What is Cisco Webex Calling?

While Cisco has a mature product portfolio of Unified Communications services and solutions that have been at the forefront of technology for years, they are not a company to rest on their laurels. One of the most exciting things about being a technology partner of Cisco is to see how they are always striving to see how they can best serve their growing customer base.  Today, I’m going to introduce you to one of these new and exciting solutions the Cisco Webex Cloud Calling platform. Cisco Webex Calling is a fully hosted UC solution that is globally available, cloud-based alternative to your traditional on-premises PBX.

Why go to the Cloud?

Organizations are looking to the cloud for a variety of reasons, and it’s important to note that cloud services in Unified Communications (UC) is not just a trend anymore it is an undeniable transformation in the market today. There is a definite and measurable shift away from using traditional proprietary hardware to instead consuming cloud services in a flexible, subscription-based model. In fact, according to Gartner, “By 2021, 90% of IT Leaders will no longer purchase new premises-based UC infrastructure.”

Cisco Webex Calling is the number one UCaaS provider in the world with over 700k+ subscribers, more than 20 million users and 29+ million lines and growing.

Cisco Webex Calling delivers enterprise-class, native cloud UC solution provided and supported by Cisco. It is available in 35 countries and in 7 languages and growing. In North America alone, Cisco has data center locations in Dallas, Chicago, Los Angles, New York and are actively developing new sites in Vancouver and Toronto.

Stack8’s Parlay UCaaS Offering

Stack8 as a Service Provider and solution partner is in a unique position to centralize and bundle your PSTN connectivity or if you wish to leverage your existing PSTN services via the secure hybrid deployment model. This hybrid connectivity is crucial as most organizations are not in a position to migrate to the cloud overnight. With this hybrid connectivity, it allows a seamless migration with users often being unaware of the change.

Ok, that was quite the resume but what does that actually mean for me?

Well, the Parlay UCaaS offering has a variety of different benefits; let’s take a minute to highlight them.

• Eliminate your capital expenditures on rapidly aging hardware – No more worrying about EOS/EOL notices or budgeting for them year after year. With Webex Calling, Cisco is responsible for maintaining the infrastructure with five 9’s reliability.
• Streamline your complex and expensive service and maintenance contracts with Flex-EA – For those familiar with Cisco Smart Net contracts, you are familiar with how frustrating this process can be. Let us introduce you to the Collaboration Flex EA and show you how this flexible subscription model can save you real money and provide peace of mind for years to come!
• Increase your business agility and improve implementation speed – Let’s be honest, on-premise deployment turnups are complex and take time. No more waiting for the circuit’s to be provisioned, gateways to be configured. All you need is the internet and an endpoint, and you are up and running!
• Reduce your technology cost and operational complexity – Think about your current UC system today; is it easy to manage? MAC’s in the cloud takes 6 minutes compared to 15 minutes on-premise. We can even help you automate them! The labor market is tight, do more with less, and focus on those more pro-active business initiatives. Reduce environmental costs, such as data center space, power, HVAC, etc.
• Gain true mobility with a secure, intuitive way to work – Your employees are more mobile than ever. All communications with Webex Calling are encrypted and secure. No more complicated firewall configurations and support models for remote and mobile employees.

The benefits are tangible and are essential for a lot of business today. These benefits compound when you consider the Cisco Webex platform as a whole. It currently comprises of four pillars including Webex Meetings, Calling, Contact Center, and Collaboration. I highlight these because it’s important to understand that while individually very powerful when integrated together provide a truly impactful end-user experience to your employees and customers alike.

Stack8, as a deeply specialized partner that focuses solely on Cisco Collaboration, would be glad to educate, demo, and guide you on how this comprehensive suite of services can benefit you and your organization. If you are planning your cloud strategy, actively considering cloud services or just want to know more about it, please let us know. We’d be happy to help!