Cisco Certified Expert Network Consulting and Support

Exchanging live voice and video over IP (VoIP and Video over IP) has progressed from simply being being a smart technique to cut phone carrier bills to being an indispensable technology for collaboration and worker productivity. Unified communications, at one time restricted to integrating Internet-based voice calls and faxing on a single network platform to take the place of expensive PBX systems, today includes rich media, mobile communications, chat, real-time presence, services, and more all within a cohesive ecosystem that is easy to manage, extensible, secure, fault-tolerant, economical, and user friendly.

Cisco is the market leader in supplying solutions required to support the current paradigm of unified communications (UC). Cisco's UC product line adds to the productivity of information systems by cutting operating costs; combining rich media features with popular software programs to increase user output; facilitating collaboration among workers, associates, and suppliers to save effort and improve business results; and simplifying the support of your communications environment.

Cisco's Unified Communications technology include several main product categories:,

• Call Control Agents for controlling rich media calls and sessions
• IP Phones and Softphones to enhance worker productivity
• Unified Communications Software Applications for simplified access to presence, chat, voice and video, voice messages, white boarding, and voice/video conferencing
• IP Gateways for providing connectivity with outside networks and telecommuters

Call Control Agents - Unified Communications Manager/CallManager
The call-processing agent is the core of Cisco's IP Communications solution and gives you the flexibility to deploy a central call-processing model, a decentralized design, or a combination of both. In a centralized approach, Unified Communications Manager (UC Manager or CUCM) extends enterprise phone features to packet telephony network devices such as VoIP phones, media management appliances, Voice over IP gateways, and mixed media programs throughout the IT environment. Cisco Unified Communications Manager enables extra voice, video, and data services such as unified messaging, video conferencing, and collaborative client interaction networks.

The most recent version of Cisco Unified CM, formerly branded CallManager, offers a wealth of improvements that expedite ROI by lowering management and maintenance costs, increasing worker productivity, facilitating teamwork, supporting the BYOD style of working, fortifying security, and making efficient utilization of network resources. Top new features include automatic dial-plan replication, simplified certificate control, expanded support for standards-based single sign-on (SSO) for administrators and end users, device-independent call recording, on-the-road access with no need for VPN tunneling, a revamped self-provisioning utility that makes it easy for end users to set their options for all endpoint devices, and support for Transport Layer Security for mobile users.

When you deploy a central Cisco Unified Communications Manager cluster to manage call processing for customers at distributed sites, IT managers can help achieve non-stop call availability 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 in the router provides core Cisco UC Manager capabilities until the connection is returned. For information about Progent's consulting services for Cisco routers, see consulting and troubleshooting support for Cisco ISR routers.

For small business networks, branch locations, and retail deployments that do not need the complete functionality available from Unified CM, Cisco Unified Communications Manager Express, previously known as CallManager Express provides an economical solution 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 Cisco IOS Software operating on a Cisco router, smaller offices can quickly set up a unified voice/data environment.

The Cisco BE6000 is a line of turn-key solutions that provide fundamental unified communications features including routing, gateway, premium voice/video, messaging, instant messaging and presence, teleconferencing, and paging services, enabling any user to collaborate on any endpoint device from any location. All BE6000 versions come preloaded with a virtualization hypervisor and Unified Communications applications software, making implementation quick and easy and reducing cost of ownership for companies with from 25 to 1000 workers. All solutions come packaged preinstalled with a virtualization hypervisor and collaboration applications. You can instantly enable collaboration applications as their needs grow.

The office-in-a-box BE6000S supports five standard UC applications preloaded on a single integrated ISR router/IP gateway/virtualized E1600 M2 blade server device and supports a maximum capacity of 150 users and 300 devices. The mid-market Business Edition 6000M includes four collaboration application options activated on a single virtualized Cisco UCS C220 M4 server and can handle up to 1000 users, 1200 endpoint devices, and 100 contact center agents. The high-end BE6000S Supports eight UC software application options activated on a single virtualized C220 M4 server platform and has the capacity for up to 1000 workers, 2500 devices, and 100 contact center agents.

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

IP Phones: VoIP and IP Video Endpoints
A communications endpoint is a user instrument, either a physical phone set or a software phone application on a PC or mobile computer. In the IP environment, every VoIP endpoint is Ethernet connected. IP phones have all of the capabilities that an analog phone has, but Voice over IP phones can also provide additional features including the ability to connect to websites or run business applications.

In contrast to traditional PBX systems, in a Cisco IP communications environment you can implement almost instant relocations, adds, and changes. You merely take the VoIP handset to your new location, attach it to the Ethernet connection, and the handset announces itself with Cisco Unified Communications Manager (formerly CallManager). All user privileges and configurations are automatically re-established, doing away with the expense and hassle of sending technicians to wiring closets. An additional useful capability is extension mobility, which enables you to log into any Cisco VoIP phone and receive your personal phone number and privileges.

Cisco provides a wide selection of collaboration hardware endpoints. Cisco's low-cost Small Business SPA 300 family are basic IP and DECT phones that feature wide-band audio, support for hosted Internet Protocol telephony systems or an IP private branch exchange, easy installation and secure online provisioning, transparent software updates, and browser-based set up. The low-end SPA301 is a one-line VoIP endpoint with no screen or speakerphone, 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 wireless Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications (DECT) IP phone that offers 10-lines, a TFT 176 x 220 pixel color screen, and a dial pad with a speakerphone. Cisco's SPA303 is an entry-level three-line SIP-based phone with two switched Ethernet ports, a 128x64 monochrome display and a speakerphone.

The SPA500 family IP phones are low-cost devices with support for both SIP and SPCP signaling protocols, two integral switch ports, speakerphones, built-in web servers, Power over Ethernet (PoE), and conferencing support. Most versions have a 128 x 64 pixel monochrome screen display, The SPA501G IP Phone supports eight lines and has eight soft buttons but no hi-res display. The SPA502G has a single line and has no programmable keys. The SPA504G has four lines and has four programmable buttons. The SPA508G VoIP phone supports eight lines and eight programmable buttons. The SPA509G VoIP phone supports 12 lines and features 12 soft buttons. The SPA512G VoIP phone supports four lines, no soft keys 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 screen, supports five lines, and has five soft keys.

Cisco's Unified IP Phones 3900 Series and IP Phones 6900 Series are specialty VoIP endpoints intended for infrequent-use environments like cafeterias, hallways, and conference facilities. Cisco's Unified SIP Phone 3905 IP Phone features a 128 x 32 mono display, an integrated Ethernet switch, a speakerphone, and Power over Ethernet (PoE). The bare-bones Cisco Unified IP Phone 6901 is a one-line endpoint with no screen and requires a hook switch for call transfer or joining a conference.

The 7800 Series of economical IP phones are VoIP devices with backlit monochrome displays, four soft buttons, 11 fixed-feature buttons, an integral Ethernet switch with Class 1 PoE, and a speakerphone. Cisco's 7800 Series support only the SIP signaling protocol. All models in Cisco's 7800 line incorporate the same high-fidelity speakers and microphones as Cisco's 8800 Series IP phones to deliver a best-in-class audio solution. Cisco's EnergyWise power-save feature, available on the advanced 7800 models, reduces after-hours energy usage by up to 60 percent. The Cisco IP Phone 7811 is a single-line phone designed for common locations and for workers with infrequent voice communications requirements. The IP 7811 VoIP phone comes with a 3.28-inch 384 x 106 display plus a narrow-band speakerphone. Wideband audio is offered through an extra-cost handset. Cisco's IP Phone 7821 is a dual-line VoIP phone with a 396 x 162 display. The IP Phone 7841 is a four-line VoIP phone with a 396 x 162 display and is the only model in the 7800 family that provides Gigabit Ethernet. The high-end IP Phone 7861 VoIP phone is a 16-line endpoint targeted for administrators, contact center agents, and supervisors who have heavy voice communications needs.

The Cisco Unified IP Phone 7900 Series are SIP and SCCP media devices with a 320 x 240 color display, an integral Gigabit Ethernet switch, Class 3 Power over Ethernet (PoE), 10 dedicated buttons and a speakerphone. The Cisco Unified IP Phone 7945G is a dual-line device and the Cisco Unified IP Phone 7965G features four lines. Both IP phones have a 5-inch display and four programmable keys. The Cisco Unified IP Phone 7975G device 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 portfolio of SIP-only endpoints that includes desktop devices, a conference phone, and wireless IP Phones. The desktop units are five-line IP phones featuring a 5-inch 800 x 480 display, a Gigabit Ethernet switch, a speakerphone, four programmable buttons and 12 dedicated buttons. Cisco's IP Phone 8811 includes a backlit mono screen and supports Class 2 Power over Ethernet (PoE). The Cisco IP Phone 8841 has a WVGA color display and supports Class 2 PoE. Cisco's IP Phone 8845 has a WVGA color display, 720p HD video, an adjustable 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 connection with charging capability, supports Intelligent Proximity for Mobile Voice and Class 3 Power over Ethernet, and is available in Bluetooth and non-Bluetooth versions. 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, Wi-Fi, and Class 4 PoE. The Cisco IP Phone 8865 has a WVGA color display, 720p HD video, an adjustable camera, Bluetooth, dual USB connections with charging capability, and supports Cisco Intelligent Proximity for Mobile Voice, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, and Class 4 Power over Ethernet.

Cisco's wireless IP phones are industrial-grade wireless devices designed for professionals who are on the move within campus, warehouse, health-care or other venues where IT management wants portable phones that offer more control, data security and ruggedness than is possible with the BYOD mode of workplace communications. Cisco's 8821 and 8812-EX wireless IP phones provide mobile on-premises users the advantages of voice over wireless LAN (VoWLAN) communications in workplaces with 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi. The 8821 Wireless IP Phone includes a 2.4 inch color display, a durable case rated Mil-SPEC 810G for shock resistance and IP67 for dust and moisture resistance, extended batteries, a built-in full-duplex speakerphone, and a Bluetooth 4.0 transceiver to support cordless headsets. The 8821-EX Wireless VoIP Phone adds spark suppression for hazardous environments. Cisco's 8821-EX also features a case made of yellow plastics, which makes it easy to locate the event of an emergency. Learn about Progent's Cisco Wireless IP Phone integration support.

Cisco's legacy 9900 Series of high-performance IP endpoints mix high-quality voice with business-grade color screens to provide a rich multimedia experience for knowledge professionals and executive management. Both models in the 9900 line feature a Standard Definition VGA color screen, a Bluetooth 2.0 radio to work with a broad selection of headsets, and a built-in 10/100/1000 Ethernet port. The Cisco EnergyWise power-save function is optional and can reduce off-hour power draw by up to 90 percent. The Cisco IP Phone 9951 features a 5-inch display and allows up to 2 Cisco IP Color Key Expansion Modules for adding customizable line and function keys. The Cisco IP Phone 9971 features a 5.6-inch screen, a built-in 802.11a/b/g Wi-Fi transceiver for deployment with wireless environments, and four soft-label programmable touchscreen keys to invoke Cisco Unified Communications functions. The 9971 supports up to 3 Cisco IP Expansion Modules for adding customizable line and function keys.

Unified Communications Application Software
Within Cisco's Unified Communications platform, IP telephony, video, and other UC applications are physically separate from the call- and voice-processing mechanism, and they may be at any location within the network. A cohesive network framework offers an open platform for feature-rich applications and serves as a solid basis for downstream convergence-based applications. Cisco cooperates with leading technology companies to provide a wide range of IP phone and video applications and products. Cisco also supports the capability to create and manage customized internal applications.

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

Jabber
Jabber is a converge media client application that supports presence, instant messaging, voice, video, voicemail, desktop sharing, and real-time conferencing functions for PCs, Macs, tablets and iPhones, Android phones, and Blackberries. Cisco Jabber is a rebranding and combination of the Unified Personal Communicator soft phone application, Cisco Mobile, and WebEx Connect, with significant improvements to video features and screen sharing, and extending the team experience to additional platforms and endpoint hardware. Cisco Jabber operates with Cisco Unified Communications Manager for call and session management, Cisco Unified Presence for IM and presence, Cisco Unity Connection for voice messaging and programmable attendant, and Cisco WebEx Meeting for conferencing.

Because Cisco Jabber utilizes popular communication standards, it can interoperate with a broad selection of non-Cisco platforms. As an example, XMPP allows Jabber to exchange IM and presence information with a variety of XMPP clients including as Adium for Mac OS, Sametime, and Microsoft Lync. Cisco Jabber features can be accessed from Microsoft Office applications such as Outlook and SharePoint. This extensive platform support optimizes productivity by providing a common user experience and accommodating the bring-your-own-device model of networking. Progent can provide the assistance of Microsoft-certified Exchange and Outlook consultants and Microsoft SharePoint programmers who can show you how to use Jabber with Microsoft's popular collaboration products. Progent also can provide expertise with Apple iPhone integration and Android smartphone integration and management to assist your organization to enhance the business value of your BYOD ecosystem.

WebEX Meeting Center
Cisco WebEx Meeting Center provides web conferencing for participants using a browser or virtually any PC or handheld computer. WebEx Meeting Center is offered as software as a service (SaaS) via the Cisco WebEx Cloud. This makes it simple to roll out and expand, reduces the cost of management, eliminates heavy initial investment, features high availability and enterprise-grade security, and delivers fast performance. Key capabilities include support for sharing specific content or your entire screen display with online participants in real time, the capability to add multimedia into your presentations including Microsoft PowerPoint and Flash animations, recording plus editing and playback for future reference and training, single sign-on and integration with other Cisco collaboration applications such as Cisco Jabber and TelePresence, plus strong data privacy and encrypted access with strict policy control.

Cisco WebEx Meeting Center works with Windows, Mac, and Linux-powered PCs and allows mobile workers to launch, calendarize, and take part in conferences on Google Android smartphones and tablets, Apple iPhones and iPads, BlackBerry handhelds, and Windows Phone. You can also launch online meetings with a few clicks from Microsoft Office, Outlook, Lotus Notes, and a selection of IM applications.

Cisco TelePresence Portfolio for On-premises Video Conferencing Infrastructure
For midsize businesses and enterprises who wish to create an on-premises or hybrid local/cloud solution for teleconferencing, Cisco offers a portfolio of Cisco TelePresence software and equipment that deliver high-definition video conferencing for users with virtually any endpoint device at any site. Cisco TelePresence Server is a scalable teleconferencing bridge that works with Cisco Unified CM to deliver multiparty telepresence to UC environments and can expand meetings to include cloud-connected WebEx Meeting Center users. Cisco TelePresence Conductor software streamlines management of how teleconferencing resources are allocated for every individual attendee, enabling managers to specify the exact service level and user experience required for every user. Cisco TelePresence Content Server collects video and presentations for live distribution as well as video on demand (VOD) playback.

Cisco Unity Connection and Unity Express for Converged Voicemail and Automated Attendant
Cisco's Unity Connection, an integrated extension of Unified CM, is a unified voice messaging solution that facilitates productive collaboration by providing flexible set of alternatives for accessing calls and messages within a framework that is easy to deploy and manage. Unity Connection lets you access and manage your voicemail messages from your email inbox, browser, Cisco Jabber messaging integration platform, a Cisco Unified IP endpoint, an iPhone or other smartphone, or an iPad or tablet. Unity Connection also offers advanced voice-recognition capabilities for hands and eyes free operation and extensive Automated Attendant features such as smart routing for incoming calls and easily customizable call-filtering and message-alert settings. The Cisco Unity Connection platform runs as a fully virtualized system that can reside on a BE6000 server or a Cisco Services Ready Engine 910 router blade and can accommodate as many as 20,000 mailboxes on each server.

Cisco Unity Express (CUE), offered in select Cisco ISR routers, provides affordable voicemail, unified messaging, IVR, and automated-attendant functions for small to medium businesses (SMBs) and enterprise branch locations with as many as 500 voice mailboxes. Unity Express permits you to access and manage voicemail using a Cisco IP Phone screen, a browser, or your email system. ISR Routers for which Cisco Unity Express is available as an advanced integration module include Cisco's 2800, 2900, and 3900 families. Progent can provide certified deployment and troubleshooting services for ISR routers.

Cisco Unified Contact Center
Cisco Unified Contact Center Enterprise (Unified CCE) integrates closely with Cisco Unified Communications Manager and desktop agent applications such as Cisco Finesse to provide automatic call distribution (ACD) features that allow an organization to connect customers with the proper sales or service agent. UCCE offers smart call distribution, computer telephony integration, support for multichannel contact management, network call queuing, IVR and advanced enterprise-wide reporting to streamline the creation and management of a large-scale customer contact center. Cisco products supporting UCCE's client interaction management ecosystem include Unified IP Phones, Voice, and Cisco LAN/WAN technology.

Cisco Unified Contact Center Express (Unified CCX) offers a packaged solution for creating a customer contact center for mid-scale systems that support as many as 400 agents. Several bundles are available, plus a variety of special options. Cisco Unified CCX integrates with CUCM and offers intelligent call distribution, contact management, integrated reporting, IVR, and management of voice, email, web chat, and social media inquiries. Unified Contact Center Express includes Finesse, a browser-based desktop agent that needs no client-side software setup. Optional enhancements include call-in-queue, projected-wait-time messages, and quality management.

Cisco Mobile Connect and Single Number Reach
Mobile Connect, commonly known as Single Number Reach, allows users to be reached via a single phone number that rings simultaneously on their desktop VoIP Phone and their smartphone. Users can transfer active calls between their desktop VoIP phone and their smartphone without disruption. Calls that are not answered can be transferred to a Cisco Unity or Cisco Unity Connection voicemail account. Users can create personal access lists that specify which calls are extended to different phones.

Cisco Prime Collaboration Provisioning
Prime Collaboration Provisioning offers an automated process for first-time deployments and for follow-on moves, additions, changes, and deletions. An intuitive interface delivers a single view of a subscriber and the subscriber's services. Cisco Prime Collaboration significantly accelerates company-wide installations and minimizes the effort needed for ongoing updates. Prime Collaboration also offers management analytics including application adoption and consumption rates, allowing organizations to make more efficient use of IT resources and further lower total cost of ownership.

Cisco Communications Gateways
Cisco's communications gateways permit Cisco converged communications deployments to connect with public networks and with clients operating beyond the corporate firewall. Cisco's line of communication gateways deliver unified communications support for a wide variety of gateway and session-border-control applications.

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

Expressway Collaboration Gateway
Cisco's Expressway is an advanced unified communications and collaboration gatekeeper that allows organizations to provide team members, vendors, consumers, or business partners who are using different networks, collaboration applications, or endpoint equipment to connect to Unified Communication functions. The Expressway gateway works in conjunction with an enterprise Cisco CM deployment or Cisco BE6000, or can be accessed through the cloud with Cisco Hosted Collaboration Solution to help make productive collaboration more universal. Key capabilities of Expressway are are:

• Mobile and Remote Access: Off-site workers with any Jabber-compatible device or telecommuters with Cisco TelePresence endpoints have the benefit of single-sign-on and of Transport Layer Security (TLS) and can connect to all their Jabber applications (high-definition video, voice, content instant messaging, and presence) without the extra step of starting a VPN. In addition, telecommuters have the ability to use their Cisco TelePresence endpoints without the need for a VPN tunnel, delivering a user environment at home the same as the corporate office.
• Cisco Jabber Guest Support: Expressway is required for enabling Jabber Guest, which makes it possible for “guests” to interact with your organization simply and securely via streamlined web-browser and mobile multimedia calls.
• Cisco Cloud Access: Expressway can act as a gateway that creates a path between on-premises Cisco or third-party systems and Cisco's WebEx cloud. By supporting Cisco Collaboration Meeting Rooms (CMRs), Cisco Expressway deliver a world-class, extensible conferencing environment that transparently integrates business-quality voice, high-definition video, and data sharing to any client, at any location, on any device.
• Interoperability: If your company already has non-Cisco video systems, Expressway can help you to migrate easily to Cisco products whenever it makes business sense. Cisco Expressway provides video compatibility with standards-based H.323, H.264 SVC, or Session Initiation Protocol environments. Gateway capabilities allowed 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 high-capacity SIP-based audio conferencing
• Voice and Video recording
• Enterprise Call-center and IVR solutions
• Policy-based security evaluation of voice calls
• B2B telepresence over SIP

Cisco's Legacy UC520, UC540 and UC560 VoIP Phone Systems
The legacy Cisco Unified Communications 500 Series is an early VoIP communications appliance and software package for small businesses. UC500 models deliver voice, data, voicemail, automated attendant, IP video, firewall, and WiFi capabilities, work with older Cisco IP Voice phones, and support various public switched telephone network (PSTN) interfaces.

All of UC500 packages include a compact switch with 8 PoE ports plus additional foreign exchange stations (FXS) and foreign exchange office (FXO) ports, a firewall, and VPN. Built-in WiFi is optional. VoIP user capacity can be increased by connecting with Cisco Catalyst Express switches. Every UC500 offering also comes with licenses for Cisco Unified Communications Manager for VoIP call processing as well as Cisco Unity Express for voice messaging and automated attendant. The Cisco UC520 package supports 8 to 16 VoIP users and include 4 FXS and 4 FXO ports. The Cisco UC540 package supports 24 to 32 clients and provides 8 FXO interfaces. The Cisco UC560 system supports 48 VoIP clients and 12 FXO ports.

Progent's seasoned VoIP experts can help you to support your legacy UC500 VoIP gateway or plan and carry out an efficient migration to a current IP telephony and voicemail solution like the Cisco cloud-managed Business Edition 4000.

How Progent Can Help You with Cisco IP Voice and IP Media Phones, Cisco Unified CM, and Video Conferencing
Progent can provide online or on-premises access to a Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) Collaboration expert to assist you to design, implement, administer and repair converged communications networks built on Cisco Unified Communication technology in a centralized, cloud-based, or hybrid deployment. Progent's Cisco-certified consultants have in-depth experience integrating Unified Communications Manager and CallManager, Voice over IP and video phones and other endpoints, UC applications such as Cisco Jabber and Unity Connection, Cisco's video conferencing technologies, collaboration gateways, tools incorporated 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 also help you to create SIP connectivity environments that include SIP-based VoIP phones and video endpoints, SIP trunks, and SIP management tools via CUCM.

Progent's application programmers can create specialized IP telephony applications that will help your organization to incorporate the telephony capabilities of Cisco Unified Communications Manager into your business operations for increased productivity. Progent can revue your current network and Internet connectivity architecture to determine whether your environment is optimized to accommodate business-quality Voice over IP and HD video, assist you to select and install Cisco products appropriate for your current situation and future growth strategy, and interface your Cisco Unified Communications solution with products from other suppliers. Progent's CISSP-ISSAP certified data security consultants can assist you to develop, implement, and test a comprehensive security and compliance strategy for your unified communications ecosystem. Also, Progent can assist you to deploy Cisco high-availability mechanisms like Cisco Unified Survivable Remote Site Telephony (SRST) to provide affordable call control backup in remote-branch and home-office sites, and Progent's disaster recovery planning consultants can help you create a sensible DR/BC strategy to ensure the availability of your crucial communications environment.

Cisco Unified Communications Manager/CallManager Upgrade Consulting
Versions of Unified CM lower than 8.6 and every version of its predecessor CallManager have arrived at end-of-life. Therefore Cisco will cease to enhance, repair, or validate this older software. Security updates for this pivotal application will end, which in some situations may cause regulatory compliance or even legal liability problems.

Progent continues to provide world-class support services for outdated releases of Cisco Unified CM and CallManager, but if your company is still running a legacy release of this critical application you should begin now to plan your upgrade. Progent's collaboration consulting professionals can assist your company to upgrade non-disruptively to the current version of Cisco Unified CM and can often save clients up to 50% off consulting service expense compared to most IT service firms thanks to Progent's documented procedures and experience in this area. By adhering to leading practices, Progent can ensure that your company gets a fast payback on your IT investment by showing you how to take full advantage of the enhanced features, reduced management and support costs, more engaging collaboration capabilities, and tighter security provided by the newest edition of Unified CM.

Progent's migration consulting services include return-on-investment assessment, project management, system testing and validation, Cloud integration, setting up collaboration endpoints from Cisco and third-party providers, mobile integration, data protection consulting, management automation, disaster recovery planning, network architecture design, training, and ongoing consulting and troubleshooting. Progent also offers fixed-priced upgrade service bundles to make sure your costs are visible and affordable.

For more details about Progent's consulting help for Cisco solutions, select a topic:

• Overview of Cisco Engineering Services
• Fast and Affordable Remote Help from a Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) Network Engineer
• Cisco ASA 5500-X Firewall with Firepower Services: Setup and Troubleshooting Services
• ASA 5500 Firewalls Troubleshooting Assistance
• PIX Series Firewall Troubleshooting Expertise
• Cisco Routers Configuration and Troubleshooting Services
• Cisco Wireless Deployment Expertise
• Aironet Wireless APs Engineering Expertise
• Cisco Small Business WiFi Access Points Engineering Help
• Cisco WiFi Controllers Consulting
• Cisco Meraki Wireless APs Design Help
• Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM or Unified CM) and CallManager Consulting and Technical Support
• Cisco Jabber Consulting and Support Services
• Cisco Catalyst Switches Engineering Expertise
• Cisco Nexus Switches Support and Troubleshooting Services
• Cisco Meraki Switches Configuration and Maintenance Expertise
• Cisco VPN and Network Security Setup and Troubleshooting Assistance
• SIP and CUBE Integration Solutions: SIP Trunks and Cisco CUBE Integration Consulting
• Design Expertise for Cisco-powered Data Centers
• Network Design Expertise for Service Providers
• Centralized Management Technologies for Cisco-powered Environments

• Implementation for BlackBerry Email Bay Area
• New Orleans Louisiana Microsoft SQL Server 2016 Computer Consulting Firms
• Telepresence On-site Technical Support in Rhode Island
• Cisco IP phones Computer Consulting Turlock, CA
• Microsoft SharePoint 2013 Integration Services Houston Sugar Land Baytown
• Integration
• 7900 Series IP Phone Online Technical Support in Indianapolis, IN
• Cisco VoIP Phones and Unified CM Technical Support in El Paso
• Top Ranked Security Contractors Ohio
• Cisco VoIP Phones and Contact Center Integration Support
• Support in McKenzie, TN
• Server Setup
• Menlo Park, California Cisco VoIP Phones and Cisco Unity On-site Technical Support
• IT Consulting for 8800-EX Wireless IP Phone in Alameda County
• Consulting Team Winston-Salem Piedmont Triad
• Arlington Texas SharePoint 2010 Information Technology Consulting
• SharePoint 2013 Computer Consulting
• VoIP Phone System Network Engineer Palo Alto