Cisco Certified Network Consultants

Sending real-time voice and video over Internet Protocol has progressed from simply being being a smart means to save money on phone bills to a strategic tool for competitive advantage. Unified IP communications, once restricted to managing Internet-based voice calls and faxing on the same system to take the place of expensive PBX systems, now encompasses voice and video, mobility, chat, presence, collaboration services, and more in a single environment that is manageable, scalable, secure, resilient, cost-effective, and intuitive.

Cisco is the leader in supplying the hardware and software infrastructure required to support the modern model of unified communications (UC). Cisco's unified communications architecture adds to the productivity of information networks by slashing operational expenses; integrating rich media functions with popular software programs to increase user output; facilitating teamwork among employees, partners, and suppliers to save time and improve business outcomes; and streamlining the support of your communications infrastructure.

Cisco's Unified Communications technology address several main product areas:,

• Call Control Agents for controlling rich media calls and sessions
• Collaboration Endpoints to optimize worker productivity
• Unified Communications Applications for simplified access to real-time, chat, voice and video, voice messages, desktop sharing, and voice/video conferencing
• IP Gateways for connecting to public networks and teleworkers

Call and Session Processing Software - Unified Communications Manager/CallManager
Cisco's call-processing agent is the heart of Cisco's IP Communications solution and provides the flexibility to deploy a central call-processing design, a decentralized model, or a combination of the two. In a centralized approach, Unified Communications Manager (UC Manager or CUCM) extends corporate telephony features to packet devices such as VoIP handsets, media management devices, VoIP gateways, and mixed media programs throughout the network. Cisco Unified Communications Manager enables additional mixed media services such as unified messaging, video conferencing, and group-based client interaction networks.

The latest version of Unified Communications Manager, formerly known as Cisco CallManager, includes a variety of enhancements that speed up your return on investment by cutting administrative and maintenance costs, increasing worker productivity, facilitating collaboration, accommodating the BYOD model of computing, fortifying security, and making optimal utilization of network resources. Headline innovations include automatic dial-plan replication, simplified certificate management, expanded support for standards-based single sign-on for managers and users, hardware-independent call recording, on-the-road access without the need for VPN tunneling, a revamped self-care interface that makes it easy for users to set their options for all of their endpoints, and support for Secure Real-Time Transport Protocol for mobile users.

In cases where you deploy a centralized Unified Communications Manager cluster to manage call processing for customers at remote sites, administrators can help achieve non-stop call operation through Cisco Survivable Remote Site Telephony, a Cisco IOS Software image for Cisco routers. If a WAN link breaks, Cisco Survivable Remote Site Telephony in the router offers basic Unified Communications Manager capabilities until the connection is restored. For information about Progent's consulting support services for Cisco routers, see consulting support services for Cisco Integrated Services routers.

For small business networks, branch locations, and retail environments that do not require the complete functionality offered by Unified CM, Cisco Unified Communications Manager Express, previously named CallManager Express offers an economical PBX alternative that handles the requirements of sites with up to 450 workers. Because Cisco Unified Communications Manager Express Unified Communications Manager Express (Unified CCX) is embedded in the IOS Software operating on a Cisco Integrated Services Router (ISR), smaller offices can quickly set up a unified voice and data solution.

Cisco's Business Edition 6000 is a line of end-to-end platforms that offer essential unified communications capabilities including routing, gateway, premium voice/video, messaging, instant messaging and real-time presence, conferencing, and paging services, allowing any end user to collaborate on any endpoint device from anywhere. All Business Edition 6000 solutions are shipped preconfigured with a virtualization hypervisor and UC applications software, making deployment quick and easy and reducing operating expenses for companies with up to 1000 employees. All systems come preloaded with a virtualization hypervisor and collaboration applications software. Organizations can simply enable UC applications when their needs dictate.

The small-scale Business Edition 6000S supports five standard UC software applications preloaded on a single combination 2921V ISR router/gateway/virtualized E1600 M2 server device and can handle up to 150 users and 300 endpoint devices. The mid-market BE6000M supports 4 UC application options enabled on a single virtualized Cisco C220 M4 server platform and supports a maximum capacity of 1000 workers, 1200 endpoint devices, and 100 contact center agents. The top-of-the-line BE6000S Supports 8 unified communications application options activated on a virtualized C220 M4 server and has the ability to support as many as 1000 users, 2500 endpoint devices, and 100 contact center agents.

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

Cisco IP Phones: VoIP and IP Media Phones
A communications endpoint is an end-user instrument, and can be a hardware phone or a soft phone program on a PC or mobile computer. In the Internet Protocol world, each IP phone is Ethernet connected. VoIP phones have all of the features that an analog telephone provides, but IP phones can also offer additional functions including being able to connect to websites or run business software.

In contrast to traditional PBX technology, in a Cisco IP telephony network you can perform virtually instantaneous moves, adds, and modifications. You simply take the IP handset to its new spot, attach it to an Ethernet connection, and the device announces itself with Cisco Unified Communications Manager. All client rights and configurations are programmatically re-established, eliminating the expense and hassle of dispatching technicians to wiring closets. Another efficient feature is location independence, which allows you to sign into any Cisco VoIP device and get your personal phone number and rights.

Cisco provides a wide range of VoIP phones. The low-cost SPA 300 family are no-frills IP and Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications (DECT) screenless or monochrome phones offering wide-band audio, compatibility with hosted Internet Protocol telephony systems or an IP PBX, simple installation and safe remote installation, zero-downtime software updates, and browser-based set up. The low-end SPA301 is a single-line IP phone with no screen or speakerphone function, a base dialer with one Ethernet port, and a wired handset with no keys. The SPA302D, designed solely for use with the Cisco SPA232D Multi-Line DECT ATA (Analog Telephone Adapter), is a multiple-line cordless Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications handset that supports 10-lines, a 176 x 220 pixel color display, and a dial pad with speakerphone capability. Cisco's SPA303 is an economical three-line SIP-based IP phone with dual Ethernet ports, a 128x64 mono screen and a speaker.

The SPA500 family VoIP phones are low-cost endpoints that support SIP and SPCP call control protocols, two switch ports, speakerphones, PoE, and conferencing support. Most versions have a 128 x 64 monochrome screen display, The SPA501G VoIP phone supports eight lines and has eight soft buttons but no LCD screen. The SPA502G has a single line and has no soft keys. The SPA504G IP Phone supports four lines and has four programmable keys. The SPA508G has eight lines and eight programmable buttons. The SPA509G IP Phone supports 12 lines and features 12 programmable buttons. The SPA512G has four lines, no soft keys and supports Gigabit Ethernet. The SPA514G supports four lines, has programmable buttons, and supports Gigabit Ethernet. The high-end SPA525G2 IP Phone has a 320 x 240 pixel color screen, supports five lines, and includes five soft keys.

Cisco's IP Phones 3900 Series and IP Phones 6900 Series are specialty VoIP devices intended for infrequent-use environments such as cafeterias, elevators, and conference facilities. The Unified SIP Phone 3905 features VoIP phone features a 128 x 32 pixel mono display, an integrated 10/100 Ethernet switch, a speakerphone, and Power over Ethernet. The simple Cisco Unified IP Phone 6901 is a one-line endpoint with no display and uses a hook switch for call transfer and conferencing.

The 7800 line of value-priced IP phones are VoIP endpoints featuring backlit mono screens, four programmable buttons, 11 fixed-feature buttons, an integral Ethernet switch with Power over Ethernet (PoE), and a speakerphone. Cisco's 7800 Series support only the SIP call control protocol. All models in Cisco's 7800 Series 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 advanced 7800 units, reduces after-hours energy consumption by up to 60 percent. The Cisco IP Phone 7811 is a one-line phone intended for common areas as well as for employees with occasional-to-light voice communications requirements. The IP 7811 comes with a 3.28-inch 384 x 106 screen and a narrow-band speakerphone. Wideband audio is available via an optional handset. Cisco's IP Phone 7821 is a two-line phone with a 396 x 162 screen. The IP Phone 7841 is a four-line VoIP phone with a 396 x 162 screen and is the only device in the 7800 series that provides 1xGb Ethernet. The high-end IP Phone 7861 VoIP phone is a 16-line endpoint intended for administrative staff, contact center personnel, and managers who have heavy voice communications requirements.

The Cisco Unified IP Phone 7900 Series are SIP and SCCP IP voice and video devices with a 320 x 240 color screen, an integral 10/100/1000 Ethernet switch, Class 3 Power over Ethernet (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 have a 5-inch screen and four soft buttons. The Cisco Unified IP Phone 7975G unit is an eight-line IP voice and video phone with a 5.6-inch touch screen and five soft buttons.

Cisco's IP Phone 8800 Series is a line of SIP-based endpoints that features 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 soft buttons and 12 dedicated buttons. Cisco's IP Phone 8811 features a mono screen and supports Class 2 PoE. Cisco's IP Phone 8841 features a WVGA color screen and supports Class 2 PoE. Cisco's IP Phone 8845 features a WVGA color display, 720p HD video, an adjustable 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 connection with charging capability, supports Intelligent Proximity for Mobile Voice and Class 3 Power over Ethernet, and is offered in Bluetooth and non-Bluetooth versions. The Cisco IP Phone 8861 has a WVGA color screen, Bluetooth, dual USB ports with charging capability, and supports Cisco Intelligent Proximity for Mobile Voice, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, and Class 4 PoE. The Cisco IP Phone 8865 has a WVGA color display, 720p HD video, a tiltable camera, Bluetooth, two USB connections with charging capability, and supports Cisco Intelligent Proximity for Mobile Voice, Wi-Fi, and Class 4 PoE.

Cisco's wireless VoIP phones are industrial-grade wireless handsets intended for workers who are on the move within office, warehouse, health-care or other environments where IT management requires portable phones that offer more control, security and durability than is possible with the BYOD style of mobile communications. Cisco's 8821 and 8812-EX wireless VoIP phones provide on-the-move on-premises workers the benefits of voice over wireless LAN technology in environments with 802.11x Wi-Fi. The 8821 Wireless IP Phone includes a 2.4 inch color screen, a durable case designed to withstand dropping and IP67 for particulate and moisture resistance, long-life batteries, a built-in full-duplex speakerphone, and an integrated Bluetooth 4.0 radio to support wireless headsets. Cisco's 8821-EX Wireless VoIP Phone adds protection against sparking for potentially combustible environments. The 8821-EX also features a case fabricated of industry-standard yellow plastics, which makes it easier to locate in a crisis. Find out about Progent's Cisco Wireless IP Phone integration consulting.

Cisco's discontinued 9900 Series of high-performance IP phones mix high-quality voice with hi-res color screens to provide a productive multimedia experience for managers and executives. The two IP phones in the 9900 line include an SD VGA color display, a Bluetooth 2.0 radio to support a wide range of headsets, and an integrated Gigabit Ethernet port. The Cisco EnergyWise function is optional and can reduce off-hour energy consumption by as much as 90 percent. The IP Phone 9951 features a 5-inch screen and allows up to 2 IP Color Key Expansion Modules for expanding programmable line and feature keys. The IP Phone 9971 features a 5.6-inch screen, a built-in Wi-Fi radio for deployment with Voice-over-WLAN networks, and 4 customizable touchscreen keys to access Cisco UC functions. The 9971 IP phone allows up to 3 IP Color Key Expansion Modules for adding scalability to customizable line and function keys.

Unified Communications Applications
Within Cisco's Unified Communications architecture, IP telephony, video, and other converged applications are physically isolated from the call-processing and voice-processing infrastructure, and they may be anywhere within the system. A single network infrastructure offers an open platform for feature-rich business applications and serves as a solid basis for future convergence-based applications. Cisco works with leading IT industry partners to provide a broad selection of IP phone and IP video software applications and devices. Cisco also supports the ability to create and manage specialized in-house programs.

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

Jabber
Cisco Jabber is a converge media application that provides presence, IM, business-quality voice, HD video, voicemail, desktop sharing, and online conferencing features for Windows PCs, Macs, tablets as well as iPhones, Android phones, and Blackberries. Jabber is a rebranding and combination of the Unified Personal Communicator soft phone application, Cisco Mobile, and Cisco WebEx Connect, with significant enhancements in the areas of video capabilities and screen sharing, and extending the team experience to more platforms and devices. Jabber works in conjunction with Cisco Unified Communications Manager for call control, Cisco Unified Presence for instant messaging and presence, Unity Connection for voicemail and automated attendant, and WebEX Meeting for conferencing.

Because Cisco Jabber is built around key industry protocols, it can communicate with a broad range of third-party platforms. As an example, Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol allows Cisco Jabber to exchange IM and presence information with other XMPP clients such as Adium, IBM Sametime, and Microsoft Lync and Office Communications Server. Jabber features can be accessed from Microsoft Office programs including Microsoft Outlook and SharePoint. This broad platform compatibility optimizes output by providing a common end-user environment and accommodating the bring-your-own-device paradigm of computing. Progent can provide the assistance of certified Exchange and Outlook consultants and Microsoft SharePoint experts who can show you how to take advantage of Jabber with Microsoft's popular collaboration products. Progent also offers help with iPhone integration as well as Android phone integration and management to help you to enhance the business value of your BYOD environment.

Cisco WebEx Meeting Center
Cisco WebEx Meeting Center provides web and video conferencing for participants using a browser or virtually any desktop or mobile computer. Cisco WebEx is offered as software as a service (SaaS) via the Cisco WebEx Cloud. This makes it easy to deploy and expand, streamlines administration, avoids high initial investment, offers maximum uptime and enterprise-class security, and delivers consistently high performance. Important features include support for sharing discrete content or your whole screen with remote attendees in real time, the capability to add rich media into your presentations including PowerPoint and Flash animations, session recording plus editing and playback for training and demonstrations, single sign-on (SSO) and integration with other Cisco collaboration applications like Jabber and Cisco TelePresence, plus stringent data privacy and encrypted connections with tight policy control.

Cisco WebEx Meeting Center works with Windows, Mac, and Linux desktops and notebooks and permits mobile workers to launch, schedule, and take part in meetings on Android devices, Apple iPhones and iPads, BlackBerry phones, and Microsoft Windows Phone. Users can also launch web conferences with a few clicks from Microsoft Office, Microsoft Outlook, Notes, and a selection of instant messaging solutions.

Cisco TelePresence Portfolio for In-house Teleconferencing Infrastructure
For medium-size organizations and enterprises who want to create an on-premises or hybrid in-house/cloud environment for teleconferencing, Cisco offers a portfolio of Cisco TelePresence platforms that deliver high-quality and standards-based video conferencing for attendees with almost any endpoint device at any location. Cisco TelePresence Server is an expandable teleconferencing bridge that works with Cisco Unified CM to deliver multiparty telepresence to unified communications deployments and can expand conferences to support cloud-based Cisco WebEx Meeting Center participants. Cisco TelePresence Conductor software simplifies the control of the way video conferencing resources should be allocated for each participant, enabling managers to define the precise service level and experience required for each user. Cisco TelePresence Content Server records video and presentations for real-time distribution and video on demand (VOD) playback.

Cisco's Unity Connection and Unity Express for Unified Voice Messaging
Cisco's Unity Connection, an extension of Unified CM, is a unified voicemail solution that promotes teamwork by offering a variety of alternatives for retrieving voice messages within a framework that is simple to deploy and administer. Unity Connection allows you to access and manage your voicemail from your Exchange inbox, web browser, Cisco Jabber, a Cisco Unified IP Phone, a smartphone, or a tablet. Unity Connection also provides sophisticated voice-recognition features for hands and eyes free operation and extensive Automated Attendant features such as intelligent routing for incoming calls and custom call-screening and message-alert options. The Cisco Unity Connection system operates as a fully virtualized system that can reside on a BE6000 server or a Cisco SRE 910 router service module and can support up to 20,000 voice mailboxes on each server.

Unity Express (CUE), offered in certain Cisco ISR routers, offers affordable voicemail, integrated messaging, IVR, and automated-attendant functions for small to medium businesses and enterprise branch offices with as many as 500 voice mailboxes. Unity Express permits users to manage voicemail messages using a Cisco Unified IP Phone display, your web browser, or an email client. ISR Routers for which Unity Express is available as a network module or advanced integration module include Cisco's 1861, 2900, 3800, and 3900 Series. Progent offers certified deployment and support services for Integrated Services Routers.

Unified Contact Center
Unified Contact Center Enterprise (Unified CCE or UCCE) integrates with Cisco Unified CM and agent desktop applications like Finesse to provide automatic call distribution features that allow an organization to match customers with the right sales or service agent. Unified CCE features intelligent call distribution, computer telephony integration (CTI), multiple channel contact management, network call queuing, interactive voice response and consolidated company-wide reporting to streamline the deployment and administration of a modern customer contact center. Cisco products incorporated in Unified CCE's client contact management ecosystem include Unified IP Phones, Cisco Voice Gateways, and Cisco network infrastructure.

Cisco Unified Contact Center Express (Unified CCX or CCX) offers a packaged solution for creating a customer interaction management center for branch or midmarket deployments that support as many as 400 agents. Several packages are available, as well as a selection of special options. Cisco Unified Contact Center Express integrates closely with Cisco CUCM and provides smart call routing, contact interaction management, integrated reporting, interactive voice response, and management of voice, email, web chat, and social media inquiries. Unified Contact Center Express includes Cisco Finesse, a web-based customizable desktop agent that needs no client installation. Optional enhancements include conditional routing, estimated-wait-time announcements, and productivity optimization with workforce and quality management.

Cisco Mobile Connect and Single Number Reach
Mobile Connect, commonly referred to as Single Number Reach, makes it possible for users to be called via a single number that rings at the same time on their Cisco desktop IP Phone and their smartphone. Users can switch active calls between their Cisco VoIP phone and their cell 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 different phones.

Cisco Prime Collaboration
Prime Collaboration Provisioning provides an automated process for first-time installs as well as for “day 2” moves, adds, changes, and deletions. An intuitive console provides a single look at a user and the subscriber's services. Cisco Prime Collaboration significantly accelerates company-wide installations and minimizes the effort needed to implement ongoing updates. Prime Collaboration in addition provides advanced analytics including technology adoption and usage trends, enabling organizations to optimize IT resources and further reduce total cost of ownership.

Cisco Communications Gateways
Cisco's communications gateways allow Cisco Unified Communications networks to connect with other networks and with users working outside the firewall. Cisco's line of gateways provide UC services for a wide variety of gateway as well as session-border-control deployments.

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

Cisco 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 network environments, collaboration platforms, or endpoint equipment to connect to Unified Communication features. The Expressway works with an enterprise Cisco CM system or Cisco BE6000, or can be run via the cloud with Cisco HCS to make productive collaboration more pervasive. Key features of Cisco Expressway are:

• Mobile and Remote Connectivity: Remote workers who have any Jabber-compatible client or telecommuters with Cisco TelePresence endpoints have the benefit of single-sign-on (SSO) and of Transport Layer Security (TLS) and can access all their collaboration applications (high-definition video, voice, content instant messaging, and realtime presence) without the inconvenience establishing a VPN. Also, telecommuters can utilize their Cisco TelePresence endpoints without a VPN tunnel, delivering a user environment at home that is the same as the corporate office.
• Cisco Jabber Guest Support: Expressway is required for enabling Cisco's Jabber Guest, which makes it possible for “guests” to interact with your organization simply and securely through lightweight web-browser and mobile video phone calls.
• Cisco Cloud Connectivity: Cisco Expressway can act as a gateway that creates a path between on-premises Cisco or non-Cisco collaboration solutions and Cisco's WebEx cloud. By supporting Cisco Collaboration Meeting Rooms (CMRs), Cisco Expressway offers a world-class, extensible meeting environment that transparently integrates high-quality voice, HD video, and data sharing to anyone, anywhere, on any endpoint.
• Interoperability: If your company already has third-party video systems, Cisco Expressway can help you to migrate efficiently to Cisco products whenever you choose. Cisco Expressway provides video interoperability with standards-based H.323, H.264 Scalable Video Coding (SVC), or Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) systems. Gateway standards supported by Cisco Expressway include IPv4 to IPv6, H.323 to SIP, and Microsoft Lync H.264 Scalable Video Coding to H.264/AVC.

• WebEx Cloud Connected Audio (CCA) for SIP-media-connected conferencing
• Voice/Video recording
• SIP-based Call-center and IVR solutions
• Policy-based security evaluation of phone calls
• B2B teleconferencing over SIP

Cisco's Legacy UC520, UC540 and UC560 VoIP Gateways
The end-of-life Cisco Unified Communications 500 (UC500) product line is an all-in-one VoIP and unified communications system for small businesses. UC500 models provide voice, data, voicemail, auto attendant, video, security, and WiFi capabilities, work with older Cisco VoIP endpoints, and support various PSTN interfaces.

All of Cisco's UC500 series bundles include a desktop switch appliance with 8 Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) interfaces and additional foreign exchange stations (FXS) and FXO interfaces, a firewall, and VPN. Integrated WiFi is an option. VoIP user capacity can be increased by connecting with Cisco Catalyst Express switches. Each UC500 offering also includes software 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 system supports 8 to 16 VoIP users and incorporate 4 foreign exchange stations and 4 FXO interfaces. The Cisco UC540 system supports 24 to 32 users and has 8 foreign exchange office interfaces. The Cisco UC560 system allows 48 VoIP clients and 12 foreign exchange office interfaces.

Progent's seasoned VoIP experts can help you to maintain your legacy UC500 VoIP gateway or design and carry out an efficient upgrade to a modern IP telephony and voicemail system like Cisco's Business Edition 4000.

How Progent Can Help You with Cisco IP Voice and IP Media Phones, CUCM, and Video Conferencing
Progent can provide online or on-premises help from a certified CCIE Collaboration specialist to help you to plan, install, administer and repair converged communications environments based on Cisco Unified Communication technology in an in-house, cloud-based, or hybrid deployment. Progent's Cisco engineers have extensive experience supporting Unified Communications Manager and CallManager, Voice over IP and video phones and other endpoints, Unified Communications applications such as Cisco Jabber and WebEx Meeting Center, Cisco's immersive telepresence technologies, collaboration gateways, tools incorporated into Cisco switches and routers. Progent can also offer expertise with related technologies such as Cisco Survivable Remote Site Telephony, Cisco Unified Border Element, SIP gateways, Call Admission Control, IP voice trunks, various signaling protocols, and Cisco's AVVID architecture. Progent's SIP infrastructure experts can also help you to create SIP connectivity environments that include SIP VoIP phones and media phones, SIP-based CUBE trunks, and SIP management tools with Cisco Unified Communications Manager.

Progent's custom application developers can create specialized unified communications applications that will enable your organization to incorporate the capabilities of Cisco Unified Communications Manager into your company operations for enhanced efficiency. Progent can revue your existing network and Internet connectivity architecture to make sure your environment is optimized to accommodate business-quality VoIP and high-definition video, help you to choose and deploy Cisco hardware and software appropriate for your current needs and future expansion goals, and interface your Cisco collaborative communications solution with products from other suppliers. Progent's CISSP-ISSAP certified data security consultants can assist you to develop, carry out, and validate an enterprise-wide security and compliance strategy for your converged communications solution. In addition, Progent can assist you to deploy Cisco high-availability mechanisms such as Cisco Unified Survivable Remote Site Telephony (SRST) to provide affordable call control backup in remote-branch and teleworker sites, and Progent's disaster recovery and business continuity planning consultants can help you create a sensible DR/BC plan to protect your business-critical unified communications environment.

Cisco Unified Communications Manager/CallManager Upgrade Consulting
Releases of Cisco Unified Communications Manager 8.6 lower than 8.6 and every release of its predecessor CallManager have reached end-of-life. Therefore Cisco will cease to enhance, fix, or validate the product software. Security updates for this business-critical product will end, which in certain situations may cause regulatory compliance or legal liability problems.

Progent continues to offer premier consulting and troubleshooting support for outdated releases of Unified CM and Cisco CallManager, but if your business is still running an out-of-dated release of this essential application your organization should begin now to prepare for your migration. Progent's collaboration consultants can assist your company to migrate smoothly to the current release of Cisco Unified Communications Manager and can typically save clients as much as 50% off consulting expense compared to most computer service companies because of Progent's documented process and hands-on experience in this practice area. By following leading practices, Progent can make sure your company gets a fast return on your investment by showing you how to benefit fully from the new and improved features, lower management and support costs, more engaging collaboration capabilities, and stronger data protection offered by the latest version of Unified CM.

Progent's upgrade consulting services include return-on-investment analysis, project management, system testing, Cloud integration, configuring endpoint devices from Cisco and third-party vendors, smartphone and tablet integration, data protection consulting, management automation, business continuity planning, network infrastructure design, staff and user training, and ongoing consulting and technical support. Progent also offers fixed-priced migration service bundles to make sure your costs are visible and affordable.

To learn additional information concerning Progent's engineering help for Cisco networking products, select a topic:

• Introduction to Cisco Expertise
• Fast and Affordable Online Support from a CCIE Consultant
• Cisco Firepower NGFW Firewalls: Integration and Troubleshooting Services
• ASA 5500-X Series Firewall with Cisco Firepower Services: Setup and Troubleshooting Expertise
• Cisco ASA 5500 Firewall Integration Expertise
• PIX Series Firewall Management Help
• Cisco Routers Consulting Services
• Cisco Wireless Consulting Support
• Cisco Aironet APs Consulting Support
• Cisco Small Business Wireless APs System Design Services
• Catalyst 802.11ax Wi-Fi 6/6E APs Solution Design, Deployment and Troubleshooting Services
• Cisco WiFi Controllers Consultants
• Cisco Meraki Access Points Deployment Support
• Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM or Unified CM) and Cisco CallManager Integration and Troubleshooting
• Cisco Jabber and Management Expertise
• Catalyst Switches Consulting and Support Services
• Nexus Switches Support and Troubleshooting Expertise
• Meraki MS Switches Consulting and Support Services
• Cisco VPN Engineering Help
• SIP and CUBE Integration Solutions: SIP PSTN Trunks and Cisco CUBE Integration Expertise
• Infrastructure Design for Cisco-based Datacenters
• Infrastructure Design Consulting for Internet Service Providers
• Centralized Management Solutions for Cisco Infrastructure