Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Call Manager) vs. Zello for Work

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Call Manager)
Score 8.7 out of 10
N/A
Call Manager is a unified call control center from Cisco that supports enterprise collaboration functions across the spectrum of IP telephony, video & web conferencing, and messaging. Features include call forwarding, call back, call transfer, ad hoc conferencing, and call park.N/A
Zello for Work
Score 10.0 out of 10
Mid-Size Companies (51-1,000 employees)
Zello for Work is designed to turn any smartphone into a user-friendly push-to-talk (PTT) device on any network. This can be done with the user’s existing smartphones or ruggedized devices. Zello users can speak in groups or to direct contacts, decreasing nonessential noise in the work environment.
$6.80
per user/per month
Pricing
Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Call Manager)Zello for Work
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Business
$6.80
per user/per month
Enterprise
Contact for quote
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Call Manager)Zello for Work
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup fee$6 per user, per month
Additional DetailsMust contact sales team for pricingZello for Work Hosted subscriptions are pre-paid but eligible for a 15% discount on all annual subscriptions. The Zello for Work Server price is a one time fee, with annual support being the only recurring payment. Support renewal is 20% of the cumulative cost of the server.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Call Manager)Zello for Work
Features
Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Call Manager)Zello for Work
Cloud PBX
Comparison of Cloud PBX features of Product A and Product B
Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Call Manager)
7.3
Ratings
9% below category average
Zello for Work
-
Ratings
Hosted PBX9.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Multi-level Interactive Voice Response (IVR)5.20 Ratings00 Ratings
User templates7.10 Ratings00 Ratings
Call reports6.80 Ratings00 Ratings
Directory of employee names8.60 Ratings00 Ratings
Call Management
Comparison of Call Management features of Product A and Product B
Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Call Manager)
8.2
Ratings
2% below category average
Zello for Work
-
Ratings
Answering rules9.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Call recording7.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Call park9.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Call screening8.10 Ratings00 Ratings
Message alerts8.10 Ratings00 Ratings
VoIP system collaboration
Comparison of VoIP system collaboration features of Product A and Product B
Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Call Manager)
8.3
Ratings
4% above category average
Zello for Work
-
Ratings
Video conferencing8.60 Ratings00 Ratings
Audio conferencing8.60 Ratings00 Ratings
Video screen sharing7.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Instant messaging9.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile apps
Comparison of Mobile apps features of Product A and Product B
Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Call Manager)
8.0
Ratings
1% above category average
Zello for Work
-
Ratings
Mobile app for iOS8.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile app for Android8.00 Ratings00 Ratings
User Ratings
Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Call Manager)Zello for Work
Likelihood to Recommend
8.5
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
9.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
8.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
10.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Call Manager)Zello for Work
Likelihood to Recommend
The Cisco Unified Communications Manager platform would be most suited for the below scenarios. 1. An organization with very restricted policies and compliance where can't move to cloud-based solutions for data security. They can install the CUCM on-premises. 2. An organization that is still on a legacy phone system could adopt CUCM to save costs and have better services.
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Pros
  • Customizability - The program allows for a lot of specific features and ways to use the program.
  • Traditional - The system is a very traditional phone system, with everything you would expect and need from an enterprise phone system.
  • Expandable - The system allows from a small amount of users to a large amount, with no upper limit.
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Cons
  • CUCM is overly complex and requires a very capable engineer to maintain it. Similarly, implementing anything new requires a great deal of specialized knowledge of CUCM.
  • CUCM is difficult to troubleshoot because of it's complexity.
  • CUCM is expensive licensing and they nickel and dime you with a plethora of tiny little license charges for every little feature. They have the most convoluted licensing models, ever, for their CU products in general.
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Likelihood to Renew
We have been using this product for 20+ years and will continue too. This is a great product and new features are always coming out.
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Usability
Although it's very easy to use, once you understand the concepts of IP telephony, as I said before, I think Cisco could have improved the management interface of the platform, adding modern technologies and the design language of the other platforms like DNA Center, etc. This interface hasn't had a substantial improvement for about 10 years
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Support Rating
CUCM is supported by most third-party vendors for related products, so it makes finding solutions to specific needs easy. Also Cisco TAC is very knowledgeable, and we have never run into a problem they have not been able to resolve. Usually they are resolved without the need to escalate tickers either.
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Implementation Rating
This was the first phone system we implemented that could span multiple locations. We were very satisfied once fully implemented
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Alternatives Considered
The Cisco Call Manager application has been around for much longer than many of the competitors. As such, they have had plenty of time to resolve bugs and increase the feature set that comes natively with this solution. One of the biggest factors for us was the professional services/support that comes along with using any Cisco product.
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Return on Investment
  • Return on Investment as one shot investment was made then only licensing contract renewing is needed.
  • Virtualized environment and centralized administration tools.
  • Money saving as a result on using features like TEHO.
  • Business continuity assured on environments with SRST and Multi site Deployment with Distributed Call Processing.
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ScreenShots

Zello for Work Screenshots

Screenshot of Zello's large push-to-talk button is user friendly for everyone. Users can also send photos or text enabled Call Alerts.Screenshot of Live user presence tells you who's available or busy.Screenshot of Speak to multiple people at a time using Zello Channels. Different types of channels allow you to turn them on/off.Screenshot of Replay messages easily with Zello History. You can also read your Call Alerts and view photos.Screenshot of Zello for Work lets you create users/channels, modify client settings, listen to Cloud History, and deploy applications from a centralized management console.Screenshot of Choose who users can listen and speak to with User Roles. You can create a channel where drivers don't have to hear each other to reduce the noise while they are driving!