Call manager that fits the need
Updated November 15, 2019

Call manager that fits the need

Anonymous | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Call Manager)

Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Call Manager) is the heart of our telecommunications for our organization. We use Call Manager for our voice, messaging and contact centers. Across all departments, nearly every staff has a phone assigned. We use Call Manager as our primary platform for making and receiving calls. We also use Finesse as the software choice for our contact center.
  • Powerful feature set out of the box.
  • Mature platform and vast support direct from Cisco and from the community.
  • Integrations available to many APIs, other platforms.
  • We would like to have rules based call routing.
  • We would like to see licensing easier to manager.
  • A unified GUI will help with the multiple software packages.
  • Simplified end points (phones).
  • Adding more features require more cash.
We've used 3Com/HP VCX before HP pulled the plug. Feature to feature, in some cases VCX did things better than Call Manager. VCX's GUI interface was very simple to navigate. Even over the years, VCX made it easy to train someone as an admin within a day and that person would be up and running.

As far as Mitel, I did an phone system RFP and from a feature set perspective, it appeared to be in line with Call Manager.
Cisco's mature platform has a very strong support with Cisco TAC. You can open up a case with Cisco and instantly escalate the issue if you needed to. From the times I've interacted with TAC, they've always been very through and complete. There is also a large community with years of experience one can access online.

Do you think Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Call Manager) delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Call Manager)'s feature set?

Yes

Did Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Call Manager) live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Call Manager) go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Call Manager) again?

Yes

Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Call Manager) has worked well for our large organization. We have multiple locations and mobile staff. Our deployment is relatively straight out of the box. Once we begin to push out more features, we will probably see more of the ROI.

Call Manager is best for:
  1. Large scale enterprise deployments.
  2. Mature platform needs.
  3. Contact Center.
Call Manager is not suited for:
  1. Small SMBs.

Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Call Manager) Feature Ratings

Hosted PBX
10
Multi-level Interactive Voice Response (IVR)
9
User templates
9
Call reports
7
Directory of employee names
9
Answering rules
9
Call recording
9
Call park
Not Rated
Call screening
Not Rated
Message alerts
8
Video conferencing
Not Rated
Audio conferencing
9
Video screen sharing
8
Instant messaging
8
Not Rated
Mobile app for iOS
Not Rated
Mobile app for Android
Not Rated

Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Call Manager) Support

ProsCons
Quick Resolution
Good followup
Knowledgeable team
Problems get solved
Kept well informed
Immediate help available
Support understands my problem
Support cares about my success
Quick Initial Response
Escalation required
Yes - Our agency relies heavily on a working phone system, so the need to have voice availability is near 100%. We operate several departments using some sort of software that directly works with Call Manager including or Service Center and eFaxing. Our need to have a system fully supporting including any 3rd party support is critical.
Yes - Yes. Cisco TAC suggested a bug fix which reduced the system alerts that were system affecting.
Cisco has worked with my integration woes. If I recall, there was an issue with calls looping between Call Manager and 3Com VCX. Though call traces and RTMT pulls, TAC reviewed and resolved the issue. The fact that TAC support "follows the sun" is comforting to know that at anytime of the day, I can open up a TAC case and someone will be assigned.