Cisco Dramatically Simplifies UC&C Licensing
This week, Cisco made some announcements regarding UC&C licensing with Rel 9.0. The company is offering three levels of licensing, and all levels have access to Cisco Jabber, and Pro users get WebEx Social.
- Enhanced: Now includes any device, including Jabber and softphones. Single Device/Dual Device.
Standard: Multiple Devices, unity Connection Messaging (previously known as Unified Workspace Licensing Bundle).- Professional: Includes WebEx Social (previously Cisco Quad) and WebEx Conference Hosting.
Simpler yes, my only question is why is the base level called ‘Enhanced’ (enhanced from what)?
Two other noteworthy changes: Tying licenses to hardware devices is going the way of the Cius. Cisco’s UC offerings can now be managed and deployed as a software platform. While many will still choose to start with a hardware phone, don’t feel obligated. Cisco is perfectly happy to see users choose devices, like a PC, a tablet or even a smartphone as their main communication and collaboration tool. Also, Cisco now offers Enterprise Licensing Manager (ELM) for no charge. This application gives customers (and partners) improved visibility of licensing usage.
By Dave Michels
Dave is an independent analyst and founder of TalkingPointz which is focused on enterprise communications. In addition to this (free and paid) content on TalkingPointz, he contributes to industry sites, can be found at major industry events, and provides advisory services to vendors and financial analysts.