Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Call Manager) vs. Talkdesk

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Call Manager)
Score 9.1 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
Talkdesk
Score 8.2 out of 10
N/A
Talkdesk® supports CX with Customer Experience Automation (CXA), using AI agents to replace manual workflows. Powered by the Talkdesk Data Cloud, CXA delivers real-time context and fast deployment—to transform CX without a rip-and-replace.
$85
per month per user
Pricing
Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Call Manager)Talkdesk
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
CX Cloud Digital Essentials
$85
per month per user
CX Cloud Voice Essentials
$105
per month per user
CX Cloud Elite
$145
per month per user
CX Cloud Elite
$165
per month per user
Industry Experience Clouds
$225
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Call Manager)Talkdesk
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoYes
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeOptional
Additional DetailsMust contact sales team for pricing*Talkdesk also offers per hour login consumption pricing and concurrent pricing. Prices are based on a minimum 3 year commitment to these Editions. Additional telco and usage fees not included. Due to foreign exchange rate approximation, list price is not the exact price that will be quoted.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Call Manager)Talkdesk
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 …
Talkdesk

No answer on this topic

Features
Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Call Manager)Talkdesk
Cloud PBX
Comparison of Cloud PBX features of Product A and Product B
Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Call Manager)
7.6
43 Ratings
5% below category average
Talkdesk
-
Ratings
Hosted PBX9.422 Ratings00 Ratings
Multi-level Interactive Voice Response (IVR)5.331 Ratings00 Ratings
User templates6.641 Ratings00 Ratings
Call reports7.640 Ratings00 Ratings
Directory of employee names9.141 Ratings00 Ratings
Call Management
Comparison of Call Management features of Product A and Product B
Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Call Manager)
8.0
46 Ratings
5% below category average
Talkdesk
-
Ratings
Answering rules9.444 Ratings00 Ratings
Call recording5.428 Ratings00 Ratings
Call park9.440 Ratings00 Ratings
Call screening8.837 Ratings00 Ratings
Message alerts7.340 Ratings00 Ratings
VoIP system collaboration
Comparison of VoIP system collaboration features of Product A and Product B
Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Call Manager)
9.0
42 Ratings
12% above category average
Talkdesk
-
Ratings
Video conferencing9.132 Ratings00 Ratings
Audio conferencing9.142 Ratings00 Ratings
Video screen sharing8.517 Ratings00 Ratings
Instant messaging9.520 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile apps
Comparison of Mobile apps features of Product A and Product B
Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Call Manager)
7.1
26 Ratings
12% below category average
Talkdesk
-
Ratings
Mobile app for iOS7.026 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile app for Android7.324 Ratings00 Ratings
Contact Center Software
Comparison of Contact Center Software features of Product A and Product B
Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Call Manager)
-
Ratings
Talkdesk
8.0
484 Ratings
4% below category average
Agent dashboard00 Ratings8.0463 Ratings
Validate callers00 Ratings8.0407 Ratings
Outbound response00 Ratings8.2425 Ratings
Call forwarding00 Ratings7.8417 Ratings
Click-to-call (CTC)00 Ratings8.6386 Ratings
Warm transfer00 Ratings8.9438 Ratings
Predictive dialing00 Ratings8.7226 Ratings
Interactive voice response00 Ratings8.4310 Ratings
REST APIs00 Ratings7.4244 Ratings
Call scripts00 Ratings7.7219 Ratings
Call tracking00 Ratings8.5432 Ratings
Multichannel integration00 Ratings6.7317 Ratings
CRM software integration00 Ratings7.5371 Ratings
Workforce Optimization (WFO)
Comparison of Workforce Optimization (WFO) features of Product A and Product B
Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Call Manager)
-
Ratings
Talkdesk
8.4
468 Ratings
2% above category average
Inbound call routing00 Ratings8.6428 Ratings
Omnichannel inbound routing00 Ratings8.1311 Ratings
Recording00 Ratings8.9452 Ratings
Quality management00 Ratings8.8410 Ratings
Call analytics00 Ratings8.4425 Ratings
Historical reporting00 Ratings8.4432 Ratings
Live reporting00 Ratings8.3425 Ratings
Customer surveys00 Ratings8.1237 Ratings
Customer interaction analytics00 Ratings8.3272 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Call Manager)Talkdesk
Small Businesses
CloudTalk
CloudTalk
Score 7.2 out of 10
CloudTalk
CloudTalk
Score 7.2 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
CloudTalk
CloudTalk
Score 7.2 out of 10
CloudTalk
CloudTalk
Score 7.2 out of 10
Enterprises
Cisco Business Edition 7000 (discontinued)
Cisco Business Edition 7000 (discontinued)
Score 9.0 out of 10
Bright Pattern Contact Center
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Score 8.8 out of 10
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User Ratings
Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Call Manager)Talkdesk
Likelihood to Recommend
8.5
(47 ratings)
8.2
(498 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(2 ratings)
8.5
(39 ratings)
Usability
9.3
(7 ratings)
8.5
(314 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
9.9
(8 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(8 ratings)
Support Rating
8.0
(14 ratings)
6.9
(131 ratings)
In-Person Training
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(3 ratings)
Online Training
-
(0 ratings)
8.9
(5 ratings)
Implementation Rating
10.0
(1 ratings)
7.1
(222 ratings)
Configurability
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(7 ratings)
Ease of integration
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(7 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(3 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(3 ratings)
User Testimonials
Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Call Manager)Talkdesk
Likelihood to Recommend
Cisco
Cisco Unified Communications Manager is suited for medium to large customers who are in search for a solid call control platform with added security in mind. Cisco Unified Communications Manager also supports receptions, small groups and also a mini contact center type of set up with its Hunt Group, Pick up Group and call queuing facilities and also with set up of music on hold function while calls queuing.
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Talkdesk
Talkdesk does an excellent job with productivity reports. I can monitor my agent's lives during calls and their current status, allowing me to affect them productively at that moment. I can also download a productivity report on Talkdesk to analyze historical data and see patterns and problems.
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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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Talkdesk
  • Receives calls immediately and connects well.
  • Making outbound calls and having Talkdesk display the name associated with the number.
  • Aux on break, lunch, or meeting, and it stays as it is and does not change status on its own.
  • Being able to check on colleagues on whether they are available.
  • Able to track your work for the day, the amount of calls you made and received.
  • Being able to check your Daily and monthly score from QA.
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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.
Read full review
Talkdesk
  • From experience, customer service is terrible, we've had 5 account executives over 18 months, extremely difficult to get timely answers to pressing issues.
  • Integration with other tools, such as ServiceNow, is not truly integration (in my opinion). There was a marked difference between what the salesperson communicated during the evaluation period and what we actually got once we purchased and implemented the product.
  • We continue to have stability issues which force our agents to restart the Talkdesk client. I frequently receive vague error messages ('something went wrong') that can be frustrating as there's no actual detail to what happened. To be fair, it has improved since we implemented the tool, but if you were to ask our agents what frustrated them, Talkdesk would be at the top of their list.
  • Being a multi-channel platform was one of the things that drew us to Talkdesk; however, the chat channel lags way behind voice in customization and reporting.
  • Lack of training resources. The 'Talkdesk Academy' is often very out-of-date. Would be nice to have actual webinars or online training (even paid training) for various functions of the tool like reporting, WFM, IVR, etc.
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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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Talkdesk
Renewing the use of talkdesk is a cost-effective solution for our company. By continuing to use it, we can leverage potential cost savings and efficiencies. For instance, talkdesk may have features that automate certain processes or enable better resource allocation, resulting in reduced operational costs. Secondly, renewing the contract contributes to enhanced customer service. Talkdesk likely offers specific functionalities that improve customer satisfaction and support. This could include features such as intelligent routing or real-time analytics that help agents provide personalized assistance and resolve issues more effectively. Thirdly, renewing the contract ensures seamless integration and compatibility with other systems or technologies used in our company. Having a unified system across different departments or functions enhances efficiency and reduces potential disruptions caused by incompatible systems. Moreover, there may be benefits gained from data sharing or streamlined workflows enabled by an integrated platform.
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Usability
Cisco
The usability part of Cisco Unified Communications Manager is very much simple from a usability point of view. Day-to-day Move Add Change Delete (MACD) can be performed by the administrators very easily with simple training. From the initial deployment point of view, some of the thing can be improved to simplify the process.
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Talkdesk
Talkdesk is helpful because we use it to receive calls in our BPO. Not only do we track live ques and statuses from agents, but we also receive feedback from our assessors through the talk desk as well as coaching, and it also stores customer contact data; I can track all my calls, and It records all the calls so we can come back to review them. You can also listen live and track your daily productivity. You can change your aux statuses very quickly, and there was an update talk desk that allows you to queue another status while you are on a call or after-call work, which is a great feature.
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Reliability and Availability
Cisco
No answers on this topic
Talkdesk
Talkdesk is very handy but, sometimes we do face issues were the system can just kick you out and not be able to do calls or receive calls but, what I like about the system once you start refreshing or troubleshooting, everything becomes normal it is a unique system and very modern we don't usually have system issues with Talkdesk.
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Performance
Cisco
No answers on this topic
Talkdesk
I give this system a full 10/10 once you refresh or troubleshoot you do not wait for too long to use it . It easy like ABC . I honestly recommend this system, even when you check the QA score card, you do not have to wait that long; you just click on the notification bell and view your score card.
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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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Talkdesk
If Talkdesk had a dedicated phone support line I would have given this rating an overall 10. Their knowledge base is absolutely HUGE and at times very helpful. It's easy to search through and their customer support chat system works perfectly fine, but there are just some times that you need to speak to a human on the phone to ensure you are always on the same page.
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In-Person Training
Cisco
No answers on this topic
Talkdesk
The training that was given to us was very smooth and professional. I give my trainer 10/ 10 rate the training was so smooth and very helpful she would make sure we also watch videos of how to use the system which made it very easier for us and what was interesting it is because, the system is also easy.
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Online Training
Cisco
No answers on this topic
Talkdesk
Nothing is perfect!! Needing the ability to repeat the training so everyone was on board was important. Not real sure how many people had to repeat the training as they trained on their own and given 30 minutes at a time.
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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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Talkdesk
Really easy to get set up out of the box. Anything I needed to understand further, I was able to just hop into the Academy and self-teach. I could then bring my team-members to those same sections so they could learn as well without me having to put together complicated SOP's / etc
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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.
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Talkdesk
Talkdesk is used to take inbound and outbound calls, which helps improve customer experience. It also provides evaluations through quality management. Talk desk scores are sometimes behind, but they still work well regarding taking and receiving calls. Some agents blame the Talk Desk because they lack knowledge of how to use it.
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Scalability
Cisco
No answers on this topic
Talkdesk
We have over 200 employees in 11 states across the United States. Everyone uses Talkdesk. I believe that says a lot about the product and its flexibility. We need to be able to rely on system in order to assist our customers. Reliability and sustainability is important to our success
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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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Talkdesk
  • Decreased average response time on emails - due to proper forecasting by our team but of course by usage of data received from this tool.
  • Increase in quality audit scores through weekly reviews by this tool.
  • Employee morale and company survey as agents are not stressing with the easy use of this tool.
  • Reduced average handle time to ensure first response is addressed or first rings are addressed immediately.
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ScreenShots

Talkdesk Screenshots

Screenshot of Talkdesk Guardian™, which is an AI-driven, native cloud compliance solution that enables contact centers to gain visibility and take control of their WFH and hybrid workforce.Screenshot of Talkdesk Autopilot™, which is a tool that handles common customer queries, like orders, returns and billing, and automatically responds with conversational answers. And when complex cases are detected that need human empathy and expertise, the virtual agent will redirect customers to a human agent.Screenshot of Talkdesk AI Trainer™, which equips customers with tools to observe, simulate, and put guardrails on AI, according to their needs. This way, generative AI can be used responsibly, preventing AI mishaps, and protecting the brand from potentially poor AI experiences.