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MiCloud Connect / ShoreTel (discontinued) vs. Zendesk Talk

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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 Talk

    Score8.2 out of 10
    N/AZendesk Talk is call center software built on the Twilio cloud communication platform that integrates with the Zendesk Support ticketing system. This allows customer service teams to provide phone support from the same platform they use to manage all other channels.N/A
    Pricing
    MiCloud Connect / ShoreTel (discontinued)Zendesk Talk
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    MiCloud Connect / ShoreTel (discontinued)Zendesk Talk
    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
    MiCloud Connect / ShoreTel (discontinued)Zendesk Talk
    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
    100%
    Would buy again
    14 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    No answers on this topic
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    12 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    No answers on this topic
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    14 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    No answers on this topic
    90%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    9 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    No answers on this topic
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    14 Answers
    Features
    MiCloud Connect / ShoreTel (discontinued)Zendesk Talk
    Cloud PBX
    Comparison of Cloud PBX features of MiCloud Connect / ShoreTel (discontinued) and Zendesk Talk
    Feature
    MiCloud Connect / ShoreTel (discontinued)
    8.2
    27 Ratings
    3% above category average
    Zendesk Talk
    -
    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 Talk
    Feature
    MiCloud Connect / ShoreTel (discontinued)
    8.6
    28 Ratings
    4% above category average
    Zendesk Talk
    -
    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 Talk
    Feature
    MiCloud Connect / ShoreTel (discontinued)
    7.6
    23 Ratings
    4% below category average
    Zendesk Talk
    -
    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 Talk
    Feature
    MiCloud Connect / ShoreTel (discontinued)
    6.2
    15 Ratings
    24% below category average
    Zendesk Talk
    -
    Ratings
    Mobile app for iOS8.014 Ratings00 Ratings
    Mobile app for Android4.512 Ratings00 Ratings
    Contact Center Software
    Comparison of Contact Center Software features of MiCloud Connect / ShoreTel (discontinued) and Zendesk Talk
    Feature
    MiCloud Connect / ShoreTel (discontinued)
    -
    Ratings
    Zendesk Talk
    7.8
    16 Ratings
    8% below category average
    Agent dashboard00 Ratings9.916 Ratings
    Validate callers00 Ratings6.012 Ratings
    Outbound response00 Ratings10.014 Ratings
    Call forwarding00 Ratings8.915 Ratings
    Click-to-call (CTC)00 Ratings10.013 Ratings
    Warm transfer00 Ratings9.912 Ratings
    Predictive dialing00 Ratings5.08 Ratings
    Interactive voice response00 Ratings10.010 Ratings
    REST APIs00 Ratings5.07 Ratings
    Call scripts00 Ratings7.06 Ratings
    Call tracking00 Ratings9.914 Ratings
    Multichannel integration00 Ratings5.110 Ratings
    CRM software integration00 Ratings5.09 Ratings
    Workforce Optimization (WFO)
    Comparison of Workforce Optimization (WFO) features of MiCloud Connect / ShoreTel (discontinued) and Zendesk Talk
    Feature
    MiCloud Connect / ShoreTel (discontinued)
    -
    Ratings
    Zendesk Talk
    7.8
    16 Ratings
    7% below category average
    Inbound call routing00 Ratings9.912 Ratings
    Omnichannel inbound routing00 Ratings5.110 Ratings
    Recording00 Ratings9.915 Ratings
    Quality management00 Ratings9.913 Ratings
    Call analytics00 Ratings8.913 Ratings
    Historical reporting00 Ratings8.913 Ratings
    Live reporting00 Ratings4.914 Ratings
    Customer surveys00 Ratings5.08 Ratings
    Customer interaction analytics00 Ratings8.19 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    MiCloud Connect / ShoreTel (discontinued)Zendesk Talk
    Small Businesses
    CallFire
    Score9.7 out of 10
    CloudTalk
    Score7.6 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Fuze
    Score8.2 out of 10
    Genesys Multicloud CX (discontinued)
    Score8 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Call Manager)
    Score8.3 out of 10
    Bright Pattern Contact Center
    Score8.4 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    MiCloud Connect / ShoreTel (discontinued)Zendesk Talk
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.3
    (63 ratings)
    9.9
    (16 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    8.6
    (42 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Usability
    8.0
    (21 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Availability
    10.0
    (27 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Performance
    5.1
    (9 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Support Rating
    3.5
    (16 ratings)
    5.0
    (3 ratings)
    In-Person Training
    6.0
    (3 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Online Training
    2.0
    (12 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    9.6
    (30 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Configurability
    6.4
    (3 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    7.6
    (5 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    MiCloud Connect / ShoreTel (discontinued)Zendesk Talk
    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 Talk is a great partner that helps us in the customer care area by managing every type of contact with customers (both phone calls and emails). I know there is also the possibility to have integration with instant messaging apps (like messenger and WhatsApp but I have never used them in my experience). In my opinion, the best scenario for Zendesk Talk is represented by a context with a high amount of contacts/requests where a unique platform could be a help both on the external side (customers) and on the internal side (a lot of colleagues who are working in the same area and have to work in a coordinate way). For customers, they could benefit from tailor-made answers, also based on past contacts for the same topic, and avoid waiting times during phone calls, with an immediate follow-up. For internal work management, operators don't overlap in a single request, and even if the same operator is not available the one who manages the request later has complete visibility of the entire topic from the historical point of view. Last but not least, I think that Zendesk Talk helps a lot in the context in which the request's speed is a KPI to manage constantly.
    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
    • Call recording is a nice feature! It is great for training purposes and for quality assurance.
    • The metrics you get from Explore are a great insight into how the team is handling the call volumes.
    • Zendesk Talk has met most of our needs. It can be a bit unreliable at times.
    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
    • The lag on the phone is by far the most annoying thing with Zendesk talk due to the voice over IP.
    • Using the Reporting feature in Zendesk has never been a walk in the park. We have to customize a lot of fields and when something doesn't seem to add up, it at times feels like pulling teeth to get to the final answer of what went wrong.
    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
    No answers on this topic
    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
    Everything about it works, as I have previously detailed. Coming from different companies and using other tools like Twilio or Aircall, those are VOIP tools that are built to be plugged into other tools, Zendesk Talk is natively built into Zendesk and feels correct in the user experience of Zendesk
    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
    No answers on this topic
    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
    No answers on this topic
    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
    In our experience, we have had to go through many support people then ultimately getting frustrated enough to go directly to our point of contact who then doesn't always seem to be able to assist. We tend to get the support we need when it is escalated up to me and I reach out to our point of a contact person to express our frustration.
    Incentivized
    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
    No answers on this topic
    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
    No answers on this topic
    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
    Slack and Zoom phones cannot compare because they have no ticketing systems. Zendesk Talk was the only option we considered because we were already using Zendesk for our email ticketing with customer concerns. We then expanded to using Zendesk's chatbot and then the Zendesk Talk system to keep it all integrated and streamlined.
    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
    No answers on this topic
    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
    • We were able to reduce global headcount by 20% in our call centers.
    • Allowing customers to leave voicemails creates the personal touch needed and really increases our customer connectivity score. We saw increases in our CSAT scores after the implementation of this solution.
    • Call handling time and case reopen rates both decreased. Y/y it decreased 18% and 60%.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    MiCloud Connect / ShoreTel (discontinued) Screenshots

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