Cisco vs Mitel: Comparing these two leading phone systems

Cisco and Mitel are leading names in the unified communications (UC) space. A Cisco vs Mitel comparison shows that both have flexible and advanced features for medium and large enterprises looking for a modern phone system.

If you’re comparing the two, it’s important that you have all the information you need to select a phone system that serves your unique business needs. In this article, we compare the two phone systems in terms of pricing, features and integrations.

Cisco vs Mitel: How do these phone systems compare?

To understand how relevant and useful a technological solution would be, it’s important to know who its primary target audience is. Cisco has been a global giant in communication that focuses on large enterprises.

Committed to providing the infrastructure for the internet, the company has been rolling out phone systems to help large businesses effectively serve their customers. Over the years, Cisco has also ventured into medium-sized enterprises to help them unify their internal systems and scale their offerings.

Cisco’s phone system, called UC Manager Express, is based on its UC platform. It’s an IP (Internet Protocol) PBX (Private Branch Exchange) that comes with specific features that traditional phone systems don’t have. Easy to deploy, maintain and manage, it helps medium-sized businesses save costs, enhance collaboration and improve internal productivity.

Mitel’s phone system comes with both an on-premise and cloud version. Like Cisco, the company’s target audience mostly includes medium and large companies. Addressing the needs of businesses with thousands of customers, the Mitel phone system is known for its contact centre solution.

If your business has a large number of customer service agents, the Mitel phone system should interest you. It comes with business tools such as call queuing, call routing, call recording, IRV or Interactive Voice Response and CRM integration among others.

Cisco vs Mitel pricing: Which gives the most value for your money?

Whether it’s a Cisco vs Mitel analysis or if you’re comparing Cisco and Avaya, it’s important to get an accurate idea about how much the phone system will cost you. Cisco’s IP phone systems can cost your business between $500 and $2500.

That cost is only for the device per user. You’ll also have to train your employees to use the new unit, which could range from $50 to $75 per hour in cost. Then comes the monthly charges. These are between $25 and $200 per user.

Businesses can save on their initial and monthly expenses by opting for the company’s three-year subscription package. This combines installation and device costs with monthly fees.

Mitel’s phone system comes with three plans. Businesses have the flexibility to mix and match these plans and select the one that specifically suits their needs, employee numbers and usage patterns.

Under the Essential plan, you have to pay $20.99 per user per month. This gives you audio and video conferencing concurrently for eight users. Four users can use the system’s web conferencing feature.

The Premier plan of Mitel’s phone system will set you back by $26.59 per month, per user. Under this, 25 participants can use audio conferencing, video conferencing and desktop sharing. There’s also voicemail transcription and on-demand call recording. The plan also has Salesforce integration.

The most expensive plan, Elite, costs $38.49 per month per user. Up to 100 users can participate in audio and web conferencing with desktop sharing in this plan. Up to 24 users can also participate in video conferencing at a time.

The plan also gives you access to a company operator. There are additional call centre charges, that range from $12 to $20 per user.

Cisco vs Mitel features: Which delivers more?

Cisco’s phone system is easily scalable, particularly if you’re a medium or large enterprise with expanding needs. It allows remote and mobile employees to be easily integrated into the system, increasing their productivity. Irrespective of the device an employee might be using, they can easily access the network from anywhere.

Mitel also has tools for calling, collaboration, mobility management and contact centre administration. Users get a host of features including audio conferencing, video chat, desktop sharing, caller ID, instant messaging, auto-attendant, call transfer and group paging.

This comparison tells you that if you’re a large enterprise with a significant number of distributed teams or employees, Cisco is your ideal solution. But if you field a large number of customer calls, Mitel should be your choice.

Integrations: What apps connect with each?

If you compare Mitel and Avaya, it’s clear that the latter has more integrations. But when compared to Cisco, Mitel has more integrations. The system supports WebRezPro, AuguTech, InGenius and Tigerpaw among others.

Look beyond Cisco vs Mitel: Chalkboard is the business phone app you need

When comparing Cisco vs Mitel, it’s clear that they are aimed at large corporations. They do lack some of the features that smaller, more modern companies require in a business phone system. Importantly, they’re complex for small businesses to deploy, manage and maintain.

Chalkboard is exceptionally easy to install and manage. You only have to download the app to get your new second line for work. Now you have the flexibility to work from wherever you want as long as you have an internet connection.

Your team can share their numbers, which will streamline your communication and improve collaboration. It will also help improve customer service. With auto-reply, you can easily respond to missed calls.

The app allows you to use conversational marketing through broadcast SMS and advanced messaging. Plus, you don’t need trained IT personnel to manage the system. That’s another way this affordable phone system saves you money.

Download Chalkboard today. Unlike Cisco and Mitel, this phone system is designed for small businesses like yours.