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Cisco vs. ShoreTel by Carl Spitzweg
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Cisco vs. ShoreTel |
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Computers,Telecommuting
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Private branch exchange, or PBX a telephone exchange, is fast gaining a strong foothold in the market, and an increasing number of companies are switching over to PBX systems. They connect internal phones of a business as well as connect them to PSTN through trunk lines. In addition, PBX systems also integrate modems, telephones, fax machines, and more. Enterprise-level telephony and communication providers are trying to gain the attention of medium to large-sized businesses by claiming to offer more features and benefits than the competitor.
Cisco and ShoreTel are considered the two most prominent enterprise telephony and communication providers. Focus Research thoroughly studied Shoretel 9 IP Phone System and Cisco Unified Call Manager/Media Convergence Server 7800 Series, and provided a comprehensive comparison data. The two systems were checked for outlook integration; IVR; call center support; software platform; hardware platform; security; IP station capacity; ease of installation; pricing; ease of installation; reroute to PSTN; and more.
In both the systems, outlook integration and call center support are included. However, IVR is included in Cisco Unified Call Manager/Media Convergence Server 7800 Series, while in Shoretel 9 IP Phone System, it's available. Cisco's 7800 Series' software platform features either Windows or Linux, and hard platform is Cisco CallManager. Shoretel 9 IP Phone System comes with VXWorks software platform, and Proprietary ShoreTel Shoregear switches. In comparison to Cisco's solution, installation and configuration of Shoretel 9 IP Phone System is straightforward. Focus Research noted that Cisco Unified Call Manager/Media Convergence Server 7800 Series is a complex system that requires extensive analysis and testing before deployment. Focus Research also found that Cisco's offering costs more than ShoreTel.
ShoreTel's Unified Communications system encompasses phones, switches, and software that are designed to allow easy deployment and rapid flexibility, and deliver world-class quality.
Products:
- IP Phone System
- IP Phones
- Voice Switches
- Call Manager
- Contact Center
- Converged Conferencing
- System Monitor
- Applications
- CSTA Server
- Network Access
ShoreTel is very easy to manage and operate. There is still a vast number of steps to take and many options to be set and managed before the ShoreTel PBX is fully functional, but with the exception of making adds, moves, and changes, you only do these tasks at the beginning.
Initial setup progresses logically, and the configuration steps in the Director software are intuitive. For example, one fairly complex task with any phone system is setting up the Auto Attendant: You must decide who gets which calls, where calls should go if they’re not answered, and what to say at each prompt, generally without much help from the system itself. ShoreTel, however, leads you through the process step-by-step with clear choices, and the script for each prompt can be kept in case it needs to be recorded again in the future.
The only problem I had during setup was when the server ShoreTel provided for the test showed signs of one too many air freight experiences, and quietly croaked. Fortunately, any up-to-date Windows server will support the ShoreWare Director, so I installed it on an HP DL380. Because the server platform requires no special hardware or software beyond the Director software, the change took just minutes.
Beyond setting up Director, most of the implementation process consists of plugging phones into the network. If you have switches that support PoE (Power over Ethernet), the phones will boot and run when you plug them in. If you don’t, ShoreTel can provide external power supplies for phones that don’t have access to PoE. Phones can be set with fixed IP addresses, or they can use DHCP.
ShoreTel makes several types of MGCP (Media Gateway Control Protocol) phones, ranging from simple to complex, and they will work with most third-party MGCP phones. The ShoreTel phones are easy to use and are easily configured by the administrator. More important, I found the voice quality to be very high, and there was no detectable latency. You can also get an expansion unit (called a Button Box) to increase a phone’s capabilities by adding more programmable buttons that can be loaded with phone numbers or other functions.
Related Articles -
ShoreTel, used ShoreTel, Used Cisco, 7800 series, baynetwork,
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