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Cisco Unified Communications Manager Express and Unified Communications Manager |
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In the last edition of the bulletin we discussed the entry level Cisco Unified Communications system (The UC500) and the benefits it offers the SMB market. In this edition we will talk about the big brothers of the UC500 - Unified Communications Manager Express and Unified Communications Manager. Both of these products build on the scale and functionality of the UC500 to bring Unified Communications to larger businesses (from up to 240 users for the single Express system and up to a staggering 30,000 users on a single Communications Manager cluster).
Unified Communications Manager Express (UCME) is a SMB level IP telephony call processing system. Built with the same features of UC500, with a same familiar interface, it allows customers to grow from 48 users on the UC500 to 240 users. In addition it supports advanced capabilities such as Mobility, Presence and a wider range of collaboration features.
UCME supports full redundancy of equipment as well as integration with leading call centre software such as Cisco IP Contact Centre Express product line, to provide fully featured inbound and outbound call centre functions.
UCME can be fully integrated (like UC500) as part of a Unified Communications infrastructure. For example, UCME can be implemented at a remote site, or as part of the strategy towards implementation of full Unified Communications Manager. Plus when you invest in a router based CME and later upgrade to a server based Unified Communications Manager the router (with a small and inexpensive software change) can still be used, which means the initial expenditure hasn’t been wasted.
Unified Communications Manager (UCM) is an enterprise-level IP telephony call-processing system for up to 30,000 users on an individual cluster. It provides award winning Enterprise telephony and collaborative tools and can be fully integrated with UCME and UC500 products.
UCM provides a centralised call processing platform for the whole enterprise and benefits from centralised management and control. UCM also allows distributed implementation across multiple sites and countries.
The UC Manager can:
Cut costs – replace PBX and key systems and streamline provisioning and maintenance.
Increase productivity – feature rich unified communications cut the time employees spend chasing people.
Improve mobility and flexibility – allows mobile workers to stay in touch wherever they are with colleagues and customers.
Due to their vast experience in network technology Unified Communications products from Cisco provide the best interoperability and true IP telephony integration with the network. They have feature rich telephony solutions to suit a few users or many thousands of users, with a scalability that is unrivalled in the competition.
Next time we will look in detail at Unified Communications Applications such as Presence, Conferencing and Call Centre. We will also look at integration with Microsoft desktop applications.
To find out how Unified Communications can help your business please contact us.
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