once properly implemented, it provides powerful SIP control, security, and scalability in both virtual and hybrid voice environments that we require.
    Incentivized
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    Sangoma
    User friendly. Very little training to use it
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Support Rating
    Cisco
    It is very powerful and secure. However, for most people, it is a bit difficult to learn how to configure and debug.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Sangoma
    I have asked in the not so recent past about having my phone updated with my saved Digium "favorites" list but it doesn't seem that this is possible
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Alternatives Considered
    Cisco
    We previously used other SBC's but weren't satisfied with the performance. The support wasn't there and constant RMA's for defective hardware. Although the CUBE is expensive, it saves time and resources on support. Robust features and no downtime in 3 years. I don't believe many vendors offer products to compete in this space. You will regret to decision to go with cheaper SBC's.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Sangoma
    Recently I've been using Vonage Business, and while it is far more expensive and a lot less configurable than Digium, the mobility is essential for my new role. Digium is ideal for a business with both a very technical staff and a user base that is not remote. Digium was selected due to price and ability to create custom applications.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    Cisco
    • Positive impact, saving on monthly phone bills due to sip trunk migration.
    • Positive, using a couple of CUBEs to concentrate several SIP trunk.
    • Positive, using a couple of CUBEs to route several branch outbound and inbound calls.
    Incentivized
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    Sangoma
    • being zero cost, we saved at least 3 million on what a legacy pbx would have cost
    • the savings and speed means lower cost on our service making us more competitive
    • stability
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots