Cisco Seeks 10,000 New Certified Partners in Small Business Push

Cisco also at the conference launched the Smart Business Communications System, a VoIP platform for the small business space. The system includes the new Unified Communications (UC) 500 Series, which is built on the latest version of Cisco Unified Communications Manager Express, Cisco's commercial IP communications platform geared toward customers with up to 100 users.

The UC 500 provides support for up to 8 VoIP users and includes analog trunking, firewall, VPN and optional WLAN capabilities. Cisco also launched the Catalyst Express 520, a desktop companion switch for the UC 500 that supports Power-over-Ethernet and expands the system to up to 16 VoIP users.

The Smart Business Communications System supports Cisco's current line of IP phones. The UC 500 is scheduled for general availability in June and is expected to carry a street price of $600 to $750 per user, including the phone and the expansion switch.

It was designed to be easy to use and implement, and can be installed in 15 minutes, Cisco executives said.

"They are providing opportunities to make it easier for smaller organizations to take advantage of VoIP," Apogee's Gendell said.

The new system will square off against Microsoft's forthcoming Response Point line, which is scheduled to ship through OEM partners later this year. At the same time, the two vendors are working together to ensure that Cisco's IP communications lineup interoperates with Microsoft applications.

"We have to both be mature about it and say we will complement each other where possible and compete when necessary," said Peter Alexander, vice president of worldwide commercial marketing at Cisco.

It also left some solution providers wondering where Linksys, Cisco's consumer/SOHO focused division fits in, given that Linksys has been working to bolster its small business portfolio, which includes several VoIP products.

"I think Cisco's pretty confused about Linksys," said one Cisco partner who asked not to be identified. While Linksys is trying to promote its own business-class portfolio, Cisco executives and field sales reps are steering Cisco partners away from the product line, the partner said. "If you're aligned with the field, you had better not sell Linksys because they're not compensated on it," the partner said.

The partner also questioned whether the anticipated street price for the UC 500 line is low enough. "A $600-per-seat system competes with other IP solutions but not with the key systems, and the reality of the [small business market] is that they buy the cheap stuff."

NEXT: Cisco's small business onslaught