I'm looking at various voip phone systems and i've received quotes from several vendors. I'm trying to understand why a Cisco UCCX solution would costs 3 times the price of another solution (Vertical Wave IP) which is a single box solution, but two boxes for redundancy.

Both solutions are similar in setup with 125 sets total across 5 locations, two systems for redundancy, call center, mobile apps, call recording, call, tree, etc. The major difference is Vertical Wave IP says we can use our existing routers at the 4 locations while Cisco says they need to be upgraded.

Thank you for your feedback.

I'll title this answer "why not a Cisco UCCX solution"

Cisco phone systems will always cost you more. They go end of life every 5 years. They require a subscription to keep software images current, even if they are so buggy that your voicemail gets corrupted. You'll need to hire a Cisco VAR to take care of the system who employs at least a CCVP, CCNP, or CCIE.

The VAR may end up hiring a telephone man to come out and do simple things like, well, cross connect a phone line to the system. The VAR may sell you a $5,000 "paging server" because CCVP's and CCNP's aren't trained on FXS/SLT/LS ports that can easily be used with industry standard paging equipment. The VAR will insist that you upgrade all switches and routers to Cisco brand, and they will probably insist on SmartNet contracts for those too. In short, they'll want you to be a full Cisco shop "or else the phones might not work".

There are loads of examples of all I mentioned...run a Google search or just browse the Cisco forum here.

If you have the Cisco certs or employ someone who does, you might be fine. Otherwise, and this is my two cents only...hire a real telephone man who will sell you a real telephone system.

You nailed that one. I recently got a request for proposal to install a E911 server at a Cisco shop. Cisco's solution to a situation where you have multiple sites sharing common SIP trunks and you legally need to broadcast each unique address when you make a 911 call is to sell you 5,000.00 worth of software which must be run on a dedicated server. My method is to simply install a analog line with a local dialing plan only at each site and create a call route to use that line when you dial 911. All you need is an FXO card. Cisco does not officially approve of that method.

I lose a lot of sales to Cisco VARs because they have convinced everyone that Cisco is the best. It is anything but the best. The firmware in the phones is terribly buggy. Cisco demands you upgrade and when you do all of a sudden your stable system is a nightmare of glitches. Cisco's response? "Wait until the next rev." Cisco employs what they call the "premium pricing model." Meaning the entire Cisco market is geared to choke as much money out of you a possible. Cisco is easily the most expensive and the whole "premium pricing" model Cisco uses means you will be re-buying that system every year you own it. Just installing it is the beginning of your problems. Don't even think about it unless you have at least one dedicated and certified manager to maintain it or your consulting fees will bankrupt the company.

If you have to have VoIP internally go with an Avaya IP Office. Much cheaper to buy, cheaper to own, more stable, more flexible being a rue hybrid, easier to manage and will blow the doors off anything else out there.

A lot of horror stories about Cisco.

Avaya IP does not blow any other system out of the water, they compete, nothing more.

Beg to differ. The way it can be scaled up is almost unique. At 19% market share they compete very well.

Jack,

If you read what I said you can see clearly I wrote the IP office competes, what you wrote prior is the IP office blows the doors off anything else out there, I beg to differ on that!