Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Call Manager) vs. RingEX

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Call Manager)
Score 8.6 out of 10
N/A
Call Manager is a unified call control center from Cisco that supports enterprise collaboration functions across the spectrum of IP telephony, video & web conferencing, and messaging. Features include call forwarding, call back, call transfer, ad hoc conferencing, and call park.N/A
RingEX
Score 7.7 out of 10
N/A
RingEx is a cloud-based VoIP solution available via computer mobile application. It features video and audio conferencing, desktop phone rentals, collaboration tools, and integrations with other business applications. Plans are available on a monthly, per user subscription basis.
$19.99
per month
Pricing
Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Call Manager)RingEX
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Essentials (up to 20 users)
$19.99
per user/per month
Standard
$27.99
per user/per month
Premium
$34.99
per user/per month
Ultimate
$49.99
per user/per month
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Call Manager)RingEX
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsMust contact sales team for pricingPricing above is per/month paid annually. Pricing increases when paid monthly. Essentials - $29.99/month (paid monthly) Standard - $37.99/month (paid monthly) Premium - $44.99/month (paid monthly) Ultimate - $59.99/month (paid monthly)
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Call Manager)RingEX
Considered Both Products
Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Call Manager)
Chose Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Call Manager)
As per the comments earlier, Cisco's focus has finally moved to Cloud and Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Call Manager) primarily stays as it solves specific business problems that Cloud-based platforms are trying to solve, slowly but surely. Cisco Unified Communications …
RingEX

No answer on this topic

Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Call Manager)RingEX
Cloud PBX
Comparison of Cloud PBX features of Product A and Product B
Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Call Manager)
7.5
40 Ratings
9% below category average
RingEX
7.9
131 Ratings
4% below category average
Hosted PBX9.919 Ratings7.474 Ratings
Multi-level Interactive Voice Response (IVR)6.029 Ratings8.199 Ratings
User templates8.238 Ratings7.491 Ratings
Call reports5.337 Ratings7.9117 Ratings
Directory of employee names8.138 Ratings8.6116 Ratings
Call Management
Comparison of Call Management features of Product A and Product B
Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Call Manager)
7.4
43 Ratings
13% below category average
RingEX
8.2
140 Ratings
3% below category average
Answering rules7.841 Ratings7.9128 Ratings
Call recording5.626 Ratings8.5120 Ratings
Call park8.037 Ratings8.2102 Ratings
Call screening7.534 Ratings8.4111 Ratings
Message alerts7.838 Ratings8.0132 Ratings
VoIP system collaboration
Comparison of VoIP system collaboration features of Product A and Product B
Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Call Manager)
7.8
39 Ratings
6% below category average
RingEX
7.8
123 Ratings
6% below category average
Video conferencing9.329 Ratings7.293 Ratings
Audio conferencing8.839 Ratings8.3107 Ratings
Video screen sharing6.215 Ratings7.564 Ratings
Instant messaging6.718 Ratings8.176 Ratings
Mobile apps
Comparison of Mobile apps features of Product A and Product B
Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Call Manager)
8.8
23 Ratings
6% above category average
RingEX
8.6
120 Ratings
3% above category average
Mobile app for iOS8.423 Ratings8.5105 Ratings
Mobile app for Android9.121 Ratings8.788 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Call Manager)RingEX
Small Businesses
CloudTalk
CloudTalk
Score 9.5 out of 10
CloudTalk
CloudTalk
Score 9.5 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
CloudTalk
CloudTalk
Score 9.5 out of 10
CloudTalk
CloudTalk
Score 9.5 out of 10
Enterprises
Cisco Business Edition 7000 (discontinued)
Cisco Business Edition 7000 (discontinued)
Score 9.1 out of 10
Cisco Business Edition 7000 (discontinued)
Cisco Business Edition 7000 (discontinued)
Score 9.1 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Call Manager)RingEX
Likelihood to Recommend
9.1
(44 ratings)
7.8
(149 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(1 ratings)
8.9
(15 ratings)
Usability
8.7
(4 ratings)
8.3
(11 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
7.9
(79 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
Support Rating
8.0
(14 ratings)
4.7
(26 ratings)
In-Person Training
-
(0 ratings)
7.3
(1 ratings)
Implementation Rating
10.0
(1 ratings)
7.8
(5 ratings)
Configurability
-
(0 ratings)
7.0
(1 ratings)
Contract Terms and Pricing Model
-
(0 ratings)
1.0
(1 ratings)
Ease of integration
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
6.0
(1 ratings)
Professional Services
-
(0 ratings)
1.0
(1 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
-
(0 ratings)
4.0
(1 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Call Manager)RingEX
Likelihood to Recommend
Cisco
The Cisco Unified Communications Manager platform would be most suited for the below scenarios. 1. An organization with very restricted policies and compliance where can't move to cloud-based solutions for data security. They can install the CUCM on-premises. 2. An organization that is still on a legacy phone system could adopt CUCM to save costs and have better services.
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RingCentral
The reporting part is essential in our line of business, we must measure everything and report it, which is why it is one of its main strengths. They are fast and adapt to the needs, also the ease of being very easy to use, which entails relatively short training for new agents who would use this platform.
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Pros
Cisco
  • This solution is extremely stable and has been running in our environment for several years without (unscheduled) downtime.
  • The ability to have voicemails automatically sent as an email message is extremely helpful in helping us to keep in touch while away from the desk.
  • The Call Manager provides us very granular settings to route our calls as we want.
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RingCentral
  • VOIP calling - call quality is excellent and has replaced our traditional landline phones
  • Video meetings - video quality is great(provided you have a good webcam) and the video features(multiple hosts, screen sharing, multiple room management) is 2nd to none.
  • Screen sharing - As an unexpected benefit, the ability to do a screen share has helped our IT crew in being able to remotely diagnose and fix problems with faculty or staff machines.
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Cons
Cisco
  • Administration web page is little bit hard to understand at the beginning specially if you are not familiar with naming convention and GU Interfaces.
  • Call Detail Record interface is fine but would be desirable to include more options that fit organization needs in terms of reporting purposes.
  • Self Care Portal interface could be more useful to the end user if it includes options to manage some features without administrators involving.
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RingCentral
  • Pricing for SMB space is high compared to other solutions
  • Still lagging behind 8x8 with desk phone support and integrations
  • UI for managing Limited Extensions is significantly more cumbersome than user extensions
  • Video meeting software still lags behind industry leaders (such as Zoom and MS Teams)
  • No licensing option for Common Area Phones with routing features
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Likelihood to Renew
Cisco
We have been using this product for 20+ years and will continue too. This is a great product and new features are always coming out.
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RingCentral
We are grandfathered into our unlimited toll-free minutes plan. We are very unlikely to switch because of that. It has been the major factor saving us a lot of money compared to switching to other solutions. I don't know any other company that still offers these unlimited plans.
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Usability
Cisco
Although it's very easy to use, once you understand the concepts of IP telephony, as I said before, I think Cisco could have improved the management interface of the platform, adding modern technologies and the design language of the other platforms like DNA Center, etc. This interface hasn't had a substantial improvement for about 10 years
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RingCentral
They were working on updating a few of the modules while we were going live, so this made usability difficult to train on once they did go live with those changes. Now that the changes are in place, we have really enjoyed the usability of the platform
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Reliability and Availability
Cisco
No answers on this topic
RingCentral
The self-service ticketing system and SR creation is extremely simple and intuitive to use. The online University resource is invaluable - we often find a resolution to our query through existing KBs, thus negating the need to even raise a new support request. On the occasions we have raised a new SR, the support staff are incredibly helpful and knowledgeable. The response times are some of the best I've ever experienced.
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Performance
Cisco
No answers on this topic
RingCentral
Occasional bandwith issues. In addition to this, I have one individual whose calls are blocked. We were not able to determine whether this was a RingEX or a carrier issue.
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Support Rating
Cisco
CUCM is supported by most third-party vendors for related products, so it makes finding solutions to specific needs easy. Also Cisco TAC is very knowledgeable, and we have never run into a problem they have not been able to resolve. Usually they are resolved without the need to escalate tickers either.
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RingCentral
I have called RingEX a few times for assistance in setting up call handling or implementing changes in our call handling structure. The wait time to speak with an agent is usually minimal and the ones I have spoken to are excellent at walking me thru what changes I am trying to make as well as ensuring I understand what is being done so I can handle it myself next time if the need arises.
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In-Person Training
Cisco
No answers on this topic
RingCentral
I really didn't know all the capabilities
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Implementation Rating
Cisco
This was the first phone system we implemented that could span multiple locations. We were very satisfied once fully implemented
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RingCentral
If someone has an existing system I tell them to keep that running initially and keep RingEX separate initially until the system is configured and tested to one's satisfaction. After testing and configuration is completed, then roll over the main phone numbers to the new RingEX system. I've seen one person who immediately flipped over to RingEX without properly configuring/testing the software and had many issues with missed customer calls until I helped him sort out his configuration.
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Alternatives Considered
Cisco
We have been a Cisco based shop and have looked at other cloud voice options such as MS Teams pbx, and others, but ultimately, the features, endpoints, and reliability of Cisco has been the common factor in staying with them as our voice provider. Their integrations, room systems, and hybrid design allows for us to be flexible and keep a high up time vs reliance on 100% cloud.
Read full review
RingCentral
RingCentral MVP provided a more cost effective and complete solution than the competitors we evaluated. Reliability and call quality was of paramount concern for us. RingCentral provided a higher level of reliability than many of the
competitors we evaluated.

The completeness of their product offering was also unrivaled. Other competitors offered similar features but they nickel and dimed their customers and licensing became very difficult. The MVP licensing plan was simple to understand and implement.
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Contract Terms and Pricing Model
Cisco
No answers on this topic
RingCentral
not to sign up for it or give them any money for a product that does not work
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Scalability
Cisco
No answers on this topic
RingCentral
There is a browser version which allows the product to be used by almost anyone.
Read full review
Return on Investment
Cisco
  • Communication and collaboration - Our offices are able to communicate both internally and externally due to this system.
  • Down time - Struggles with CUCM has caused a lot of down time due to the instability of the system.
  • High Costs - the cost of both the license and the maintenance was much higher than other systems.
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RingCentral
  • Better connectivity and communication with team messaging.
  • Enhanced customer experience with call routing, after-hours messaging, and emergency routing.
  • Better privacy for my team by not having to share their mobile numbers as users within RingEX.
  • Easier onboarding of new teammates as new users in RingEX.
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ScreenShots