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Cisco Systems
Unified Communications

by Faulkner Staff

Copyright 2021, Faulkner Information Services. All Rights Reserved.

Docid: 00018501

Publication Date: 2111

Report Type: PRODUCT

Preview

Cisco Systems’ Unified Communications portfolio is a
collection of "enterprise-ready" products for accessing converged communications
services. The family includes components for call control, cloud calling, collaboration
management and licensing, communications gateways, telephony extensions, and unified
communications
applications. Cisco is considered a leader in the unified communications
market.

Report Contents:

• Description
• Related Faulkner Reports
• Vendor
• Applications
• Environment
• Support
• Pricing
• Competitors
• Web Links

Description

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Cisco Systems’ Unified Communications (UC) portfolio was created to
unify all voice, video, data, and mobile applications for interactive
collaboration on a fixed or mobile network. Cisco is considered a leader in
this market. Unified communications is not one simple technology. It is an
interconnected system of enterprise communication devices and applications that
can be used together or continuously.

The Unified Communications products help to facilitate better interactions
and share data from any location or device. With Unified Communications, the
platform is a collaboration environment to deploy applications onsite,
on-demand, and in blended deployment models.

Cisco’s architecture supports industry standards and codecs as built-in
features rather than add-on modules. It incorporates SIP/SIMPLE and XMPP to enable users to see
availability data across endpoints. Cisco partners can enjoy a range of
hosting options while cloud-based options are available for Cisco customers.

Cisco UC products include coverage for:

• Call Control
• Cloud Calling
• Collaboration Management and Licensing
• Communications Gateways
• Unified Communications Applications
• Telephony Extensions

Table 1 summarizes many of Cisco’s featured Unified Communications
products.

Applications

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The Unified Communications portfolio is targeted toward organizations
looking to implement conferencing, customer care, IP communications, messaging,
mobile applications, and presence. The product family has been used to assist
companies in the professional services, healthcare, financial services,
technology, education, hospitality, and other sectors.

According to Cisco, its Unified Communications suite of products helps
customers to alleviate the cost of ownership while making communications more
simplified. 

Environment

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Cisco’s UC portfolio provides a platform that lets
users integrate with current
and future business systems, network communications applications, and clients.
The portfolio also offers support for Microsoft Windows operating systems, and support
for third-party data protection, remote access, and monitoring software.

Support

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Cisco provides strategic and consultative services and support, including planning, design, implementation, and
optimization. On its Web site, Cisco offers troubleshooting, technical
documentation, and other self-service options for customers. 

Pricing

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The prices for Cisco UC products are configuration-dependent due to
each organization’s unique requirements. Cisco does offer software licensing
options to meet each customer’s needs, based upon business size and tools.

Competitors

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The Unified Communications field has been evolving for more than a decade, and the technology promises an influx
of new, integrated communications devices that will allow organizations to achieve numerous benefits such as collaboration,
streamlining business processes, and lowering overall communications cost. Vendors specializing in UC services are emphasizing
simpler solutions in order to make them easier to purchase, deploy, and manage. In addition, the increase in the mobile workforce,
the use of personal devices for business, and the hybrid workplace model is expected to positively influence the global market.
Smart devices are replacing traditional desktop computers as a primary means of business communications, allowing employees to
work from remote places, ensuring high productivity.

According to Grand View Research, the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for the Unified Communications market is expected to
grow 20.5 percent between 2021 and 2028, with revenue projected to jump from $93.52 billion to $344.84 billion.¹

Cisco is considered a main leader in the Unified Communications market,
but other vendors are vying for market share. These competitors include: 

• Avaya’s Intelligent Xperiences (IX) Digital Workplace

• IBM Unified Communications and Collaboration (UC²)

• Microsoft Skype for Business Server

• Mitel’s Unified Communications and Collaboration

• Vonage Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS)

References

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¹ “Unified Communications Market Size, Share and Trends Analysis Report by Product (Hosted, On-premise),
by Solution, by Organization Size, by End Use, by Region, and Segment Forecasts, 2021 – 2028.” Grand View Research. September 2021.

Web Links

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• Avaya: https://www.avaya.com/
• Cisco Systems: https://www.cisco.com/ 
  IBM: http://ibm.com/
• Microsoft: https://www.microsoft.com/
• Mitel: https://www.mitel.com/
  
  Vonage: https://www.vonage.com/

 

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