I’ve been looking around for a feature comparison between Cisco Unity Unified Messaging and Exchange 2007 Unified Messaging. There doesn’t seem to be one out there, so I put together an incomplete matrix comparing the two UM platforms. There are a lot of features to add to the list, but I figured I should at least start putting some of them down on the blog. Any comments with additional comparisons are welcome.
If I had to boil the comparison down to 1 tagline it would be this: "Microsoft’s UM is easier to deploy, maintain and use and is a good choice for Exchange shops and ‘information worker’ companies; Cisco Unity is more customizable, flexible and has a larger install base and is probably more suited for large enterprises who are very VM-dependent".
My general take on Microsoft’s first foray into UM is that it is a good product that will get better with time. It’s relatively cheap and gives a lot of features for the price.
|
Feature |
Exchange Unified Messaging |
Unity Unified Messaging |
|
play VM in inbox |
Yes |
Yes |
|
embed notes in VM for indexing |
yes |
no |
|
play on PC speakers |
yes |
yes |
|
play on pc outlook control |
yes, only outlook 2007, form automatically installed |
yes, form must be manually installed |
|
play on phone |
yes, any extension or phone number |
yes, specific extension |
|
play from OWA |
yes, on PC or any extension or phone number |
yes, on PC only |
|
listen to e-mail from telephone |
yes |
licensed |
|
autoattendant |
yes |
yes |
|
Autoattendant with SpeechRec |
yes |
no |
|
failover? |
yes |
licensed |
|
call trees |
limited |
yes |
|
access to calendar |
yes |
no |
|
access to contacts |
yes |
no |
|
access to AD user directory |
yes |
no |
|
UM on separate server |
recommended for most deployments |
required |
|
Administration interface |
native Exchange Management Console |
IIS |
|
backups |
via native exchange backup |
exchange + Unity Server |
|
retention policy |
granular by message type (voicemail or e-mail) |
uses general mailbox quota |
|
UM lights MWI |
supports most TDM PBXs (via 3rd party gateway), need 3rd party app for Cisco IP phones |
supports most PBXs |
|
hardware required for PBX integration |
none for Cisco CallManager 5.1+ and Avaya IPT, hardware gateway for all else |
None for CallManager, dialogic card for other models |
|
licensing |
requires Windows & Exchange server license and ECAL |
includes Windows server license, requires Exchange license, Unity server license (per port), Unity client license, Outlook CAL |
|
scalability |
depends on hardware |
depends on hardware |
|
server hardware |
must meet minimum requirements |
requires Cisco MCS server platform |
|
maximum VM sessions per server |
60-75 |
72 (depending on platform) |
|
maximum users |
2000 to 10000 depending on platform (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb430784.aspx) |
1000 for smallest platform, 7500 for largest |
|
maximum text to speech sessions |
|
24 |
|
integration to PBXs |
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/exchange/telephony-advisor.mspx |
several |
|
schema extensions |
No (already party of Exchange 2007) |
yes |
|
multi-language support |
yes, only for tts, not for asr |
yes |
|
end user reset VM PIN |
Yes, via outlook or OWA |
no |
|
multiple greetings |
2 (standard, out of office) |
5 different greetings |
|
mobile phone support |
yes |
yes |
|
remap tui keys? |
no |
yes |
|
Versions of Exchange supported |
2007 only |
2000, 2003, 2007 |
|
Other mail systems supported? |
no |
lotus notes, some functionality via IMAP for GroupWise and other IMAP systems |
|
integration to other VM systems |
no |
yes, using AMIS/VPIM |
