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MiCloud Connect / ShoreTel (discontinued) vs. Zendesk Suite

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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    MiCloud Connect / ShoreTel (discontinued)

    Score3 out of 10
    N/AMiCloud Connect, or ShoreTel, was a business communications solution for contact centers that included features like IP PBX telephony service, desk phones, softphone, and collaboration tools. It was acquired by RingCentral in early 2026, and discontinued, with customers being moved to RingCentral's MVP platform.N/A

    Zendesk Suite

    Score8.5 out of 10
    N/AZendesk is a customer support solution with built-in ticketing, conversational messaging, and live chat, designed to help businesses of all sizes and industries deliver personalized service at scale. Zendesk's AI agents are trained in CX to help Service teams resolve customer issues faster and more accurately while still providing a human-centered experience. Zendesk ultimately aims to help businesses improve time to value, reduce effort per ticket, and keep costs low.

    $69

    per month per agent

    Pricing
    MiCloud Connect / ShoreTel (discontinued)Zendesk Suite
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    Suite Team
    $69
    per month per agent
    Suite Growth
    $115
    per month per agent
    Suite Professional
    $149
    per month per agent
    Suite Enterprise
    Contact Sales
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    MiCloud Connect / ShoreTel (discontinued)Zendesk Suite
    Free Trial
    NoYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoYes
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeOptional
    Additional Details—20% discount available with annual pricing.
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    MiCloud Connect / ShoreTel (discontinued)Zendesk Suite
    Considered Both Products
    Discontinued Products
    No answer on this topic
    Zendesk
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    No answers on this topic
    87%
    Would buy again
    123 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    No answers on this topic
    85%
    Delivers good value for the price
    108 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    No answers on this topic
    92%
    Happy with the feature set
    131 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    No answers on this topic
    85%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    82 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    No answers on this topic
    85%
    Implementation went as expected
    94 Answers
    Features
    MiCloud Connect / ShoreTel (discontinued)Zendesk Suite
    Cloud PBX
    Comparison of Cloud PBX features of MiCloud Connect / ShoreTel (discontinued) and Zendesk Suite
    Feature
    MiCloud Connect / ShoreTel (discontinued)
    8.2
    27 Ratings
    3% above category average
    Zendesk Suite
    -
    Ratings
    Hosted PBX7.515 Ratings00 Ratings
    Multi-level Interactive Voice Response (IVR)8.315 Ratings00 Ratings
    User templates8.016 Ratings00 Ratings
    Call reports8.621 Ratings00 Ratings
    Directory of employee names8.327 Ratings00 Ratings
    Call Management
    Comparison of Call Management features of MiCloud Connect / ShoreTel (discontinued) and Zendesk Suite
    Feature
    MiCloud Connect / ShoreTel (discontinued)
    8.6
    28 Ratings
    5% above category average
    Zendesk Suite
    -
    Ratings
    Answering rules9.024 Ratings00 Ratings
    Call recording8.323 Ratings00 Ratings
    Call park8.626 Ratings00 Ratings
    Call screening8.622 Ratings00 Ratings
    Message alerts8.323 Ratings00 Ratings
    VoIP system collaboration
    Comparison of VoIP system collaboration features of MiCloud Connect / ShoreTel (discontinued) and Zendesk Suite
    Feature
    MiCloud Connect / ShoreTel (discontinued)
    7.6
    23 Ratings
    4% below category average
    Zendesk Suite
    -
    Ratings
    Video conferencing8.08 Ratings00 Ratings
    Audio conferencing9.023 Ratings00 Ratings
    Video screen sharing7.04 Ratings00 Ratings
    Instant messaging6.75 Ratings00 Ratings
    Mobile apps
    Comparison of Mobile apps features of MiCloud Connect / ShoreTel (discontinued) and Zendesk Suite
    Feature
    MiCloud Connect / ShoreTel (discontinued)
    6.2
    15 Ratings
    24% below category average
    Zendesk Suite
    -
    Ratings
    Mobile app for iOS8.014 Ratings00 Ratings
    Mobile app for Android4.512 Ratings00 Ratings
    Incident and problem management
    Comparison of Incident and problem management features of MiCloud Connect / ShoreTel (discontinued) and Zendesk Suite
    Feature
    MiCloud Connect / ShoreTel (discontinued)
    -
    Ratings
    Zendesk Suite
    8.6
    187 Ratings
    5% above category average
    Organize and prioritize service tickets00 Ratings9.1186 Ratings
    Expert directory00 Ratings7.9127 Ratings
    Subscription-based notifications00 Ratings8.4130 Ratings
    ITSM collaboration and documentation00 Ratings7.8131 Ratings
    Ticket creation and submission00 Ratings9.3186 Ratings
    Ticket response00 Ratings9.0185 Ratings
    Self Help Community
    Comparison of Self Help Community features of MiCloud Connect / ShoreTel (discontinued) and Zendesk Suite
    Feature
    MiCloud Connect / ShoreTel (discontinued)
    -
    Ratings
    Zendesk Suite
    8.5
    169 Ratings
    6% above category average
    External knowledge base00 Ratings8.5163 Ratings
    Internal knowledge base00 Ratings8.5156 Ratings
    Multi-Channel Help
    Comparison of Multi-Channel Help features of MiCloud Connect / ShoreTel (discontinued) and Zendesk Suite
    Feature
    MiCloud Connect / ShoreTel (discontinued)
    -
    Ratings
    Zendesk Suite
    8.4
    182 Ratings
    5% above category average
    Customer portal00 Ratings9.1150 Ratings
    IVR00 Ratings8.076 Ratings
    Social integration00 Ratings7.4119 Ratings
    Email support00 Ratings9.2178 Ratings
    Help Desk CRM integration00 Ratings8.4138 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    MiCloud Connect / ShoreTel (discontinued)Zendesk Suite
    Small Businesses
    CallFire
    Score9.7 out of 10
    Help Scout
    Score9.3 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Fuze
    Score8.2 out of 10
    LiveAgent
    Score8.8 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Call Manager)
    Score8.3 out of 10
    Front
    Score9.2 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    MiCloud Connect / ShoreTel (discontinued)Zendesk Suite
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.3
    (63 ratings)
    8.7
    (225 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    8.6
    (42 ratings)
    10.0
    (43 ratings)
    Usability
    8.0
    (21 ratings)
    8.6
    (98 ratings)
    Availability
    10.0
    (27 ratings)
    9.1
    (14 ratings)
    Performance
    5.1
    (9 ratings)
    9.1
    (11 ratings)
    Support Rating
    3.5
    (16 ratings)
    5.5
    (31 ratings)
    In-Person Training
    6.0
    (3 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Online Training
    2.0
    (12 ratings)
    6.4
    (10 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    9.6
    (30 ratings)
    9.1
    (19 ratings)
    Configurability
    6.4
    (3 ratings)
    9.1
    (4 ratings)
    Contract Terms and Pricing Model
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    7.6
    (5 ratings)
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    Professional Services
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    MiCloud Connect / ShoreTel (discontinued)Zendesk Suite
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Discontinued Products
    Mitel is excellent at allowing me as a user to setup up custom call routing in response to rapidly changing work flows. If I need to work from home for a period due to medical or other reasons, logging into Mitel and setting my office phone to ring through to my home or cell is quick and simple. Changing back is just as quick.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Zendesk
    Zendesk is good for small teams where work is not passed along to internal teams or situations where escalations lead to further customer interactions and no further oversight is needed. It is weak as a product for larger and medium-sized companies, where processes are in place that are not aligned with its workflow, as it is a very rigid tool.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    Discontinued Products
    • The system up-time has been 100% over 3 years.
    • With separate systems and two locations we used to have to fake the system into 4 digit dialing by forwarding all remote extensions to DIDs. Now with Shortel extended to the remote location we have true 4 digit dialing.
    • The Shortel desktop application makes managing calls and call routing a breeze for even our most novice users.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Zendesk
    • Merging of the tickets with similar issues, it is easy to avoid confusion
    • Al global team somehow gets connected with different ways like Slack, with the Zendesk Suite which is so easier to highlight & the issue quickly
    • The best thing is that this tool gives you to send the message via chat-, email, call through the one single platform
    • Now AI has been added so it works good
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Discontinued Products
    • There are persistent problems with the app's functionality on mobile devices.
    • At times, the web conferencing service may have delays. It appears to be less stable than competing approaches.
    • Using a headset instead of the microphone and speakers integrated into a desktop computer slows down the softphone's performance.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Zendesk
    • Is there a way for AEs and CSMs to be informed in a weekly summary of all their accounts and any tickets? Example: Disney submitted a ticket on XYZ. Google has an urgent issue on X still unresolved.
    • Is there a way for CSMs or AEs to have a Dashboard that's specific to their accounts instead of seeing all the tickets in the queue that are not relevant to them?
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Discontinued Products
    Although the price is higher than some of the other Hosted systems out there, the value is definitely worth a renewal. Everything is relative: there are some companies out there who need phones, but don't necessarily care how they work, the functionality/features available/durability etc., they just care that they have phones that make and receive calls. There are other companies that are completely reliant on phones and certain functionality that is provided by the system. There are even some companies who are straight up dependent on the phone system and are losing tons of money anytime they are down, ShoreTel is the perfect fit for theSMB client who sees value in a solid,robust, reliable and high functioning phone system
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Zendesk
    Zendesk is an amazing tool for communicating with your customers easily. The communication tickets from sellers to us or from us to sellers are stored, and there are statuses used to make communication easy. We have internal conversations between departments, linked with useful software such as Zingtree, Talkdesk, and Webs.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    Discontinued Products
    I have not used a wide array of communication software, but this far ShoreTel/MiCloud has been the simplest and easiest to get into. My work employs several temps at certain points throughout the year, and they use this piece of software frequently, and new hires seem to have little to no issue using this software. Additionally, this is our primary telephone communication infrastructure, and I have yet to encounter any issues when signed in and regularly using it handling external calls to our department.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Zendesk
    Pros: The agent interface is sleek, contemporary, and relatively easy to learn compared to many other enterprise tools. For common tasks, admins are given point-and-click options- adding fields, modifying workflows, constructing macros. The knowledge base (Guide) editor is easy to use for non-developers. Drawbacks: Once you move past the initial things - complex automations, reporting/analytics in Explore, and/or customizations integrating the API, it requires much more advanced training to use successfully. Navigating between the different modules (Support, Explore, Chat, Guide) can feel very disconnected; often you are reminded that it really is a "suite" of products brought together -not really one unified platform. If you're using multiple brands managing simultaneous support tickets, or heavily customizing workflows to meet your brand, you may run into a bit of struggle with usability. So: it's a lot more user friendly than the palaces (Salesforce Service Cloud, ServiceNow), but is not used as quickly or with as much streamlined flow as a product made for a small shop. So if you are looking for a great balance, this is a good option if you are a net new organization or an organization on their way to scaling from 15 - 50 employee. Expect some elbow grease from the admin team once learning, adapting, and working efficiently once you move past the basics with your support tickets and initial customizations.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Reliability and Availability
    Discontinued Products
    The system has gone down on us MULTIPLE times. We asked them to move us to a different cluster. Shoretel declined. Basically we had problems or outages every month of the year from June 2012 to date. Our old phone system was just that: OLD, no bells or whistles. But it was up every day and I never had to think about it much until it was time for an upgrade. That's how I want Shoretel to be. I want it so reliable that I never have to think about it.
    Read full review
    Zendesk
    In the past year, I'd say I have only noticed maybe two hours total of downtime in my own usage. Very minimal.
    Read full review
    Performance
    Discontinued Products
    Even though the system uses a lower bandwidth connection we have experienced a higher call quality than our previous system which required a T1 line and back up broadband connection.
    Read full review
    Zendesk
    There has been minor performance degradation on a very few days out of the two years I have been using the product.
    Read full review
    Support Rating
    Discontinued Products
    ShoreTel Sky's support is amazing. The only reason why I didn't give it a 10 is that we still need to contact them for stuff that we should be able to do, for ourselves, within the management portal. I know their portal is being worked on, so hopefully they will get the "little things" included for self-management.
    Read full review
    Zendesk
    We rarely need to contact their support team, but when we do they are responsive. However there have been notable times when communication between myself and the support rep was challenging despite me providing clear explanation of the issue, screenshots, and a thorough explanation of the goal we hope to achieve. It took several back and forth attempt, on a few occasions, to get resolution on an otherwise simple request
    Read full review
    In-Person Training
    Discontinued Products
    I attended the first ShoreTel installer class in Austin,TX. It was a week of intensive study with a live lab and having hands on experience made the class worthwhile. I have taken all of the sales courses and remaining technical courses either online or self study to keep costs down. I send my techs to the first installer course in Austin as I feel it gives them a solid foundation and most of teh other courses they have taken have been online.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Zendesk
    No answers on this topic
    Online Training
    Discontinued Products
    The training identified some things M5 (ShoreTel's cloud division) could provide, however it was only using it every day and asking the Shoretel support several questions that I got the hang of it. The training was able to highlight functions but I did not learn how to use the phone from the training.
    Read full review
    Zendesk
    Zendesk has tons of available material for training - videos, webinars, articles, etc. The only reason this is not a 10 is because it can be hard to figure out how to navigate to these things and find what you are looking for.
    Read full review
    Implementation Rating
    Discontinued Products
    Each of our locations has a dedicated ShoreTel router and managed QoS. With full management, it provides us a breath of space and bandwidth to use our resources in other means. Strongly consider the managed solution as you have to maintain more technical issues when hosting with your ISP. You have to make sure your ISP can provide you the best service for voice and data. Plug and 'hope' doesn't work with just routing your phones over any Internet connection....especially when your handsets run int he 100's
    Read full review
    Zendesk
    I was very satisfied. They have a free trial for 30 days and I recommend you do that and use it. It is very easy to get started with the basics and the build on over time.

    The only thing technically complex was single sign-on and integration to Salesforce.com required some tweaks – otherwise setting up system was very easy
    Read full review
    Alternatives Considered
    Discontinued Products
    Aptela. I chose M5 (ShoreTelSky) because their platform puts call quality first. Their system also uses Cisco endpoints, which are very compatible with the rest of my Cisco network. I also liked the fact that ShoreTelSky uses the internet only as a backup for transport; I use MPLS as my primary connectivity.
    Read full review
    Zendesk
    At the time of evaluation, Dynamics had extremely limited knowledge and support capabilities. The UI is clunky, and reporting requires a deep understanding of the underlying data structure. Ongoing maintenance was costly and didn't provide a positive ROI in any sense of the term.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Scalability
    Discontinued Products
    I believe that ShoreTel can be used by a minimum company size of about 25 to almost any size of a company and this can be achieved while the company grows, hence makes it pretty scalable when required. For companies which are smaller in size i.e. smaller than 25, I am not sure how useful it would be, it may be depending upon the type of business
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Zendesk
    WHY we will use Zendesk in HR and PD internally
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    Discontinued Products
    • At my branch alone, we are saving over $500 a month using Shoretel Sky versus the phone company we were using before them.
    • Shoretel Sky has increased customer service by allowing our employees to easily transfer a call to the proper department or branch no matter where they are located instead of giving the caller a phone number to call.
    • Most of our locations did not have caller ID before Shoretel Sky. That feature has increased employee efficiency because when they know who is calling before they answer allows them to professionally greet their caller and have their info up on their computer as they answer.
    Read full review
    Zendesk
    • More than anything, provided a boost to our perceived professionalism. The portal is a massive improvement on email only support.
    • Workflow optimization via macros and automations has enhanced response times and raise our 'first call resolution' metric.
    • Speaking of metrics; having them at all! Before Zendesk Suite we were email only so had no insight into agent and vendor performance.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    MiCloud Connect / ShoreTel (discontinued) Screenshots

    Screenshot of ShoreTel ConnectScreenshot of Mobile AndroidScreenshot of Mobile iosScreenshot of Teamwork Android

    Zendesk Suite Screenshots

    Screenshot of the Zendesk Agent WorkspaceScreenshot of Omnichannel MessagingScreenshot of Zendesk TicketingScreenshot of Bots powered by Zendesk AIScreenshot of Tone shift with Zendesk AIScreenshot of Zendesk ticketing side conversations