Every company is unique, with its own set of needs and expectations when it comes to communications. In years past, there was little difference between some of the most popular calling solutions. That’s no longer the case, and today Cisco is among the providers offering a range of options to help meet the evolving communication needs of an increasingly connected business landscape.

Traditional Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Unified CM)

Cisco’s tried and true on-premise solution, Unified CM, has a long history of strong performance and it boasts features that form the foundation of a robust communication platform. For companies that aren’t interested in moving their communications to the cloud—either because they aren’t ready to migrate existing services just yet or because regulatory or other operational considerations make on-premise the right choice—Unified CM is a powerful and reliable option.

Webex calling platform

More companies are looking to the cloud for their calling needs. Cloud-based solutions typically offer consumption-based cost models, enabling businesses to more closely manage their spending. Scalability is also a benefit of cloud platforms.

Learn More: Free Webex offer from Cisco’s Collaboration Partner of the Year

The ability to quickly spin up additional capacity can make the difference between keeping your business moving forward and missing a window of opportunity. 

Scalability becomes particularly relevant when unforeseen circumstances require a rapid increase in the user base, such as we’re seeing with COVID-19 and the need for large groups of employees to connect from home for what is still an unknown duration of time.

Cisco’s Webex Calling solution delivers the cost efficiency and feature management capabilities of cloud while maintaining a calling platform that’s robust and simple to use. And as a regulated carrier—a position not shared by most Cisco partners—Carousel is able to offer our integrated Webex calling solution along with PSTN capabilities in a single package. That means you receive just one invoice for everything, including your phone system, your PSTN connectivity, and everything you need at the carrier level.

Many of our customers find that the real sweet spot for Webex Calling starts at around 100 phones and extends through about 1,500 phones in a single location. Some organizations with distributed footprints, such as retailers with brick-and-mortar stores and companies with small satellite offices, successfully leverage Webex Calling with 10,000 phones or more. The flexibility built into the solution makes it a good option for a broad array of businesses.

Unified Communications Manager (UCM) Cloud

The market for UCM Cloud is growing among larger enterprises that have a need for deeper, fuller capabilities. Companies utilizing intricate dialing plans, for example, have greater control around assigning unique calling privileges and facilitating less cumbersome dialing between offices in different countries. In addition, those businesses with large install bases—often 2,000 phones or more—find UCM Cloud to be the best match for their needs.

One compelling feature of UCM Cloud is the ability to take advantage of private cloud, with customers connecting via MPLS (multiprotocol label switching) so they retain full quality-of-service capabilities with their solution. Very similar to Cisco’s on-premise Unified CM platform, UCM Cloud runs on powerful servers hosted in Cisco’s Webex data centers across the globe rather than equipment housed in the customer’s own data center.

For existing Cisco customers, the migration from Unified CM to UCM Cloud is straightforward. Avaya customers also find the shift to UCM Cloud to be drama free, since it’s an enterprise-level, full-featured telephony solution. The organization simply transitions from on-premise servers and appliances to an infrastructure residing in Cisco’s Webex data centers.

The Carousel advantage: Seamless migrations, outstanding ongoing support

Unlike many other partners, Carousel’s calling portfolio includes all three flavors of Cisco’s communication offerings. We’ve frequently been among the first to go to market with Cisco solutions and our team has deep experience helping companies transition from a number of legacy architectures, as well as from other standalone technology platforms. We know that the potential for disruption during any migration can be concerning. Carousel’s broad calling portfolio beyond just Cisco gives our experts the knowledge and the tools to move you through the process cleanly, providing your organization—as well as your employees, customers, and business collaborators—with a seamless experience.

We also have a long-standing track record of enabling our customers to drive strong user adoption and workflow efficiency post-rollout. Our customer success group is ready to ensure your team knows how to use your Cisco communication solution’s features so your new technology delivers the maximum value in the shortest amount of time. And because Carousel supports the entire Cisco portfolio, we can help you implement a full collaboration strategy that incorporates the capabilities you need in a cost-effective package.

• Cisco, 
• COVID-19, 
• unified CM, 
• Webex calling