Cisco Expert Network Consulting

Exchanging live voice and video over Internet Protocol (VoIP and Video over IP) has advanced from simply being being a shrewd method to cut phone carrier bills to being an indispensable technology for collaboration and productivity. Converged communications, once limited to managing Internet-based voice calls and faxing on a single network platform in order to take the place of traditional PBX equipment, now includes rich media, mobility, IM, presence, services, and more within a cohesive environment that is manageable, scalable, protected, resilient, cost-effective, and user friendly.

Cisco is the market leader in providing the hardware and software infrastructure required to support the current paradigm of unified communications (UC). Cisco's UC architecture adds to the productivity of IT systems by cutting operational costs; combining multiple collaboration functions with popular software programs to improve worker output; supporting teamwork among employees, partners, and suppliers to save time and enhance business results; and streamlining the support of your communications infrastructure.

Cisco's UC technology include these important product categories:,

• Call Control Agents for managing rich media calls and sessions
• IP Phones and Softphones to enhance worker productivity
• UC Software Applications for more productive access to real-time, IM, voice and video, voice messages, white boarding, and voice/video conferencing
• IP Gateways for accessing outside networks and telecommuters

Call Processing Software - Unified Communications Manager/CallManager
Cisco's call-processing agent is the heart of the Cisco IP telephony infrastructure and gives you the versatility to implement a central call-processing model, a decentralized model, or a combination of the two. In a centralized approach, Unified Communications Manager (UC Manager or CUCM) expands corporate telephony features to packet network devices such as VoIP handsets, media management appliances, VoIP gateways, and mixed media programs across the network. Unified Communications Manager supports extra voice, video, and data services such as unified messaging, video conferencing, and group-based client communication networks.

The latest version of Cisco Unified Communications Manager, formerly branded CallManager, offers a wealth of improvements that speed up your return on investment by cutting administrative and maintenance expenses, improving worker output, enhancing collaboration, accommodating the bring-your-own-device model of computing, elevating data protection, and making efficient utilization of IT infrastructure. Top innovations include automatic dial-plan replication, streamlined certificate management, extended support for single sign-on (SSO) for managers and users, device-independent call recording, mobile access without requiring VPN, a new self-provisioning interface that makes it simple for end users to set their options and preferences for all of their endpoints, and support for Transport Layer Security and Secure Real-Time Transport Protocol for mobile clients.

In cases where you deploy a central Unified Communications Manager cluster to manage voice processing for users at distributed locations, administrators can help achieve continuous phone operation using Cisco Survivable Remote Site Telephony (SRST), a Cisco IOS Software image for Cisco routers. If a WAN link fails, Cisco SRST incorporated in the router provides core Cisco Unified Communications Manager services until the link is returned. To learn about Progent's consulting support for Cisco ISR routers, see consulting services for Cisco ISR routers.

For small business networks, branch locations, and retail environments that do not need the full functionality offered by Unified CM, Unified Communications Manager Express, formerly known as CallManager Express offers a cost-effective solution that handles the needs of locations with as many as 450 workers. Since Unified Communications Manager Express Unified Communications Manager Express (Unified CCX) is built into the IOS Software operating on a Cisco router, smaller organizations can rapidly implement a unified voice/data solution.

The Cisco Business Edition 6000 is a line of turn-key solutions that provide fundamental unified communications features such as routing, IP gateway, high definition voice and video, messaging, IM and presence, voice and video conferencing, and paging services, allowing any user to collaborate on any device from any site. All BE6000 solutions are delivered preinstalled with a virtualization hypervisor and collaboration applications software, making implementation quick and easy and reducing cost of ownership for organizations with from 25 to 1000 workers. All BE6000 versions are delivered preloaded with virtualization and collaboration applications software. Organizations can simply activate collaboration software applications when their needs evolve.

The office-in-a-box Business Edition 6000S supports five preselected unified communications software applications installed on a single combination ISR router/IP gateway/virtualized blade server platform and can handle up to 150 users and 300 devices. The medium-scale Business Edition 6000M includes four collaboration software application options activated on a single virtualized Cisco UCS C220 M4 server and can handle a maximum capacity of 1000 workers, 1200 endpoint devices, and 100 contact center agents. The high-end BE6000S includes 8 unified communications software application options activated on a virtualized Cisco C220 M4 server and supports as many as 1000 workers, 2500 devices, and 100 contact center agents.

For additional information about Progent's expertise with Unified Communications Manager (CallManager), see Unified Communications Manager and CallManager planning, integration, upgrades and technical support.

IP Phones: VoIP and IP Media Endpoints
A collaboration endpoint is a user instrument, and can be a hardware phone set or a soft phone application that runs on a desktop or handheld computer. In the Internet Protocol world, every IP phone is Ethernet connected. Voice over IP phones offer all of the features that an analog telephone provides, but VoIP phones often have extra features such as being able to connect to websites or run collaboration software.

In contrast to ordinary Private Branch Exchange systems, in a Cisco IP telephony network you can implement almost instantaneous moves, additions, and changes. All you do is move the VoIP handset to your new spot, plug it into the Ethernet connection, and the phone registers itself with Cisco Unified Communications Manager. All user permissions and settings are programmatically replicated, doing away with the cost and hassle of dispatching support personnel to wiring closets. Another efficient capability is extension mobility, which allows you to sign into any Cisco VoIP device and receive your own phone ID and privileges.

Cisco provides a broad selection of collaboration hardware endpoints. Cisco's entry-level Small Business SPA 300 Series are no-frills IP and Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications (DECT) screenless or monochrome phones that feature wide-band voice, support for hosted IP phone environments or an IP private branch exchange (PBX), simple installation and safe remote installation, transparent software updates, and browser-based configuration. The value-priced SPA301 is a one-line IP phone with no screen or speakerphone function, a base dialer with a single Ethernet connector, and a corded handset with no 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 TFT 176 x 220 color screen, and a dial pad with a speakerphone. The SPA303 is an affordable 3-line IP phone with dual switched ports, a 128x64 monochrome screen and a speakerphone.

Cisco's SPA500 family VoIP phones are low-cost endpoints that support SIP and SPCP signaling protocols, two integral Ethernet switch ports, speakerphones, PoE, and conferencing support. Most versions have a 128 x 64 monochrome screen display, The SPA501G IP Phone supports 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 programmable keys. The SPA508G has eight lines and eight programmable buttons. The SPA509G VoIP phone supports 12 lines and has 12 programmable buttons. The SPA512G IP Phone supports four lines, no soft buttons and supports Gigabit Ethernet. The SPA514G VoIP phone supports four lines, has programmable buttons, and supports 10/100/1000 Ethernet. The top-of-the-line SPA525G2 VoIP phone has a 320 x 240 color display, supports five lines, and has five programmable buttons.

Cisco's IP Phones 3900 Series and IP Phones 6900 Series are specialty VoIP devices designed for infrequent-use environments such as lobbies, elevators, and conference centers. The Unified SIP Phone 3905 features VoIP phone features a 128 x 32 monochrome non-backlit screen, an integrated Ethernet switch, a speakerphone, and PoE. The simple Cisco Unified IP Phone 6901 is a one-line device without a display and uses a hook switch for call transfer or conferencing.

The 7800 family of budget-priced IP phones are VoIP devices with backlit monochrome displays, four soft buttons, 11 fixed-feature keys, an Ethernet switch with PoE, and a speakerphone. The 7800 Series VoIP phones support only the SIP call control protocol. All devices in the 7800 family incorporate the same advanced speakers and microphones as Cisco's 8800 Series IP phones to deliver a best-in-class audio solution. Cisco's EnergyWise power-save technology, offered on the higher end 7800 models, reduces off-hours energy consumption by up to 60 percent. The Cisco IP Phone 7811 is a one-line VoIP phone designed for common areas and for workers with infrequent voice communications requirements. The IP 7811 comes with a 3.28-inch 384 x 106 screen plus a narrow-band speakerphone. Wideband audio is offered through an extra-cost wideband handset. Cisco's IP Phone 7821 is a dual-line VoIP phone with a 396 x 162 screen. The IP Phone 7841 is a four-line endpoint with a 396 x 162 screen and is the only device in the 7800 line to support Gigabit Ethernet. The high-end IP Phone 7861 VoIP phone is a 16-line device targeted for administrative staff, call center personnel, and managers who have significant voice communications needs.

Cisco Unified IP Phone 7900 Series are SIP and SCCP IP voice and video endpoints with a 320 x 240 pixel color display, a Gigabit Ethernet switch, Class 3 PoE, 10 fixed-feature buttons and a speakerphone. The Cisco Unified IP Phone 7945G is a two-line device and the Cisco Unified IP Phone 7965G includes four lines. Both VoIP phones include a 5-inch display and four programmable keys. The Cisco Unified IP Phone 7975G device is an eight-line IP voice and video phone with a 5.6-inch touch screen and five soft keys.

Cisco's IP Phone 8800 Series is a portfolio of SIP-based IP phones that features desktop devices, a conference IP phone, and wireless IP Phones. The desktop models are five-line IP phones with a 5-inch 800 x 480 pixel screen, a Gigabit Ethernet switch, a speakerphone, four soft keys and 12 dedicated buttons. The Cisco IP Phone 8811 includes a monochrome display and supports Class 2 Power over Ethernet. Cisco's IP Phone 8841 features a WVGA color screen and supports Class 2 PoE. 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 features a WVGA color display and a USB port with charging capability, supports Intelligent Proximity for Mobile Voice and Class 3 Power over Ethernet, and is available in Bluetooth and non-Bluetooth versions. Cisco's IP Phone 8861 includes a WVGA color display, Bluetooth, dual USB connections with charging capability, and supports Cisco Intelligent Proximity for Mobile Voice, Wi-Fi, and Class 4 Power over Ethernet. The Cisco IP Phone 8865 includes a WVGA color screen, 720p HD video, an adjustable camera, Bluetooth, dual 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 industrial-grade wireless handsets designed for professionals who are on the move within office, hospitality, retail or other venues where IT management wants user endpoints that provide more control, data security and durability than is achievable with the BYOD (Bring-Your-Own-Device) style of workplace communications. Cisco's 8821 and 8812-EX wireless IP phones provide on-the-move on-premises workers the benefits of voice over wireless LAN technology 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 rated Mil-SPEC 810G for shock resistance and IP67 for particulate and splash resistance, long-life batteries, a built-in speakerphone, and a Bluetooth transceiver to support cordless headsets. Cisco's 8821-EX Wireless VoIP Phone adds spark suppression for use in potentially combustible environments. Cisco's 8821-EX also has a shell fabricated of yellow plastics, which makes it easier to locate the event of a crisis. Find out about Progent's Cisco Wireless IP Phone integration consultants.

Cisco's discontinued 9900 Series of high-performance VoIP phones combine high-definition voice with business-grade color screens to provide a productive collaborative communications solution for knowledge professionals and executive management. Both IP phones in the 9900 family include a Standard Definition VGA color screen, a Bluetooth 2.0 transceiver to support a broad choice of headsets, and an integrated 10/100/1000 Ethernet port. Cisco's Power Save function is optional and can lower off-work power draw by 90 percent. The IP Phone 9951 features a 5-inch display and supports up to 2 IP Color Key Expansion Modules for adding scalability to programmable line and function keys. The IP Phone 9971 features a 5.6-inch screen, a built-in 802.11a/b/g Wi-Fi radio for connecting to Voice-over-WLAN networks, and 4 customizable touchscreen keys to invoke Cisco Unified Communications functions. The 9971 VoIP phone allows up to 3 IP Color Key Expansion Modules for adding scalability to customizable line and feature keys.

Cisco Unified Communications Application Software
Under Cisco's Unified Communications architecture, IP voice, IP video, and other converged applications are physically separate from the call- and voice-processing mechanism, and they may be at any location within the system. A cohesive connectivity infrastructure provides a versatile platform for feature-rich business applications and provides a firm foundation for downstream convergence-based software. Cisco works with third-party IT industry companies to offer a broad selection of IP phone and IP video applications and products. Cisco also enables the capability to create and manage specialized internal applications.

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

Jabber
Cisco Jabber is a unified communications client application that provides presence, instant messaging, business-quality voice, high-definition video, voice messaging, desktop sharing, and real-time conferencing features for Windows PCs, Apple Macs, Apple and Android tablets plus smartphones. Cisco Jabber is an evolution and combination of the Cisco Unified Personal Communicator soft phone, Cisco Mobile, and Cisco WebEx Connect, with important enhancements in the areas of video capabilities and desktop sharing, and expanding the collaboration environment to more operating systems and devices. Jabber operates in conjunction with Cisco Unified Communications Manager for call and session control, Cisco Unified Presence for instant messaging and presence, Unity Connection for voicemail and programmable attendant, and Cisco WebEx Meeting for conferencing.

Because Cisco Jabber is based on popular industry protocols, it can interoperate with a wide range of non-Cisco products. As an example, XMPP allows Cisco Jabber to trade instant messaging and presence data with other XMPP clients including as Adium, IBM Sametime, and Microsoft Lync. Cisco Jabber features can be accessed from Microsoft Office applications including Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft SharePoint. This broad platform support optimizes output by providing a consistent user environment and accommodating the BYOD model of networking. Progent offers the assistance of Microsoft-certified Exchange and Outlook consultants and SharePoint application developers who can assist you to take advantage of Jabber with Microsoft's powerful collaboration platforms. Progent also offers help with Apple iPhone integration and management as well as Google Android smartphone integration to assist you to increase the productivity of your BYOD environment.

Cisco WebEx Meeting Center
WebEX Meeting Center provides web and video conferencing for participants using a web browser or virtually any desktop or mobile device. Cisco WebEx Meeting Center is delivered as software as a service via the Cisco WebEx Cloud. This makes it easy to deploy and expand, streamlines administration, eliminates major up-front investment, features high availability and enterprise-grade security, and provides fast throughput. Important features include support for sharing discrete content or an entire screen display with online participants in real time, the ability to add rich media into presentations including PowerPoint and Flash videos, session recording plus playback for training, single sign-on and integration with other Cisco collaboration products such as Cisco Jabber and TelePresence, plus stringent data protection and encrypted connections with strict policy management.

Cisco WebEx Meeting Center runs on Microsoft Windows, Mac, and Linux-powered desktops and notebooks and permits mobile workers to initiate, schedule, and attend conferences on Google Android smartphones and tablets, iPhones and iPads, BlackBerry handhelds, and Microsoft Windows Phone. You can also launch web meetings instantly from Microsoft Office, Microsoft Outlook, Notes, and a variety of IM solutions.

Cisco TelePresence Portfolio for In-house Video Conferencing Environments
For midsize organizations and enterprises who wish to build a local or hybrid on-premises/cloud solution for video conferencing, Cisco offers a selection of Cisco TelePresence software and equipment that deliver high-quality teleconferencing for attendees with virtually any endpoint device at any site. Cisco TelePresence Server is an expandable video conferencing bridge that works in conjunction with Cisco Unified Communications Manager to deliver multiparty video, audio and content sharing to converged environments and can expand conferences to support cloud-based Cisco WebEx Meeting Center participants. Cisco TelePresence Conductor software streamlines management of the way video conferencing bandwidth and features are allocated for every individual attendee, allowing administrators to define the exact service level and experience needed for every user. Cisco TelePresence Content Server collects video and presentations for real-time distribution and video on demand playback.

Cisco's Unity Connection and Unity Express for Unified Voice Messaging
Cisco's Unity Connection, an integrated extension of Cisco Unified CM, is a unified voice messaging platform that promotes teamwork by providing flexible set of alternatives for retrieving voice messages within an environment that is easy to deploy and manage. Unity Connection lets you read and manage voice messages from your email inbox, browser, Cisco Jabber messaging integration platform, a Cisco Unified IP endpoint, a smartphone, or a tablet. Cisco Unity Connection also provides sophisticated voice-recognition capabilities for hands and eyes free management and extensive Automated Attendant capabilities that include intelligent routing for incoming phone calls and easily customizable call-filtering and message-alert settings. The Unity Connection system operates as a VM that can reside on a BE6000 server or a Cisco Services Ready Engine 910 router blade and can accommodate up to 20,000 mailboxes per server.

Cisco Unity Express (CUE), available in certain Cisco ISR routers, provides affordable voicemail, integrated messaging, interactive voice response (IVR), and automated-attendant functions for small to mid-size businesses and enterprise satellite offices with up to 500 workers. Cisco Unity Express permits you to manage voicemail messages via a Cisco IP Phone screen, a browser, or your email client. ISR Routers for which Cisco Unity Express is available as a network module include Cisco's 1861, 2800, 2900, 3800, and 3900 families. Progent offers comprehensive deployment and troubleshooting services for all ISR routers.

Cisco Unified Contact Center
Cisco Unified Contact Center Enterprise (Unified CCE or UCCE) integrates closely with Cisco Unified CM and desktop agent apps like Cisco Finesse to provide automatic call distribution (ACD) features that allow an organization to connect customers with the right salesperson or service representative. UCCE offers intelligent call routing, computer telephony integration, support for multichannel contact management, network-wide call queuing, interactive voice response and consolidated enterprise-wide reporting to streamline the creation and management of a modern contact center. Cisco platforms supporting UCCE's customer interaction management solution include Cisco Unified IP Phones, Voice, and Cisco network infrastructure.

Cisco Unified Contact Center Express (Unified CCX or CCX) provides an out-of-the-box solution for building a customer interaction management center for branch or midmarket systems that support up to 400 agents. Multiple packages are available, plus a selection of optional advanced features. Cisco Unified CCX works with Unified Communications Manager and provides smart call routing, contact interaction management, reporting, IVR, and management of voice, email, chat, and social media requests. Cisco Unified CCX includes Cisco Finesse, a browser-based customizable desktop agent that needs no client-side installation. Optional advanced features include conditional routing, projected-wait-time messages, and workforce quality management.

Cisco Mobile Connect for Single Number Reach (SNR)
Mobile Connect, popularly known as Single Number Reach (SNR), allows users to be reached via a single phone number that rings simultaneously on their Cisco IP Phone and their cell phone. Users can transfer live conversations between their Cisco VoIP phone and their mobile phone seamlessly. Unanswered calls can be redirected to a Cisco Unity or Cisco Unity Connection account. Users can create their own access lists that determine which calls are extended to alternate phones.

Prime Collaboration Provisioning
Cisco Prime Collaboration Provisioning provides an automated process for initial deployments as well as for follow-on moves, additions, changes, and deletions. An intuitive console provides a unified look at a subscriber and the user's services. Prime Collaboration Provisioning significantly accelerates company-wide rollouts and minimizes the effort needed to implement future updates. Prime Collaboration also offers advanced analytics that show application adoption and usage trends, enabling organizations to optimize resources and further reduce TCO.

Cisco Communications Gateways
Cisco's collaboration gateways allow Cisco Unified Communications environments to communicate with other networks and with clients operating beyond the corporate firewall. Cisco's line of gateways provide unified communications support for all types of gateway as well as session-border-control applications.

Communications gateways offered by Cisco and supported by Progent's certified consultants include:

Expressway Communication Gateway
Cisco's Expressway is an advanced converged media gateway that allows companies to allow team members, vendors, customers, or partners who are working on different network environments, workgroup applications, or endpoint devices to connect to Cisco Unified Communication services. Cisco's Expressway works with an enterprise Cisco CM deployment or Cisco Business Edition 6000 (BE6000), or can be accessed through the cloud with Cisco Hosted Collaboration Solution (HCS) to make collaboration more universal. Important features of Expressway are are:

• Mobile and Remote Access: Off-site workers who have any Jabber-compatible desktop or handheld computer or telecommuters with Cisco TelePresence endpoints have the convenience of one-time sign-on and of Transport Layer Security (TLS) and are able to connect to all their collaboration workloads (video, high-quality voice, data instant messaging, and realtime presence) without the inconvenience establishing a VPN. Also, teleworkers have the ability to utilize their Cisco TelePresence endpoints without the need for a VPN, delivering a user experience at home that is the same as the corporate office.
• Cisco Jabber Guest Support: Cisco Expressway is required for supporting Jabber Guest, which makes it possible for “guests” to interact with your organization simply and safely using lightweight web-browser and mobile video calls.
• Cisco Cloud Connectivity: Cisco Expressway can act 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 (CMRs), Expressway offers a world-class, scalable conferencing experience that seamlessly integrates voice, video, and data sharing to anyone, at any location, using any endpoint.
• Interoperability: In case your company already has third-party video products, Cisco Expressway can help you to migrate efficiently to Cisco technology when you choose. Cisco Expressway provides video compatibility with standards-based H.323, H.264 Scalable Video Coding, or Session Initiation Protocol environments. Internetworking standards allowed by Expressway include IPv4 to IPv6, H.323 to SIP, and Microsoft Lync H.264 SVC to MPEG-4/H.264 AVC.

• WebEx Cloud Connected Audio (CCA) for SIP-media-connected audio conferencing
• Voice/Video recording
• SIP-based Call-center and interactive-voice-response (IVR) solutions
• Policy-based evaluation of phone calls
• Business-to-business teleconferencing over SIP

Cisco's End-of-Life UC520, UC540 and UC560 VoIP Gateways
The end-of-life Cisco Unified Communications 500 Series is a VoIP communications solution for small organizations. UC500 packages provide voice, data, voicemail, automated attendant, IP video, firewall, and WiFi functionality, run with older Cisco IP Voice endpoints, and support various PSTN connections.

All UC500 series bundles include a desktop switch appliance with 8 Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) interfaces plus additional FXS and FXO interfaces, a firewall, and VPN. Integrated WiFi is an option. VoIP user capacity can be expanded by attaching Cisco Catalyst Express companion switches. Every UC500 model also comes with software licenses for Cisco Unified Communications Manager for VoIP call processing and Cisco Unity Express software for voice messaging and automated attendant. The Cisco UC520 system supports 8 to 16 users and include 4 foreign exchange stations and 4 FXO ports. The Cisco UC540 package allows 24 to 32 clients and provides 8 FXO interfaces. The Cisco UC560 package supports 48 VoIP clients and 12 foreign exchange office interfaces.

Progent's Cisco-certified VoIP consultants can help you to maintain your legacy UC500 VoIP system or plan and carry out a smooth migration to a current IP telephony and voicemail solution such as Cisco's cloud-managed Business Edition 4000.

How Progent Can Help You with Cisco IP Voice and IP Media Phones, CUCM, and Video Conferencing
Progent offers remote or onsite access to a Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) Collaboration consultant to assist you to plan, deploy, administer and repair unified communications environments supported by Cisco Unified Communication products in an in-house, cloud-based, or hybrid deployment. Progent's Cisco-certified consultants have in-depth experience supporting Unified Communications Manager and CallManager, IP voice and video phones and other endpoints, UC applications such as Cisco Jabber and WebEx Meeting Center, Cisco's teleconferencing products, collaboration gatekeepers, utilities incorporated into Cisco switches and routers. Progent can also provide expertise with related technologies such as Cisco SRST, CUBE, H.323 and SIP gateways, CAC, IP voice trunks, PSTN, and Cisco's architecture for voice, video and integrated data. Progent's SIP infrastructure experts can also assist you to build SIP infrastructure environments that include SIP-based VoIP phones and video phones, SIP trunks, and SIP administration tools via CUCM.

Progent's custom application programmers can build specialized unified communications applications that will enable your organization to incorporate the features of Cisco Unified Communications Manager into your company operations for enhanced efficiency. Progent can analyze your current network and Internet connectivity infrastructure to make sure your environment is configured to support high-quality Voice over IP and HD video, help you to choose and deploy Cisco products that make sense for your current needs and downstream growth strategy, and interface your Cisco Unified Communications products with products from other vendors. Progent's CISSP-ISSAP certified data security consultants can show you how to create, implement, and test a comprehensive security strategy for your unified communications solution. In addition, Progent can assist your organization to configure Cisco fault-tolerant technologies like Cisco Unified Survivable Remote Site Telephony to provide affordable call control backup in remote-branch and teleworker environments, and Progent's disaster recovery preparedness consultants can help you develop a viable DR/BC strategy to ensure the availability of your business-critical unified communications system.

Unified Communications Manager/CallManager Migration Consulting
Versions of Cisco Unified Communications Manager 8.6 lower than 8.6 and every version of CallManager have reached end-of-life. This means Cisco will no longer enhance, repair, or test the product software. Security patches for this pivotal application will end, which in some circumstances could create compliance or even legal liability problems.

Progent continues to provide world-class support for end-of-life versions of Cisco Unified Communications Manager and Cisco CallManager, but if your business is now running an out-of-dated release of this critical software you should start now to plan your upgrade. Progent's collaboration consulting professionals can help you to migrate efficiently to the latest version of Unified CM and can often save clients as much as 50% off consulting service fees compared to competing computer service companies because of Progent's documented procedures and experience in this area. By following leading practices, Progent can make sure your business sees a fast payback on your IT investment by showing you how to benefit fully from the enhanced feature set, reduced management and maintenance costs, more engaging collaboration capabilities, and stronger security provided by the current release of Unified Communications Manager.

Progent's upgrade services include ROI assessment, project management, pilot testing, Cloud connectivity, configuring endpoint devices from Cisco and other suppliers, smartphone and tablet connectivity, data protection services, streamlined management, disaster recovery/business continuity planning, network topology design, staff and user training, and ongoing consulting and troubleshooting. Progent also has put together ultra-affordable migration service bundles to make sure your costs are predictable and affordable.

To learn more details concerning Progent's consulting expertise for Cisco products, pick a subject:

• Introduction to Cisco Support
• Timely Remote Support from a Cisco CCIE Network Engineer
• Cisco Firepower Series Firewalls: Integration and Troubleshooting Support
• ASA 5500-X Series Firewall with Firepower: Consulting and Troubleshooting Services
• ASA 5500 Firewalls Upgrade. Migration Help
• PIX Firewall Upgrade. Migration Services
• Cisco Routers Engineering Support
• Cisco Wireless Engineering Expertise
• Aironet Wireless Access Points Deployment Services
• Cisco Small Business WiFi Access Points Deployment Support
• Cisco Catalyst Wi-Fi 6/6E Wireless APs Planning, Deployment and Troubleshooting Services
• Cisco Wireless Controllers Integration Consulting
• Meraki APs Deployment Support
• Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM or Unified CM) and CallManager Consulting and Troubleshooting
• Cisco Jabber Migration and Support Expertise
• Cisco Catalyst Switches Engineering Services
• Cisco Nexus Switches Configuration and Maintenance Expertise
• Cisco Meraki MS Switches Deployment Expertise
• Cisco Security and VPN Consulting Assistance
• SIP and CUBE Integration Solutions: SIP Trunks and CUBE Integration Consulting
• Infrastructure Design for Cisco-powered Datacenters and Colocation Centers
• Data Center Design Services for ISPs
• Streamlined Network Management Solutions for Cisco-based Infrastructure