Cisco Business Edition 7000 (discontinued) vs. Grasshopper

The platform is perfectly suited for collaboration involving everything related to integrated voice and video systems. It is easily installed on physical servers and virtualized and can be accessed remotely. The BE 7000 modernized the infrastructure with voice-over IP and generates complete reports on the telephone and video usage of users in all the company's regions for internal control and auditing. The solution can be recommended for medium and large scenarios from 1000 users up to a limit of 5000 users.

Incentivized

Seems like it is perfectly suited for ANY small to medium business. I can imagine that a business would outgrow the system eventually, but probably around 75-100 employees? Great system for offices that are not managed full time, companies with remote workers, budget conscience start ups, anyone with a need for a registered office line.

Incentivized

• Voicemail message are retained for a lengthy period of time.
• It efficiently allows for users to phone colleagues in other departments by the extension number.
• Headset usage comes in handy.
• Speaker phone capability works well.

Incentivized

• Since calls always come into my cell phone from the same Grasshopper number I just saved that number in my phone as my company name. So I always know when a call is coming in for my company and that it's not a personal call. Of course, all calls are saved and logged in Grasshopper so if I need to go back and check the actual caller ID I can do that.
• All voicemails are immediately sent as audio files in an email to the email address on file for each extension. I personally love this feature. I can choose to go into the Grasshopper app to listen to them but its use so much more convenient to get an email, open it up and listen right from the email. The caller ID for the call is also included in the email text. So all the info I need for any missed calls is right there. Great stuff.
• By far, one of my favorite features is the option to receive faxes to the same business number. Even though fax is being used less these days it is still used quite a bit and being able to receive faxes and having them immediately emailed to me is great.
• The ability to transfer calls from extension to extension (as in cell phone to cell phone) is great. It doesn't matter where my colleague is. I can send the call to the right person and it's ringing on their phone in seconds.

Incentivized

• The User interface of phone could be better and it can be more interactive. The options are complex.
• The configuration part is tough as we need to select them manually through buttons which make it a difficult task.
• If the bandwidth of network is low we may face some noise disturbance and jitter in voice.
• There should be proper documentation available for configuration part so that anyone with good knowledge can do it.

Incentivized

• Making calls from your Grasshopper phone number - Sometimes (well, most of the time) I'll just make a call directly from my cell phone because the process of opening the app, typing in the number I want to call and then making the call can take more time than the call itself.
• Missed Calls - Myself and other coworkers have experienced frustration with Grasshopper and "missed" calls. Sometimes my phone won't ring, but I'll get an email with a voicemail. So it skips ringing my phone all together and goes directly to voicemail. I've had my phone in my hand before, ringer on, and never receive a call but received an email with a voicemail.
• Checking Voicemails on your phone - In order to hear a voicemail from your mobile device, you have to log into the app. But the voicemail shows up under missed calls / voicemails like normal phone calls but when you try to listen to it, it's just a recording of grasshopper telling you that you have a voicemail.
• Transferring Voicemails - You have to memorize all the extensions and the process for transferring voicemails. While it's just memorization needed to make the process work correctly, it takes a lot of time to remember how to transfer the call, the extension you want to transfer it to, and sometimes after going through all of the steps I accidentally hang up on the caller. It's user error, but I feel like if they made the process simpler, and they gave you a directory when you indicate you want to transfer the call, it'd make it a lot easier.

Incentivized

The admin functions are kind of confusing in the old interface which was my most recent experience on the admin side.

Incentivized

When I was setting up my account I contacted support a couple of times. They were also very professional, personable, and helpful. Their response is prompt and thorough. I'm confident I can get any question answered as well as help with any issue I might have. That's pretty important to me.

Incentivized

Cisco Business edition are very comfortable and got great functioning. This name is a brand in market and the support from their side is very good. The life support of phones is very good. They have embedded with good security features and algorithm so interception become difficult by anyone. They are very reliable and has got great voice quality which makes it a best for every type of businesses. The support from Cisco is very good which I like the best.

Incentivized

We moved away from Grasshopper when we implemented an answering service that had an application which provided the same functions as grasshopper for calling and texting. We initially selected Grasshopper as our communication solution because our original answering service just handled incoming calls and did not have an app available to clients.

Incentivized

• High ROI, the communication platform provides all the necessary that is required employees to be always connected wherever they are. This improves companies overall performance and certainly income.
• Simplified maintenance and user friendly interfaces. The platform has all the admin tool to make support easy and efficient.
• Employees are enabled with all the Unified Communication services and they are more productive which again improves overall company's performance.

Incentivized

• Having an IVR allows us to miss fewer calls from clients or prospects, positively impacting our sales.
• Saving money by not having to hire a receptionist helps keep our expenses down.
• I do believe that the professional image our Grasshopper IVR gives our customers has a positive impact on our customer loyalty.

Incentivized