Cisco Certified Network Consulting

Sending real-time voice and video over Internet Protocol (VoIP and Video over IP) has advanced from simply being being a shrewd technique to save money on phone carrier bills to being a strategic tool for collaboration and productivity. Unified communications, once restricted to managing Internet-based voice calls and faxing on one network platform to take the place of traditional PBX systems, today encompasses rich media, mobility, instant messaging, presence, collaboration services, and much more within a single environment that is easy to manage, scalable, protected, resilient, economical, and user friendly.

Cisco is the leader in providing solutions for supporting the modern paradigm of unified communications (UC). Cisco's unified communications product line adds to the productivity of information networks by cutting operating expenses; integrating multiple collaboration features with familiar software applications to increase worker output; facilitating teamwork among workers, partners, and suppliers to save time and improve business results; and simplifying the support of your communications environment.

Cisco's Unified Communications technology cover several important product areas:,

• Call Control Agents for controlling calls and sessions
• IP Phones and Softphones to optimize worker engagement
• Unified Communications Applications for easy access to presence, IM, voice and video, phone messages, white boarding, and voice/video conferencing
• IP Gateways for connecting to public networks and teleworkers

Call Processing Agents - Unified Communications Manager (CallManager)
The call-processing agent is the heart of the Cisco IP collaboration system and gives you the flexibility to deploy a central call-processing design, a decentralized model, or a combination of the two. In a centralized approach, Cisco Unified Communications Manager (UC Manager or CUCM) extends corporate telephony features to packet products such as VoIP phones, media processing appliances, Voice over IP gateways, and multimedia applications throughout the IT environment. Cisco Unified Communications Manager enables extra voice, video, and data services such as unified messaging, video conferencing, and group-based customer communication networks.

The most recent version of Unified CM, previously branded Cisco CallManager, includes a variety of enhancements that speed up ROI by lowering management and support expenses, improving worker productivity, facilitating collaboration, accommodating the BYOD model of computing, strengthening security, and allowing optimal use of network resources. Headline innovations include automatic dial-plan replication, simplified certificate control, extended support for single sign-on for administrators and users, device-independent call recording, mobile access without the need for VPN, a revamped self-provisioning interface that makes it simple for users to select their options and preferences for all of their endpoint devices, and support for Transport Layer Security for mobile clients.

When you implement a central Unified Communications Manager cluster to manage call processing for users at distributed sites, administrators can help ensure non-stop phone service through Cisco Survivable Remote Site Telephony, a Cisco IOS Software image for Cisco routers. If a Wide Area Network connection breaks, Cisco Survivable Remote Site Telephony incorporated in the Cisco router offers core UC Manager capabilities until the link is restored. To learn about Progent's consulting services for Cisco routers, refer to consulting support for Cisco ISR routers.

For small business networks, branch locations, and retail deployments that do not require the full functionality offered by Unified CM, Cisco Unified Communications Manager Express, formerly known as CallManager Express provides a budget-friendly PBX alternative that handles the requirements of sites with up to 450 users. Because Unified Communications Manager Express Unified Communications Manager Express (Unified CCX) is embedded in the IOS Software operating on a Cisco ISR router, smaller organizations can rapidly implement a unified voice/data solution.

Cisco's Business Edition 6000 is a line of all-in-one platforms that offer essential collaboration capabilities including routing, gateway, premium voice/video, messaging, instant messaging and real-time presence, voice and video conferencing, and paging support, enabling any end user to connect on any endpoint from any place. All Business Edition 6000 versions come preinstalled with a virtualization hypervisor and UC applications software, making implementation fast and easy and reducing operating expenses for organizations with from 25 to 1000 employees. All solutions are delivered preconfigured with a virtualization hypervisor and UC applications software. You can instantly enable collaboration software applications when their needs dictate.

The small-scale Business Edition 6000S supports five fixed unified communications applications preloaded on a single combination ISR router/gateway/virtualized blade server device and supports a maximum capacity of 150 workers and 300 endpoint devices. The mid-market Business Edition 6000M includes four unified communications software application options enabled on a virtualized Cisco C220 M4 server platform and supports a maximum capacity of 1000 users, 1200 endpoint devices, and 100 contact center agents. The high-end BE6000S includes eight unified communications software application options activated on a single virtualized Cisco C220 M4 server platform and has the capacity for up to 1000 workers, 2500 endpoint devices, and 100 contact center agents.

For more information about Progent's support for Unified Communications Manager (CallManager), visit Unified Communications Manager (CUCM or Unified CM) and CallManager design, configuration, upgrades and troubleshooting.

IP Phones: IP Voice and IP Video Phones
A communications endpoint is an end-user instrument, and can be a hardware handset or a soft phone program that runs on a desktop or mobile computer. In the IP environment, each IP endpoint has an Ethernet connection. IP phones offer all of the functions that an ordinary telephone provides, but Voice over IP phones can also provide additional functions such as the ability to connect to websites or host business software.

Unlike ordinary PBX systems, in a Cisco IP communications network you can implement almost instantaneous moves, additions, and changes. You merely move the IP phone to its new location, attach it to an Ethernet jack, and the phone announces itself with Cisco Unified Communications Manager (formerly CallManager). All client privileges and configurations are programmatically replicated, eliminating the cost and hassle of dispatching technicians to wiring closets. An additional efficient capability is location independence, which allows you to log into any Cisco IP phone and receive your own phone number and rights.

Cisco offers a wide selection of VoIP handsets. The low-cost SPA 300 family are basic IP and DECT devices offering high-quality voice, support for hosted IP telephony environments or an IP PBX, simple installation and safe remote installation, unobtrusive software upgrades, and web-based set up. The value-priced SPA301 is a single-line IP phone with no screen or speakerphone function, a base dialer that has one Ethernet connector, and a corded handset without a keypad. The SPA302D, intended solely for operation with Cisco's SPA232D DECT ATA, is a multiline wireless Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications (DECT) handset that offers 10-lines, a 176 x 220 pixel color display, and a keypad with a speakerphone. Cisco's SPA303 is an entry-level 3-line SIP-based phone with dual Ethernet ports, a 128x64 monochrome screen and a speakerphone.

The SPA500 line IP phones are affordable devices that support SIP and SPCP signaling protocols, two switch ports, speakerphones, Power over Ethernet, and conferencing capability. Most versions have a 128 x 64 monochrome screen display, The SPA501G has eight lines and has eight programmable buttons but no LCD display. The SPA502G has a single line and has no soft buttons. The SPA504G has four lines and has four soft keys. The SPA508G has eight lines and eight programmable buttons. The SPA509G VoIP phone supports 12 lines and has 12 soft buttons. The SPA512G IP Phone supports four lines, no programmable keys and supports Gigabit Ethernet. The SPA514G supports four lines, has programmable keys, and supports 1xGb Ethernet. The top-of-the-line SPA525G2 IP Phone has a 320 x 240 pixel color screen, supports five lines, and has five soft buttons.

Cisco's Unified IP Phones 3900 Series and 6900 Series are specialty VoIP devices designed for infrequent-use environments such as lobbies, hallways, and conference centers. The Unified SIP Phone 3905 features VoIP phone features a 128 x 32 pixel mono display, an integrated 10/100 Ethernet switch, a speakerphone, and PoE. The bare-bones Cisco Unified IP Phone 6901 is a single-line endpoint with no screen and requires a hook switch for transferring a call and joining a conference.

Cisco's 7800 family of economical IP phones are VoIP devices with backlit mono displays, four soft keys, 11 dedicated buttons, an Ethernet port with Class 1 Power over Ethernet, and an integral speakerphone. Cisco's 7800 Series VoIP phones support only the SIP call control protocol. All devices in Cisco's 7800 family feature the same high-fidelity speakers and microphones as Cisco's 8800 Series IP phones to deliver a best-in-class audio experience. Cisco's EnergyWise power-save technology, available on the advanced 7800 models, reduces after-hours energy consumption by as much as 60 percent. The Cisco IP Phone 7811 is a one-line VoIP phone intended for shared areas as well as for employees with infrequent voice communications requirements. The IP 7811 comes with a 3.28-inch 384 x 106 display and a narrow-band speakerphone. Wideband audio is available through an extra-cost wideband handset. Cisco's IP Phone 7821 is a two-line endpoint with a 396 x 162 screen. The IP Phone 7841 is a four-line phone with a 396 x 162 display and is the only device in the 7800 series to support Gigabit Ethernet. The top-of-the-line IP Phone 7861 is a 16-line device intended for administrative staff, call center personnel, and managers who have significant call requirements.

Cisco Unified IP Phone 7900 Series are dual-protocol (SIP/SCCP) media endpoints with a 320 x 240 pixel color display, an integral Gigabit Ethernet switch, Class 3 Power over Ethernet (PoE), 10 dedicated keys and a speakerphone. The Cisco Unified IP Phone 7945G is a dual-line unit and the Cisco Unified IP Phone 7965G supports four lines. Both VoIP phones include a 5-inch display and four programmable keys. The Cisco Unified IP Phone 7975G unit is an eight-line media phone with a 5.6-inch touch screen and five soft keys.

Cisco's IP Phone 8800 Series is a line of SIP-only IP phones that features desktop devices, a conference IP phone, and mobile wireless IP Phones. The desktop models are five-line IP phones featuring a 5-inch 800 x 480 screen, a Gigabit Ethernet switch, a speakerphone, four soft keys and 12 dedicated buttons. The Cisco IP Phone 8811 includes a backlit monochrome screen and supports Class 2 PoE. Cisco's IP Phone 8841 has a WVGA color display and supports Class 2 Power over Ethernet. Cisco's IP Phone 8845 has a WVGA color display, 720p HD video, a tiltable camera, Bluetooth, Cisco Intelligent Proximity for Mobile Voice, and supports Class 2 PoE. The Cisco IP Phone 8851 has a WVGA color screen and a USB port with charging capability, supports Intelligent Proximity for Mobile Voice and Class 3 PoE, and is offered in Bluetooth and non-Bluetooth models. The Cisco IP Phone 8861 has a WVGA color display, Bluetooth, two USB connections with charging capability, and supports Cisco Intelligent Proximity for Mobile Voice, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, and Class 4 PoE. The Cisco IP Phone 8865 has a WVGA color screen, 720p HD video, a tiltable camera, Bluetooth, dual USB connections with charging capability, and supports Cisco Intelligent Proximity for Mobile Voice, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, and Class 4 PoE.

Cisco's wireless VoIP phones are industrial-grade Wi-Fi handsets designed for workers who are on the move within campus, hospitality, retail or other environments where management requires user endpoints that offer more administrative control, data security and ruggedness than is possible with the BYOD style of workplace communications. Cisco's 8821 and 8812-EX wireless VoIP phones provide mobile onsite workers the advantages of voice over wireless LAN (VoWLAN) technology in workplaces with 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi infrastructure. The 8821 Wireless IP Phone includes a 2.4 inch color screen, a rugged shell rated Mil-SPEC 810G to withstand dropping and IP67 for particulate and splash resistance, long-life batteries, a full-duplex speakerphone, and an integrated Bluetooth radio for hands-free operation with wireless headsets. The 8821-EX Wireless VoIP Phone adds anti-sparking protection for potentially combustible environments. Cisco's 8821-EX also features a case fabricated out of industry-standard yellow plastics, which makes the device easier to locate in a crisis. Find out about Progent's Wireless IP Phone integration consultants.

Cisco's legacy 9900 Series of powerful IP endpoints mix high-quality voice with hi-res color video to offer a productive multimedia unified communications solution for managers and executives. The two IP phones in this line feature an SD 24-bit color display, a Bluetooth 2.0 radio to work with a broad choice of headsets, and an integrated Gigabit Ethernet port. The Cisco Power Save feature is offered as an option and can reduce off-work energy consumption by up to 90 percent. The Cisco IP Phone 9951 features a 5-inch display and supports up to 2 Cisco IP Expansion Modules for expanding programmable line and function keys. The Cisco IP Phone 9971 features a 5.6-inch display, a built-in 802.11a/b/g Wi-Fi transceiver for connecting to voice-over-wireless LAN networks, and four programmable touchscreen keys to invoke Cisco UC functions. The 9971 VoIP phone allows up to 3 Cisco IP Color Key Expansion Modules for adding customizable line and function keys.

Cisco Unified Communications Applications
Under Cisco's Unified Communications platform, IP phone, video, and other converged applications are isolated from the call/voice processing infrastructure, and they may reside at any location within the network. A single connectivity framework provides a versatile environment for feature-rich applications and serves as a solid basis for future convergence-based software. Cisco cooperates with third-party IT industry partners to offer a wide range of IP telephony and IP video applications and devices. Cisco also enables the ability to develop and manage specialized in-house programs.

Collaborative application software available from Cisco and supported by Progent include:

Jabber
Cisco Jabber is a converge media application that supports presence, instant messaging, voice, HD video, voicemail, screen sharing, and real-time conferencing functions for Windows PCs, Apple Macs, Apple and Android tablets and smartphones. Cisco Jabber is a rebranding and combination of the Unified Personal Communicator soft phone, Cisco Mobile, and Cisco WebEx Connect, with important enhancements in the areas of video features and desktop screen sharing, and expanding the collaboration experience to additional operating systems and endpoint hardware. Jabber works with Cisco Unified CM for call management, Cisco Unified Presence for IM and presence, Cisco Unity Connection for voicemail and automated attendant, and WebEX Meeting for conferencing.

Since Cisco Jabber utilizes key communication protocols, it can interoperate with a wide selection of third-party platforms. For instance, Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol enables Cisco Jabber users to exchange IM and presence information with various XMPP clients such as Adium for Mac, IBM Sametime, and Microsoft Lync. Jabber collaboration features can be accessed from Microsoft Office programs such as Microsoft Outlook and SharePoint. This broad platform compatibility optimizes productivity by delivering a consistent end-user experience and accommodating the BYOD paradigm of computing. Progent can provide the expertise of certified Exchange consultants and Microsoft SharePoint application developers who can assist you to use Jabber with Microsoft's powerful collaboration platforms. Progent also can provide expertise with Apple iPhone and iPad integration and Google Android phone and tablet integration to help you to enhance the productivity of your BYOD environment.

Cisco WebEx Meeting Center
Cisco WebEx Meeting Center provides web and video meetings for participants using a browser or virtually any desktop or mobile computer. WebEx Meeting Center is delivered as software as a service through the Cisco WebEx Cloud. This makes it easy to deploy and expand, reduces the cost of management, eliminates heavy up-front investment, offers maximum uptime and enterprise-class data protection, and delivers consistently high throughput. Important features include the ability to share specific content or an whole screen with online participants in real time, the capability to embed rich media into your presentations including PowerPoint and Flash animations, session recording plus playback for training, single sign-on and support for Cisco collaboration applications such as Cisco Jabber and TelePresence, plus strong data privacy and encrypted access with tight policy control.

WebEX Meeting Center works with Microsoft Windows, Mac, and Linux desktops and notebooks and allows mobile users to launch, schedule, and attend conferences on Android devices, iPhones and iPads, BlackBerry phones, and Microsoft Windows Phone. Users can also initiate online meetings with a few clicks from Microsoft Office, Outlook, Lotus Notes, and a variety of instant messaging applications.

Cisco TelePresence Portfolio for On-premises Teleconferencing Ecosystems
For midsize businesses and enterprises who want to build a local or hybrid in-house/cloud solution for video conferencing, Cisco provides a portfolio of Cisco TelePresence platforms that enable high-quality and standards-based video conferencing for users with almost any IP endpoint at any location. Cisco TelePresence Server is a scalable teleconferencing bridge that works in conjunction with Cisco Unified Communications Manager to bring multiparty telepresence to converged environments and can extend meetings to incorporate cloud-connected WebEx Meeting Center users. Cisco TelePresence Conductor software simplifies management of the way teleconferencing resources should be rationed for each participant, allowing managers to define the exact service level and experience required for every user. Cisco TelePresence Content Server collects video and presentations for live distribution and video on demand viewing.

Cisco Unity Connection and Unity Express for Unified Voicemail
Cisco's Unity Connection, an integrated extension of Cisco Unified CM, is a converged voicemail platform that promotes teamwork by providing flexible set of alternatives for accessing voice messages within a framework that is easy to deploy and administer. Cisco Unity Connection lets you access and manage your voice messages from your email inbox, web browser, Cisco Jabber messaging integration platform, a Cisco Unified VoIP Phone, an iPhone or other smartphone, or an iPad or tablet. Cisco Unity Connection also provides advanced speech-recognition features for hands-free management and powerful Automated Attendant features such as intelligent routing for incoming phone calls and easily customizable call-filtering and message-notification settings. The Cisco Unity Connection system runs as a virtual machine that can be hosted on a BE6000 server or a Cisco Services Ready Engine 910 router blade and can support up to 20,000 mailboxes per server.

Unity Express (CUE), offered in select Cisco ISR routers, provides affordable voicemail, unified messaging, IVR, and greeting functions for small to medium businesses and corporate branch offices with up to 500 users. Cisco Unity Express permits users to access and manage voicemail messages using a Cisco IP Phone display, your web browser, or an email system. Integrated Services Routers for which Cisco Unity Express is available as a network module or advanced integration module include Cisco's 2800, 2900, and 3900 families. Progent can provide comprehensive consulting and support services for all Integrated Services Routers.

Cisco Unified Contact Center
Cisco Unified Contact Center Enterprise (Unified CCE) integrates closely with Unified CM and desktop agent applications such as Cisco Finesse to provide automatic call distribution (ACD) features that allow an organization to connect customers with the appropriate sales or service agent. Unified CCE or UCCE provides smart call routing, computer telephony integration (CTI), multichannel customer contact management, network call queuing, interactive voice response and advanced company-wide reporting to simplify the deployment and management of a modern contact center. Cisco platforms supporting UCCE's customer interaction management ecosystem include Cisco Unified IP Phones, Cisco Voice Gateways, and Cisco LAN/WAN technology.

Cisco Unified Contact Center Express (CCX) offers an out-of-the-box bundle for building a customer contact center for branch or midmarket systems that support up to 400 agents. Several packages are offered, plus a variety of optional advanced features. Cisco Unified CCX integrates with Cisco Unified Communications Manager and provides smart call distribution, contact interaction management, reporting, IVR, and management of voice, email, chat, and social media requests. Unified Contact Center Express includes Finesse, a browser-based customizable desktop agent that needs no client software setup. Advanced options include conditional routing, estimated-wait-time announcements, and workforce quality management.

Cisco Mobile Connect and Single Number Reach (SNR)
Mobile Connect, commonly referred to as Single Number Reach (SNR), allows users to be reached from a single number that rings at the same time on their Cisco desktop VoIP Phone and their mobile phone. Users can switch live conversations between their Cisco VoIP phone and their mobile phone without disruption. Unanswered calls can be transferred to a Unity or Cisco Unity Connection account. Users can create their own access lists that specify which calls are extended to alternate phones.

Cisco Prime Collaboration Provisioning
Prime Collaboration Provisioning offers an automated process for first-time installs as well as for follow-on moves, additions, changes, and deletions. A user-friendly console provides a unified view of a user and the subscriber's services. Prime Collaboration significantly accelerates company-wide rollouts and reduces the time needed to implement future updates. Prime Collaboration also offers advanced analytics that show technology adoption and usage trends, allowing administrators to make more efficient use of IT resources and further lower total cost of ownership.

Cisco Communications Gateways
Cisco's communications gateways allow Cisco converged communications deployments to connect with public systems and with clients operating outside the corporate firewall. Cisco's line of communication gateways provide unified communications services for a broad range of gateway and session-border-control applications.

Communications gateways available from Cisco and supported by Progent include:

Expressway Communication Gateway
Cisco's Expressway is a powerful collaboration gatekeeper that enables organizations to allow employees, suppliers, customers, or business partners who are using various outside network environments, collaboration platforms, or endpoint equipment to access to Cisco Unified Communication functions. Cisco's Expressway gateway integrates with a Cisco Communications Manager system or Cisco Business Edition 6000 (BE6000), or can be accessed via the cloud with Cisco Hosted Collaboration Solution to help make collaboration more pervasive. Key features of Expressway are are:

• Mobile and Off-site Access: Off-site users who have any Jabber-compatible client or teleworkers with Cisco TelePresence endpoints have the convenience of single-sign-on and of Transport Layer Security (TLS) and are able to access all their collaboration applications (video, business-quality voice, rich content IM, and presence) without the extra step of establishing a VPN connection. In addition, telecommuters have the ability to utilize their Cisco TelePresence endpoints without the need for a VPN, delivering a user environment at home identical to the office.
• Jabber Guest Support: Cisco Expressway is integral for supporting Cisco's Jabber Guest, which permits “guests” to communicate with your business easily and securely via streamlined browser and mobile multimedia calls.
• Cisco Cloud Access: Cisco Expressway can function as a gateway that creates a path between onsite Cisco or non-Cisco collaboration solutions and Cisco's WebEx cloud. By supporting Cisco Collaboration Meeting Rooms, Cisco Expressway offers an advanced, extensible meeting experience that transparently integrates business-quality voice, video, and data sharing to anyone, anywhere, on any endpoint.
• Interoperability: If your organization already has third-party video products, Cisco Expressway can help you to move easily to Cisco technology whenever you choose. Cisco Expressway offers video interoperability with industry standard H.323, H.264 SVC, or Session Initiation Protocol systems. Internetworking capabilities supported by Expressway include IPv4 to IPv6, H.323 to Session Initiation Protocol, and Microsoft Lync H.264 Scalable Video Coding (SVC) to AVC/H.264.

• Cisco WebEx Cloud Connected Audio for SIP-media-connected audio conferencing
• Voice/Video recording
• SIP-based Call-center and IVR applications
• Policy-based evaluation of voice calls
• Business-to-business immersive telepresence over SIP

Cisco's End-of-Life UC520, UC540 and UC560 VoIP Gateways
The legacy Cisco Unified Communications 500 (UC500) Series is a VoIP communications solution for small organizations. UC500 packages deliver voice, data, voicemail, automated attendant, video, security, and WiFi functionality, work with older Cisco IP Voice endpoints, and support various public switched telephone network connections.

All of Cisco's UC500 packages include a desktop switch with 8 Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) ports and additional FXS and foreign exchange office (FXO) interfaces, a firewall, and VPN support. Integrated WiFi is an option. User capacity can be expanded by attaching Cisco Catalyst Express switches. Each UC500 offering also comes with software licenses for Cisco Unified Communications Manager for VoIP call processing as well as Cisco Unity Express software for voice messaging and automated attendant. The Cisco UC520 package supports 8 to 16 users and include 4 foreign exchange stations and 4 FXO interfaces. The Cisco UC540 package allows 32 clients and has 8 FXO interfaces. The Cisco UC560 system allows 48 VoIP clients and 12 foreign exchange office interfaces.

Progent's seasoned VoIP consultants can assist you to support your legacy UC500 VoIP system or design and implement a smooth upgrade to a modern VoIP system such as Cisco's cloud-managed Business Edition 4000.

How Progent Can Assist You with Cisco VoIP and IP Media Phones, Cisco Unified CM, and Video Conferencing
Progent offers online or on-premises help from a Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) Collaboration expert to help you to design, install, manage and troubleshoot converged communications networks supported by Cisco Unified Communication products in an in-house, distributed, or hybrid environment. Progent's Cisco-certified engineers have extensive backgrounds with Unified Communications Manager and CallManager, Voice over IP and video phones and soft phones, Unified Communications applications such as Jabber and WebEx Meeting Center, Cisco's immersive telepresence technologies, communication gateways, tools built into Cisco Catalyst switches and routers. Progent can also provide support for related technologies such as Cisco SRST, Cisco Unified Border Element, H.323 gateways, Call Admission Control, VoIP trunks, various signaling protocols, and AVVID. Progent's SIP infrastructure consultants can in addition help you to build SIP connectivity environments that include SIP IP voice phones and video phones, SIP-based CUBE trunks, SIP conferencing and SIP management tools with Cisco Unified CM.

Progent's custom application programmers can create specialized unified communications applications that will enable your organization to integrate the capabilities of Cisco Unified Communications Manager into your company operations for enhanced productivity. Progent can analyze your current network and Internet connectivity infrastructure to determine whether your environment is configured to accommodate high-quality VoIP and high-definition video, help you to select and integrate Cisco hardware and software that make sense for your present situation and downstream expansion goals, and integrate your Cisco Unified Communications products with technology from other vendors. Progent's CISSP-ISSAP certified data security consultants can assist you to develop, implement, and test a comprehensive security plan for your unified communications ecosystem. In addition, Progent can assist your organization to deploy Cisco high-availability technologies like Cisco Unified SRST to provide affordable call control redundancy in remote-branch and teleworker sites, and Progent's disaster recovery and business continuity planning consultants can help you create a viable DR/BC plan to ensure the availability of your vital unified communications system.

Unified Communications Manager/CallManager Upgrade Consulting
Releases of Cisco Unified CM earlier than 8.6 and all versions of its predecessor CallManager have arrived at end-of-life. This means Cisco will no longer enhance, fix, or validate this older software. Security updates for this business-critical application will end, which in certain circumstances could create regulatory compliance or legal liability problems.

Progent will continue to provide world-class consulting and troubleshooting support for outdated versions of Cisco Unified Communications Manager and Cisco CallManager, but if your company is now running an out-of-dated edition of this critical software you should start immediately to prepare for your migration. Progent's collaboration consulting professionals can help you to upgrade efficiently to the latest edition of Cisco Unified CM and can often save clients up to 50% off consulting service fees compared to most IT service firms because of Progent's documented procedures and hands-on experience in this area. By adhering to leading practices, Progent can ensure that your business realizes a fast return on your IT investment by showing you how to benefit fully from the enhanced features, reduced management and support expense, more productive collaboration, and stronger data protection offered by the latest version of Cisco Unified Communications Manager.

Progent's migration consulting services include ROI assessment, project management or co-management, pilot testing and validation, Cloud integration, configuring endpoint devices from Cisco and third-party providers, smartphone and tablet integration, data protection consulting, management automation, disaster recovery/business continuity planning, network topology design, training for IT staff and end users, and ongoing consulting services and troubleshooting. Progent also offers fixed-priced migration service bundles to make sure your costs are predictable and under control.

To learn additional details about Progent's consulting support for Cisco products, choose a subject:

• Overview of Cisco Consulting Services
• Fast Remote Support from a CCIE Engineer
• Cisco Firepower Series Firewalls: Integration and Management Support
• ASA 5500-X Firewalls with Cisco Firepower Services: Setup and Management Support
• Cisco ASA 5500 Firewall Troubleshooting Expertise
• Cisco PIX 500 Firewall Consulting Help
• Cisco Routers Consulting Expertise
• Cisco Wireless Network Design Services
• Aironet Wireless APs Deployment Support
• Cisco Small Business WiFi Access Points Engineering Help
• Catalyst 802.11ax APs Solution Design, Deployment and Debugging Expertise
• Cisco Wireless Controllers Experts
• Cisco Meraki Wireless APs Design Services
• Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM or Unified CM) and Cisco CallManager Integration and Technical Support
• Cisco Jabber and Management Expertise
• Catalyst Switches Consulting and Support Services
• Nexus Switches Support and Troubleshooting Services
• Meraki MS Switches Consulting and Support Expertise
• Cisco VPN and Security Integration Expertise
• SIP and CUBE Integration Solutions: SIP PSTN Trunks and CUBE Integration Expertise
• Infrastructure Design for Cisco-based Data Centers
• Data Center Design Services for Service Providers
• Streamlined Management Solutions for Cisco-based Environments