If you’re considering migrating your phone system to the cloud or switching to a new Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) platform in the near future, you might feel overwhelmed by the vast and constantly changing UCaaS solution marketplace.
With so many options available and the landscape shifting rapidly in terms of top providers, confidently selecting the best UCaaS offering for your business can be incredibly stressful. Over half of the organizations included in one Gartner survey (56 percent) expressed a high degree of regret concerning their largest technology purchase during the previous two years. How can you minimize your odds of making a decision you’ll lament later?
That’s where our trusted technology advisors can make a difference. With over 20 years of IT industry experience, a hands-on background in telephony and UCaaS, the latest market data, and connections to niche/hard-to-find solutions, we can rapidly identify the top 3 to 5 offerings that align with your requirements. We typically save our clients a significant amount of time and money by doing the homework for them.
A vital element of our advisory arsenal is a tool that generates detailed comparison matrices showing how providers stack up against each other. In this “versus” blog series, we demonstrate the value of utilizing an objective comparison matrix to find the best UCaaS supplier for your company.
This blog entry offers insight into how Zoom compares to Cisco as a UCaaS provider. Before you review the matrix, here’s some essential background information about each supplier.
UCaaS supplier profile: Zoom
UCaaS supplier profile: ZoomBased in San Jose, CA, this supplier has delivered video communication solutions since 2011. Zoom’s intuitive solutions surged in popularity as a way for people to stay connected personally and professionally during the pandemic. The Zoom UCaaS offering supports productivity and collaboration from anywhere with its easy-to-use interface, HD video and audio, reliability, security, and scalability, among other features.
Additionally, Zoom allows you to easily add telephony users to your meetings. If you’re transitioning from an on-premises solution, it’s also a simple switch to make if your team members already have experience using Zoom for meetings and video calls. In terms of phone functionality, Zoom offers native enhanced emergency calling and compliance recording, features that Webex offers via third-party providers.
UCaaS supplier profile: Cisco
UCaaS supplier profile: CiscoCisco – also based in San Jose, CA – is a leading networking, cloud computing, collaboration and security solution supplier. Cisco Webex has earned a reputation as a highly secure and reliable collaboration platform for meetings, messaging, calling, and more. This supplier has an established reputation in network security and can serve as a single source for software, hardware, network, security, and wireless solutions.
Although you can obtain Webex directly from Cisco, we recommend partnering with a managed service provider (MSP) that can deliver the same solution with better SLAs and back-end guarantees. An MSP can provide access to wraparound services, ongoing solution management, and additional consulting services.
| Provider | Cisco Webex | Zoom | |
| HQ | Location of headquarters | San Jose, CA | San Jose, CA |
| # of Employees | in-house staff | 76,000 | 6,000 |
| Public / Private | Privately owned or publicly traded | Public: CSCO | Public: ZM |
| Seats in Service | Number of licenses deployed | 13M (Webex Calling) | 70M (UCaaS); 5.5M (Phone Seats) |
| Minimum Seat Count / MRC | # of seats or MRC minimum required to engage | no minimum | no minimum |
| Sweet Spot | Ideal opportunities for the provider | 5-1,000 seats | 150-2,500+ seats |
| Key Acquisitions | Companies acquired and integrated into the supplier’s offering | Broadsoft | Keybase, Kites, Solvvy |
| Datacenter Locations | Location of supplier’s data centers APAC: Asia-Pacific EMEA: Europe, Middle East, Africa LATAM: Latin America NA: North America | APAC: Melbourne, Osaka, Sydney, Tokyo Canada: Toronto, Vancouver UK: London US: Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York | APAC: Hong Kong, Hyderabad, Melbourne, Mumbai, Osaka, Singapore, Sydney, Tianjin, Tokyo Canada: Toronto, Vancouver EMEA: Amsterdam, Frankfurt LATAM: Queretaro (Mexico), São Paulo US: Denver, Newark, New York City, San Jose, Virginia |
| International Full PSTN Replacement | local DID + in-country calling experience, number portability, access to emergency services | 19 Countries | 47+ Countries |
| Compatible Handsets | IP phones supported and/or resold by supplier | Algo, Cisco, Grandstream, Poly, Yealink Read more here. | Algo, Cisco, Grandstream, Logitech, Poly, Snom, Yealink |
| Platform | Does provider leverage a proprietary/native platform or leverage a platform via third-party partnership? | Cisco (Webex Calling) | Proprietary |
| Microsoft Teams Integrations | Supplier’s capability with Microsoft Teams | Embedded Dialer | Direct Routing – Bundled PBX Direct Routing – Microsoft PBX Embedded Dialer |
| Compliance | Compliance standards the provider has met or is capable of assisting a cloud customer in meeting. | FedRAMP, HIPAA, ISO 27001, SOC 2 Additional Compliances: SOC 3 Refer to Cisco Webex Calling Privacy Sheet for compliances | CCPA, CPNI, Cloud Security Alliance (CSA), FedRAMP, GDPR, HIPAA, HITRUST, ISO 27001, SOC 2 Additional Compliances: FERPA, IAPP, NCSC DOD IL2, PIPE/PHIPA; Full List |
| Contact Center | Contact center solutions the supplier offers | Cisco Webex Contact Center | Proprietary |
| Key System Emulation | Can imitate Key Phone System functionality | No | Yes |
| SIP Trunking Available | Does the supplier offer SIP trunking services for on-premises PBXs? | No | Yes |
| Line of Business App Integrations | 3rd-party SaaS solutions the supplier has integrated with | Cisco Webex/Webex Teams, EPIC, Google Workspace, HubSpot, Microsoft Dynamics, Microsoft Office, NetSuite, Salesforce, ServiceNow, Slack, Zendesk, Zoho Additional Integrations: Full List | Cerner, EPIC, Google Workspace, HubSpot, Microsoft Dynamics, Microsoft Office, Salesforce, ServiceNow, Slack, SugarCRM, Zendesk, Zoho Additional Integrations: Full List |
| AI Capabilities | Artificial Intelligence tools incorporated in the provider’s solution | Assign Action Items Live Language Translation Note Taking & Summarization Real-Time Transcription Sentiment Analysis Additional Capabilities: Full List. | Assign Action Items Live Language Translation Note Taking & Summarization Real-Time Transcription Sentiment Analysis |
| SD-WAN Offerings | SD-WAN technologies that these providers offer and manage themselves. | Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN | none |
| Circuits Offered | Do these suppliers offer Dedicated Circuits for UCaaS traffic only, Internet circuits, and/or SIP trunking? If yes, please specific which ones. | via Cisco partners | no |
| Bring Your Own MPLS | If MPLS is supported, can the client bring any MPLS provider? Additional cost likely to apply. | yes | yes |
| Top Customer Verticals | Verticals in which supplier has historically had the most success | n/a | Education, Healthcare, Professional Services, Technology |
| On-Site Implementation / Training | Does the supplier charge extra for these services? | via Cisco partners | Additional Charge |
| Implementation Overview | Description or link providing further detail | via Cisco partners | Read more here |
| Dedicated Customer Support | Does the supplier provide dedicated support personnel? If so, is this included or is there an additional cost? | Read more here and here | 24/7 global access included. Premier/Premier+ packages available for additional charge. Read more here |
| Collaboration Solutions Available | Native and/or 3rd-party resale options offered by supplier | Cisco Webex | Proprietary |
| Case Studies | link to provider’s case studies page | Read more here. | Read more here. |
| Differentiators | unique features of the technology | Market leader with over 55.5M users across the globe Flex licensing eligibility Seamless integration with industry-leading Cisco Webex Meetings platform | All-in-one platform for Contact Center, AI, Virtual Agent, Phone, E-mail, Calendar, Video Meetings, Room Systems, Digital Signage, Content Sharing, Whiteboarding, Team Chat, Events, Webinars and more with over 2,000 app integrations with rich APIs and SDKs. |
As a trusted partner of both Zoom and Cisco, Stratosphere Networks can help you determine which makes the most sense for your business. If you want to learn more about Zoom versus Cisco Webex and other UCaaS suppliers, our technology advisors would be happy to help. Take the first step toward finding your ideal UCaaS solution today by calling 877-599-3999 or emailing sales@stratospherenetworks.com.
