Where Cisco has failed in SMB

I also totally agree with what everyone has said so far.  The idea to bundle Call Connector is a great one, and the necessity to bring the iPhone/BB softphone app to the market quickly is also what SMB's are crying out for. 
However being from the UK I'd also like to see more support for non-US based PSTN services.  Specifically around the Call Connector.  From what I can see it is geared up as default for the US dial-plan etc, and during configuration is not sympathetic towards the UK dial-plan for example, I'm sure the same could be said for the other European countries.  CCA used to be like this, but over the various versions released has got sooooooo much better!
I'm very much looking forward to the introduction of the smaller UC500 (UC300??)which I hear being mentioned in the Cisco circles in which I mix.  Something to replace the legacy Linksys/Sipura based stuff.
One final thing, why not bring in a 500 based wireless phone??  The 7921 is a little on the expensive side for the SMB, why not add a budget version to the 500 series??
Jamie

Most of the SMB customers that we encounter have been buying gigabit switches from the Best Buys and Walmarts of the world.  Gigabit has become a commodity and is often expected even in small deployments regardless of whether it's needed or not.   Some customers have the perception that if we eliminate gigabit that everything will be much slower than what they are used to.  So I keep encountering two gaps in the SMB line up.

1. There is no 48 port Gigabit PoE switch in the ESW series.  To get that you need to go up to the 2960 and 3560 or stack two 24 port gig PoE ESW switches.
2. The cheapest gigabit phone is the 7945.  We need a 500 series phone with gigabit. 

Actually my opinion is that everything should be gigabit these days.  Think of how many SKUs that would eliminate by removing all 100Mbit counterparts!  It's encouraging to see that the new 2960 S series and 3560 X series have eliminated 100Mbit from the lineup altogether.
I agree with the Call Connector comments.  I refuse to sell it!  Also could they shove a wireless controller in the UC500?  :)
 

Hi Ted and Cole,
My name is Marie, I work at Cisco in the Small Business Marketing department.
Thank you both for your post/comment, we very much value the feedback!
Thanks again,
 
Marie

I am right there with you, Ted. however I think the entire UCC suite needs to be bundled with the UC500 and the UC licensed ISRs.
 
For anyone else that has read my posts on this site and on the Cisco Small Business Community site knows that UCC is a very touchy subject for me, particularly due to reliability reasons.
 
But if Cisco would give all that software away it would most certainly increase sales of UC500 and the ISRs. It would give an edge to resellers in competetive situations, as well as give the customer more features.
 
As a reseller/consultant and user of UCC I am still to this day unable to confidently recommend the product to anyone for an additional cost.  If the product were free I could easily recommend it with a warning that the software isnt rock solid yet. Furthermore, I think this move would give the end users more incentive to report problems and to help get the product to where it really needs to be.  A broader install base is exactly what Cisco needs for this product and it isnt going to happen if the customer is to pay a premium for it.  There have been times where I have turned customers down that were ready to write a check because their feature needs required UCC to function perfectly.
 
So there it is. Cisco, I love you guys. Not a day goes by where I dont sing your praises. Please give away the Call Connector suite. OH, and if all this noise I hear about iPhone and BlackBerry UC integration could be brought to the UC500 that would be a major system seller!
 
Cole