IP telephony, a core component of Unified Communications, is a technology leveraging voice-over-IP (VoIP) and other advancements to deliver a business phone system application over a data network. IP telephony relies upon a well designed, implemented and supported IP network.
The legacy circuit-switched business phone system, called a PBX, was a big box in a big room. This led to decentralized implementations where every location needed its own system. Over time, as businesses expanded, incompatible versions, systems or even vendors were installed at sites. This led to complexity that served different functionality to various users, prohibited interoperability, and created a support nightmare.
The emergence of IP telephony issued in the era of centralized call processing across the ubiquitous IP network, allowing for universal features across all sites and users. Voice and data convergence offers a single operational and support environment, reducing complexity and cost while enhancing features and productivity.
HickoryTech partners with the industry’s leading provider of IP telephony platforms: Cisco Systems. As a Cisco Gold Partner, and one of the leading IP Telephony integrators in the United States, HickoryTech has hundreds of customers enjoying the benefits of
Cisco Unified Communications Manager
At the heart of the Cisco IP telephony system is Cisco’s Unified Communications Manager (formerly CallManager), a software-based call processing application. Cisco Unified Communications Manager software extends enterprise telephony features and capabilities to IP phones, media processing devices, VoIP gateways, and other multimedia applications. Additional data, voice, and video services such as
unified messaging ,
multimedia conferencing collaborative
contact centers and interactive multimedia response systems interact with the IP telephony solution through Cisco Unified Communications Manager's open telephony application programming interfaces (APIs).
Cisco’s IP telephony comes in different versions, each focused on a company’s size and scalability requirements. See the list of resources below for more information about the Unified Communications Manager editions.
Cisco IP Phones
Cisco IP Phones are a full range of intelligent communication devices designed to take advantage of the power of your data network, while providing the convenience and ease-of-use you've come to expect from your business phone. In the IP environment, each phone has an Ethernet connection. IP phones provide the functionality you expect to receive from a traditional telephone, as well as more complicated features, such as the ability to access World Wide Web sites. Typical user instruments include Cisco IP Phones and Cisco IP SoftPhones.
Cisco IP telephony resources