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Sending live voice and video over Internet Protocol (VoIP and Video over IP) has progressed from simply being being a smart means to cut phone carrier bills to being a strategic tool for productive collaboration. Unified communications, once limited to integrating Internet-based voice and faxes on the same system to replace traditional PBX systems, today includes rich media, mobility, messaging, real-time presence, services, and more within a cohesive ecosystem that is manageable, extensible, highly secure, fault-tolerant, economical, and user friendly.

Cisco is the global leader in supplying solutions for supporting the modern model of unified communications (UC). Cisco's UC architecture adds to the efficiency of information systems by slashing operational costs; combining rich media functions with popular software applications to improve worker output; supporting collaboration among workers, partners, and suppliers to save time and enhance business results; and simplifying the management of your communications ecosystem.

Cisco's UC technology address several primary product categories:,

• Call Control Platforms for controlling calls and sessions
• IP Phones and Softphones to enhance end-user productivity
• UC Software Applications for simplified access to presence, chat, voice and video, voice messages, white boarding, and conferencing
• IP Gateways for connecting to outside networks and telecommuters

Call Control Agents - Unified Communications Manager (CallManager)
Cisco's call-processing agent is the heart of the Cisco IP telephony portfolio infrastructure and provides the flexibility to deploy a central call-processing design, a decentralized model, or a combination of both. In a centralized approach, Cisco Unified Communications Manager (UC Manager or CUCM) expands enterprise telephony features to packet devices such as IP handsets, media processing devices, VoIP gateways, and mixed media applications across the IT environment. Unified Communications Manager enables additional mixed media services such as unified messaging, multimedia conferencing, and group-based customer interaction networks.

The most recent version of Unified Communications Manager, formerly named CallManager, offers a wealth of improvements that speed up your return on investment by cutting administrative and maintenance costs, improving user output, enhancing teamwork, supporting the bring-your-own-device (BYOD) style of computing, strengthening security, and allowing efficient use of network infrastructure. Headline new features include automatic dial-plan replication and batch provisioning, simplified certificate control, extended support for standards-based single sign-on for managers and end users, hardware-independent call recording, on-the-road access with no need for VPN, a revamped self-care utility that makes it simple for end users to set their options and preferences for all endpoints, and support for Transport Layer Security and Secure Real-Time Transport Protocol for mobile users.

In cases where you deploy a central Unified Communications Manager cluster to control call processing for users at remote locations, IT managers can help achieve continuous phone service through Cisco Survivable Remote Site Telephony (SRST), an IOS Software image for Cisco routers. If a WAN connection breaks, Cisco Survivable Remote Site Telephony in the router provides basic Unified Communications Manager services until the link is returned. For a description of Progent's consulting support services for Cisco routers, refer to consulting and troubleshooting support for Cisco routers.

For small businesses, branch offices, and retail environments that do not require the complete feature set available from Unified CM, Cisco Unified Communications Manager Express, formerly named CallManager Express offers a budget-friendly PBX alternative that meets the needs of locations with as many as 450 workers. Because Cisco Unified Communications Manager Express Unified Communications Manager Express (Unified CCX) is built into the Cisco IOS Software running on a Cisco Integrated Services Router (ISR), smaller organizations can rapidly deploy a unified voice/data solution.

The Cisco BE6000 is a family of turn-key solutions that provide fundamental collaboration capabilities such as routing, IP gateway, high definition voice and video, messaging, instant messaging and real-time presence, conferencing, and paging support, enabling any user to collaborate on any device from anywhere. All solutions come preconfigured with virtualization and collaboration applications software, making implementation fast and simple and reducing operating expenses for organizations with as many as 1000 employees. All systems come packaged preloaded with a virtualization hypervisor and Unified Communications applications software. Organizations can simply enable collaboration applications as their requirements grow.

The entry-level BE6000S includes five standard UC applications installed on one integrated ISR router/gateway/virtualized E1600 M2 blade server device and can handle as many as 150 users and 300 devices. The medium-scale BE6000M supports 4 UC application options enabled on a single virtualized Cisco UCS C220 M4 server and can handle a maximum capacity of 1000 workers, 1200 devices, and 100 contact center agents. The high-end Business Edition 6000H includes 8 collaboration application options enabled on a virtualized Cisco UCS C220 M4 server platform and supports up to 1000 users, 2500 endpoint devices, and 100 contact center agents.

For more details about Progent's support for Unified Communications Manager (CallManager), visit Unified Communications Manager (Unified CM) and Cisco CallManager planning, integration, migration and troubleshooting.

Cisco IP Phones: VoIP and IP Video Endpoints
A communications endpoint is a user device, and can be a hardware phone or a soft phone program on a PC or mobile computer. In the Internet Protocol environment, each IP phone has an Ethernet connection. Voice over IP phones have all of the features that an analog phone handset has, but IP phones can also provide extra functions such as the ability to connect to the web or run business software.

In contrast to traditional PBX technology, in a Cisco IP communications network you can implement virtually instant moves, additions, and changes. You simply move the IP handset to its new location, attach it to the Ethernet jack, and the device registers itself with Cisco Unified Communications Manager (formerly CallManager). All client rights and settings are programmatically replicated, eliminating the cost and hassle of dispatching support personnel to wiring closets. Another useful feature is extension mobility, which enables you to sign into any Cisco VoIP device and get your own phone ID and privileges.

Cisco offers a broad range of Unified CM phones. Cisco's entry-level SPA 300 family are no-frills IP and DECT devices that feature high-quality voice, support for hosted IP telephony systems or an IP private branch exchange (PBX), simple installation and secure online installation, unobtrusive software updates, and browser-based configuration. The value-priced SPA301 is a one-line IP phone with no screen or speakerphone, a base dialer with a single Ethernet connector, and a corded handset without a keypad. The SPA302D, intended solely for operation with the Cisco SPA232D Multi-Line DECT Analog Telephone Adapter, is a multiple-line cordless DECT IP phone that offers 10-lines, a 176 x 220 pixel color screen, and a dial pad with speakerphone capability. Cisco's SPA303 is an economical three-line SIP-based IP phone with two Ethernet ports, a 128x64 monochrome graphical display and a speakerphone.

Cisco's SPA500 family VoIP phones are low-cost endpoints with support for both SIP and SPCP signaling protocols, two integral switch ports, speakerphones, PoE, and voice conferencing support. Most models have a 128 x 64 pixel mono screen display, The SPA501G IP Phone supports eight lines and has eight soft buttons but no LCD display. The SPA502G has a single line and has no programmable buttons. The SPA504G IP Phone supports four lines and has four programmable buttons. The SPA508G has eight lines and eight programmable buttons. The SPA509G supports 12 lines and features 12 soft keys. The SPA512G has four lines, no programmable keys and supports Gigabit Ethernet. The SPA514G VoIP phone supports four lines, has programmable buttons, and supports 1xGb Ethernet. The top-of-the-line SPA525G2 VoIP phone has a 320 x 240 color screen, supports five lines, and features five programmable buttons.

Cisco's IP Phones 3900 Series and IP Phones 6900 Series are specialty IP voice devices intended for occasional-use environments like cafeterias, elevators, and conference facilities. Cisco's Unified SIP Phone 3905 IP Phone features a 128 x 32 mono non-backlit screen, an integrated Ethernet switch, a speakerphone, and Power over Ethernet. The bare-bones Cisco Unified IP Phone 6901 is a one-line endpoint without a screen and uses a hook switch for call transfer and conferencing.

Cisco's 7800 Series of value-priced IP phones are VoIP desktop devices featuring backlit monochrome displays, four soft keys, 11 dedicated buttons, an Ethernet switch with Class 1 Power over Ethernet, and a speakerphone. The 7800 Series IP Phones support only the SIP call control protocol. All devices in Cisco's 7800 Series incorporate the same high-fidelity speakers and microphones as Cisco's 8800 Series IP phones to deliver a state-of-the-art audio experience. Cisco's EnergyWise power-save feature, available on the higher end 7800 units, cuts after-hours energy usage by up to 60 percent. The Cisco IP Phone 7811 is a single-line VoIP phone designed for common locations as well as for employees with infrequent call needs. The IP 7811 comes with a 3.28-inch 384 x 106 display and a narrow-band speakerphone. Wideband audio is available via an optional wideband handset. Cisco's IP Phone 7821 is a two-line VoIP phone with a 396 x 162 display. The IP Phone 7841 is a four-line VoIP phone with a 396 x 162 screen and is the only model in the 7800 series that provides Gigabit Ethernet. The top-of-the-line IP Phone 7861 VoIP phone is a 16-line device intended for administrative staff, contact center agents, and supervisors who have heavy voice communications requirements.

The Cisco Unified IP Phone 7900 Series are dual-protocol (SIP/SCCP) IP voice and video devices with a 320 x 240 color screen, a 1xGb Ethernet switch, Class 3 Power over Ethernet, 10 dedicated buttons and a speakerphone. The Cisco Unified IP Phone 7945G is a two-line device and the Cisco Unified IP Phone 7965G supports four lines. Both IP phones have a 5-inch screen and four soft keys. The Cisco Unified IP Phone 7975G unit is an eight-line media phone featuring a 5.6-inch touch screen and five programmable buttons.

Cisco's IP Phone 8800 Series is a line of SIP-based IP phones that features desktop units, a conference phone, and mobile wireless IP Phones. The desktop models are five-line IP phones featuring a 5-inch 800 x 480 display, a Gigabit Ethernet switch, a speakerphone, four soft buttons and 12 dedicated buttons. The Cisco IP Phone 8811 includes a backlit mono screen and supports Class 2 Power over Ethernet. The Cisco IP Phone 8841 features a WVGA color screen 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 Power over Ethernet. 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 versions. Cisco's IP Phone 8861 includes a WVGA color screen, Bluetooth, two USB connections with charging capability, and supports Cisco Intelligent Proximity for Mobile Voice, Wi-Fi, and Class 4 PoE. The Cisco IP Phone 8865 includes a WVGA color screen, 720p HD video, a tiltable camera, Bluetooth, two USB ports 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 hardened Wi-Fi handsets intended for professionals who are on the move within campus, warehouse, health-care or other environments where management wants portable phones that provide more control, security and durability than is possible with the BYOD (Bring-Your-Own-Device) style of workplace communications. Cisco's 8821 and 8812-EX wireless VoIP phones provide mobile on-premises workers the advantages of voice over wireless LAN (VoWLAN) communications in workplaces that support 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi infrastructure. The 8821 Wireless IP Phone includes a 2.4 inch color screen, a durable shell designed to withstand dropping and compliant with IP67 for particulate and splash resistance, long-life batteries, a built-in full-duplex speakerphone, and a Bluetooth 4.0 radio to support wireless headsets. The 8821-EX Wireless IP Phone adds anti-sparking protection for use in potentially combustible work sites. Cisco's 8821-EX also features a case made of yellow plastics, which makes the 8821-EX easy to find the event of an emergency. Find out about Progent's Cisco Wireless VoIP Phone integration and troubleshooting consultants.

Cisco's discontinued 9900 Series of high-performance VoIP endpoints integrate high-quality voice with hi-res color displays to deliver a productive multimedia unified communications solution for knowledge professionals and executives. Both models in this line include a Standard Definition 640x480 pixel color display, a Bluetooth 2.0 transceiver to support a broad selection of headsets, and an integrated 10/100/1000 Ethernet port. The Cisco EnergyWise function is offered as an option and can reduce off-hour power consumption by as much as 90 percent. The Cisco IP Phone 9951 features a 5-inch display and supports up to 2 IP Expansion Modules for expanding customizable line and function keys. The IP Phone 9971 features a 5.6-inch display, an integrated Wi-Fi radio for connecting to voice-over-wireless LAN environments, and four programmable touchscreen keys to invoke Cisco Unified Communications functions. The 9971 IP phone supports up to 3 Cisco IP Color Key Expansion Modules for adding programmable line and feature keys.

Unified Communications Application Software
Within Cisco's Unified Communications architecture, IP voice, video, and other converged applications are physically independent from the call- and voice-processing mechanism, and they may reside at any location within the network. A cohesive connectivity infrastructure offers a versatile environment for powerful applications and serves as a firm foundation for future convergence-based software. Cisco works with third-party IT industry companies to offer a broad range of IP phone and IP video software applications and devices. Cisco also supports the ability to develop and manage specialized in-house applications.

Unified Communications application software offered by Cisco and supported by Progent's consultants include:

Cisco Jabber
Cisco Jabber is a unified communications application that provides presence, instant messaging, business-quality voice, HD video, voicemail, desktop sharing, and online conferencing features for PCs, Macs, iPads and Android tablets plus iPhones, Android phones, and Blackberries. Jabber is a rebranding and combination of the Unified Personal Communicator soft phone, Cisco Mobile, and WebEx Connect, with important enhancements in the areas of video capabilities and screen sharing, and expanding the collaboration experience to more operating systems and endpoint hardware. Jabber works in conjunction with Cisco Unified Communications Manager for call control, Cisco Unified Presence for IM and presence, Unity Connection for voice messaging and programmable attendant, and Cisco WebEx Meeting for conferencing and online meetings.

Because Cisco Jabber utilizes key communication standards, it can interoperate with a wide selection of third-party products. For example, Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP) enables Cisco Jabber users to exchange IM and presence information with various XMPP clients including as Adium, IBM Sametime, and Microsoft Lync and Office Communications Server. Jabber features are available from Microsoft Office programs including Outlook and SharePoint. This extensive platform compatibility optimizes output by delivering a consistent user experience and accommodating the bring-your-own-device paradigm of networking. Progent offers the assistance of certified Exchange and Outlook consultants and SharePoint experts who can assist you to integrate Jabber with Microsoft's popular collaboration platforms. Progent also can provide help with Apple iPhone integration and management and Android smartphone and tablet integration to help your organization to increase the productivity of your BYOD ecosystem.

Cisco WebEx Meeting Center
WebEX Meeting Center enables online conferencing for participants using a web browser or almost any desktop or handheld computer. WebEx Meeting Center is offered as SaaS via the Cisco WebEx Cloud. This makes it easy to deploy and scale, streamlines management, eliminates major up-front investment, features high availability and enterprise-grade security, and delivers fast throughput. Important features include support for sharing specific content or your whole screen display with remote attendees in real time, the capability to add multimedia into presentations including Microsoft PowerPoint and Flash animations, session and content recording plus editing and playback for training and demonstrations, single sign-on and integration with Cisco collaboration applications like Cisco Jabber and Cisco TelePresence, plus stringent data protection and encrypted access with strict policy management.

WebEX Meeting Center runs on Windows, Apple Mac, and Linux desktops and notebooks and allows mobile users to start, calendarize, and attend conferences on Google Android smartphones and tablets, iPhones and iPads, BlackBerry phones, and Microsoft Windows Phone. Users can also launch online meetings with a few clicks from Microsoft Office, Microsoft Outlook, Notes, and a variety of IM applications.

Cisco TelePresence Products for In-house Video Conferencing Infrastructure
For midsize organizations and enterprises who wish to build a local or hybrid in-house/cloud environment for teleconferencing, Cisco provides a selection of Cisco TelePresence platforms that deliver high-definition video conferencing for users with almost any endpoint device at any location. Cisco TelePresence Server is an expandable teleconferencing bridge that works with Cisco Unified Communications Manager to provide multiparty telepresence to converged environments and can expand conferences to include cloud-connected WebEx Meeting Center users. Cisco TelePresence Conductor software simplifies management of the way video conferencing bandwidth and features are allocated for every individual attendee, enabling managers to specify the precise service level and experience needed for each user. Cisco TelePresence Content Server collects video conference presentations for live distribution and video on demand (VOD) viewing.

Cisco Unity Connection Platform and Unity Express for Converged Voicemail
The Cisco Unity Connection, an extension of Unified Communications Manager, is a converged voice messaging solution that promotes teamwork by providing flexible set of alternatives for retrieving voice messages within an environment that is simple to deploy and manage. Cisco Unity Connection lets you access and manage voice messages from your email inbox, web browser, Cisco Jabber messaging integration platform, a Cisco Unified IP Phone, a smartphone, or an iPad or tablet. Cisco Unity Connection also provides advanced speech-recognition features for hands-free management and powerful Automated Attendant functions such as smart routing for incoming calls and custom call-screening and message-notification settings. The Cisco Unity Connection platform operates as a virtual machine that can reside on a Business Edition 6000 server or a Cisco SRE 910 router blade and can accommodate up to 20,000 mailboxes per server.

Cisco Unity Express (CUE), offered in certain Cisco ISR routers, offers cost-effective voicemail, integrated messaging, IVR, and greeting functions for small to mid-size businesses and corporate branch locations with up to 500 voice mailboxes. Unity Express permits users to manage voicemail messages using a Cisco Unified IP Phone screen, a browser, or your email client. Integrated Services Routers for which Cisco Unity Express is offered as a network module or advanced integration module include Cisco's 1861, 2900, and 3900 Series. Progent offers comprehensive deployment and troubleshooting services for Integrated Services Routers.

Cisco Unified Contact Center
Unified Contact Center Enterprise (Unified CCE or UCCE) works with CUCM and desktop agent apps such as Finesse to provide automatic call distribution capabilities that allow an organization to match customers with the proper sales or service agent. Unified CCE or UCCE features intelligent call distribution, computer telephony integration, multichannel contact management, network call queuing, interactive voice response (IVR) and consolidated company-wide reporting to simplify the deployment and management of a large-scale contact center. Cisco products supporting Unified CCE's client interaction management solution include Cisco Unified IP Phones, Cisco Voice Gateways, and Cisco LAN/WAN technology.

Unified Contact Center Express (Unified CCX) offers a packaged bundle for building a customer contact center for branch or midmarket deployments that handle up to 400 agents. Multiple packages are available, plus a variety of optional enhancements. Cisco Unified CCX works with Unified CM and offers smart call distribution, contact interaction management, reporting, interactive voice response, and the ability to manage voice, email, chat, and social media inquiries. Unified CCX includes Cisco Finesse, a web-based desktop agent that requires no client software setup. Advanced options include conditional routing, projected-wait-time announcements, and workforce quality management.

Cisco Mobile Connect for Single Number Reach
Mobile Connect, commonly known as Single Number Reach, makes it possible for users to be reached from one number that rings simultaneously on their Cisco IP Phone and their mobile phone. Users can switch active calls between their Cisco IP phone and their mobile phone without disruption. Unanswered calls can be transferred to a Cisco Unity or Unity Connection voicemail account. Users can create their own access lists that specify which calls get directed to alternate phones.

Prime Collaboration Provisioning
Prime Collaboration offers an automated platform for first-time installs and for follow-on moves, additions, changes, and deletions. An intuitive console delivers a single view of a subscriber and the user's services. Cisco Prime Collaboration Provisioning substantially speeds up site installations and reduces the time required for future changes. Prime Collaboration also provides advanced analytics including technology adoption and consumption trends, allowing administrators to make more efficient use of resources and further reduce total cost of ownership.

Cisco Collaboration Gateways
Cisco's collaboration gateways allow Cisco converged communications deployments to communicate with public systems and with clients operating outside the corporate firewall. Cisco's line of communication gateways provide unified communications support for all types of gateway and session-border-control deployments.

Collaboration gateways available from Cisco and supported by Progent's certified consultants include:

Cisco Expressway Communication Gateway
Cisco's Expressway is a powerful unified communications and collaboration gatekeeper that allows companies to allow employees, vendors, consumers, or business partners who are working on various outside networks, collaboration platforms, or endpoint equipment to access to Unified Communication features. Cisco's Expressway collaboration gateway integrates with an enterprise Cisco CM deployment or Cisco Business Edition 6000 (BE6000), or can be accessed through the cloud with Cisco Hosted Collaboration Solution to help make productive collaboration more universal. Key capabilities of Cisco Expressway include:

• Mobile and Off-site Connectivity: Off-site workers with any Jabber-supported client or telecommuters with Cisco TelePresence endpoints get the benefit of single-sign-on as well as TLS security and are able to access all their Jabber applications (high-definition video, high-quality voice, rich content instant messaging, and realtime presence) without requiring the extra step of starting a VPN connection. Also, telecommuters can utilize their Cisco TelePresence endpoints without a VPN, providing a user experience at home that is the same as the office.
• Cisco Jabber Guest Support: Cisco Expressway is required for supporting the Cisco Jabber Guest, which allows “guests” to interact with your organization easily and safely using lightweight web-browser and mobile multimedia calls.
• Cisco Cloud Connectivity: Cisco Expressway can function as a gateway that connects between onsite Cisco or non-Cisco systems and the WebEx cloud. By offering support for Cisco Collaboration Meeting Rooms (CMRs), Expressway deliver an advanced, scalable conferencing environment that seamlessly combines high-quality voice, video, and content sharing to anyone, at any location, on any device.
• Interoperability: In case your organization currently has third-party video technology, Cisco Expressway can assist you to migrate efficiently to a Cisco solution whenever it makes business sense. Cisco Expressway provides video compatibility with industry standard H.323, H.264 SVC, or Session Initiation Protocol systems. Interoperability standards allowed by Cisco Expressway include IPv4 to IPv6, H.323 to SIP, and Microsoft Lync 2013 H.264 Scalable Video Coding (SVC) to AVC.

• Cisco WebEx Cloud Connected Audio (CCA) for high-capacity SIP-based conferencing
• Voice and Video recording
• Enterprise Call-center and interactive-voice-response (IVR) applications
• Policy-led security evaluation of voice calls
• B2B immersive telepresence over SIP

Cisco's Legacy UC520, UC540 and UC560 VoIP Phone Systems
The legacy Cisco Unified Communications 500 product line is an early VoIP gateway appliance and software package for small organizations. UC500 models provide voice, data, voicemail, auto attendant, video, security, and WiFi functionality, work with older Cisco IP Voice endpoints, and support public switched telephone network (PSTN) connections.

All UC500 packages include a compact switch with 8 PoE interfaces and additional FXS and foreign exchange office (FXO) interfaces, a firewall, and VPN support. Built-in WiFi is optional. VoIP user capacity can be expanded by connecting with Cisco Catalyst Express switches. Each UC500 model also includes 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 incorporate 4 foreign exchange stations and 4 FXO ports. The Cisco UC540 package supports 24 to 32 users and has 8 FXO ports. The Cisco UC560 package allows 48 users and 12 FXO interfaces.

Progent's Cisco-certified VoIP experts can help you to support your legacy UC500 VoIP system or plan and carry out a smooth migration to a modern IP telephony and voicemail solution like the Cisco Business Edition 4000.

How Progent Can Assist You with Cisco VoIP and IP Media Phones, CUCM, and Telepresence
Progent can provide remote or onsite help from a certified CCIE Collaboration consultant to help your business to design, deploy, administer and repair unified communications networks based on Cisco Unified Communication technology in an in-house, cloud-based, or hybrid environment. Progent's Cisco-certified consultants have extensive experience supporting Cisco Unified Communications Manager and Cisco CallManager, VoIP phones and other endpoints, UC applications such as Cisco Jabber and WebEx Meeting Center, Cisco's teleconferencing technologies, collaboration gatekeepers, utilities built into Cisco Catalyst switches and routers. Progent can also offer expertise with technologies like Cisco Survivable Remote Site Telephony, Cisco Unified Border Element, H.323 gateways, CAC, IP voice trunks, PSTN, and Cisco's architecture for voice, video and integrated data. Progent's SIP integration experts can in addition help you to create SIP connectivity solutions that include SIP-based IP voice phones and media endpoints, SIP trunks, and SIP administration tools via CUCM.

Progent's application programmers can create specialized unified communications software that will help your company to incorporate the telephony capabilities of Cisco Unified Communications Manager into your company processes for increased productivity. Progent can audit your existing network and Internet connectivity infrastructure to make sure your environment is configured to support high-quality Voice over IP and high-definition video, assist you to choose and deploy Cisco products that make sense for your present needs and downstream growth strategy, and integrate your Cisco Unified Communications products with products from other vendors. Progent's CISSP-ISSAP certified network security and compliance consultants can show you how to develop, implement, and validate an enterprise-wide security and compliance strategy for your converged communications ecosystem. In addition, Progent can assist your organization to configure Cisco high-availability mechanisms such as Cisco Unified SRST to provide cost-effective call control redundancy in branch office and telecommuter environments, 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 crucial communications system.

Cisco Unified Communications Manager/CallManager Upgrade Consulting
Versions of Cisco Unified Communications Manager 8.6 earlier than 8.6 and all releases of CallManager have arrived at end-of-life. This means Cisco will no longer enhance, repair, or validate the product software. Security updates for this pivotal application will end, which in certain situations may cause compliance or legal liability problems.

Progent will continue to provide world-class support services for outdated versions of Unified Communications Manager and CallManager, but if you are still running a legacy version of this essential software you should begin now to prepare for your migration. Progent's collaboration consultants can assist you to upgrade smoothly to the current edition of Cisco Unified CM and can often save customers as much as 50% off consulting service expense versus competing IT service firms because of Progent's documented process and experience in this practice area. By adhering to best practices, Progent can ensure that your business sees a fast payback on your investment by showing you how to benefit fully from the enhanced feature set, lower administrative and maintenance expense, more productive collaboration capabilities, and tighter security offered by the latest version of Unified Communications Manager.

Progent's migration services include return-on-investment analysis, project management, system testing, Cloud integration, setting up endpoint devices from Cisco and other suppliers, smartphone and tablet integration, data protection consulting, streamlined management, business continuity planning, network topology design, training for IT staff and end users, and ongoing consulting services and technical support. Progent also has put together fixed-priced upgrade service bundles to make sure your costs are visible and affordable.

To see more details concerning Progent's engineering support for Cisco technology, pick a topic:

• Introduction to Cisco Network Support
• Fast Remote Support from a Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) Network Engineer
• Cisco Firepower NGFW Firewalls: Integration and Troubleshooting Expertise
• ASA 5500-X Firewalls with Firepower Services: Consulting and Troubleshooting Expertise
• Cisco ASA 5500 Series Firewall Troubleshooting Support
• PIX Firewall Consulting Help
• Cisco Routers Consulting Support
• Cisco Wireless Consulting Services
• Cisco Aironet Access Points Design Services
• Cisco Small Business Wireless APs System Design Services
• Catalyst 802.11ax Access Points Planning, Deployment and Troubleshooting Consulting
• Cisco WiFi Controllers Support Services
• Meraki APs Engineering Services
• Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM or Unified CM) and Cisco CallManager Consulting and Technical Support
• Cisco Jabber and Management Expertise
• Catalyst Switches Engineering Expertise
• Cisco Nexus Switches Deployment Services
• Meraki Switches Consulting and Support Services
• Cisco VPN and Security Consulting Services
• SIP and CUBE Integration Solutions: SIP Trunking and CUBE Integration Expertise
• Design Solutions for Cisco-powered Data Centers
• Data Center Optimization Services for Service Providers
• Centralized Management Solutions for Cisco Environments