I like CUBE, or IPIP gateway as it used to be known in the past, to terminate SIP trunks. In this form it acts as a SIP session border controller, and allows any troubleshooting to be done on the router, as opposed to downloading log traces from the Call Manager using RTMT.

If you are going to use CUBE, it is most cost effective to buy it bundled with the router, and to use smaller routers if at all possible. In most cases this additional cost is on the order of <3% of the overall cost of the project, which is usually too small to affect the ROI.

To give the SIP trunks to your customer, you need to buy CUBE licences on Cisco Devices.
Is it always cheaper when you take those licenses into account ?

The interesting part is the managed services part of the business, which is growing as well. Since our technical people have significant daily experience with much of the Cisco product line, some organizations are finding that it is useful to have a contract and Service Level Agreement with our company for us to provide a defined level of support at a specific cost, rather than try to get one or two of their internal people up to speed on a multitude of technologies.

Based on the business continuing to grow, and the uncertainty ahead, we are making sure that we are conducting operations as effectively as possible. In some cases that means adding people with the right skill sets, and in others making sure that everyone is meeting their goals for productivity as well as the other business related attributes that are measured.