Cisco Follows Microsoft With Unified Communications System For Small BusinessesCisco Follows Microsoft With Unified Communications System For Small Businesses

Cisco systems last week unveiled a system that gives small businesses what, in effect, would be a universal in-box to access all types of communications and lets them migrate to VoIP.

The Smart Business Communication System gives businesses with fewer than 20 employees "all the components: voice, data, security, mobility, and wireless." says Lauren Ventura, senior director of Cisco's Global SMB Group.

Last month, Microsoft rolled out its small-business unified communications product. It uses phones and other hardware from D-Link, Quanta, and Uniden, and includes a gateway that allows calls to the public phone network.