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Exchanging live voice and video over Internet Protocol has advanced from simply being being a savvy technique to save money on phone carrier bills to being a strategic tool for productive collaboration. Converged communications, at one time restricted to combining Internet-based voice calls and faxing on a single system in order to take the place of expensive PBX systems, now incorporates VoIP and video, mobility, chat, real-time presence, collaboration services, and much more in a single ecosystem that is manageable, extensible, protected, fault-tolerant, economical, and intuitive.

Cisco is the market leader in providing solutions for supporting the new paradigm of unified communications (UC). Cisco's UC solution adds to the efficiency of information networks by slashing operating costs; combining multiple collaboration functions with popular software applications to improve user output; supporting collaboration among workers, partners, and vendors to save effort and enhance business results; and simplifying the support of your communications infrastructure.

Cisco's Unified Communications solutions address several primary product categories:,

• Call Control Platforms for controlling calls and sessions
• VoIP and Video Endpoints to enhance end-user engagement
• Unified Communications Software Applications for simplified access to real-time, chat, voice and video, voice messages, desktop sharing, and conferencing
• IP Gateways for connecting to public networks and teleworkers

Call Control Software - Unified Communications Manager (CallManager)
The call-processing agent is the heart of the Cisco IP telephony portfolio and gives you the versatility to implement a central call-processing model, a decentralized design, or a combination of the two. In a centralized approach, Unified Communications Manager (UC Manager or CUCM) extends corporate phone features to packet telephony devices such as VoIP handsets, media processing devices, Voice over IP gateways, and multimedia programs throughout the network. Unified Communications Manager supports additional mixed media functions including unified messaging, multimedia conferencing, and group-based customer interaction networks.

The latest version of Unified Communications Manager, previously named CallManager, includes a variety of improvements that speed up your return on investment by lowering management and maintenance expenses, improving worker output, facilitating teamwork, supporting the bring-your-own-device model of working, strengthening security, and making optimal utilization of network infrastructure. Top new features include Global Dial Plan Replication (GDPR), streamlined certificate control, expanded support for standards-based single sign-on (SSO) for managers and users, device-agnostic call recording, mobile access without the need for VPN, a revamped self-care interface that makes it easy for workers to manage their options and preferences for all endpoint devices, and support for Transport Layer Security and Secure Real-Time Transport Protocol for mobile users.

When you implement a centralized Unified Communications Manager cluster to manage voice processing for customers at remote locations, IT managers can help achieve non-stop phone operation through Cisco Survivable Remote Site Telephony, a Cisco IOS Software image for Cisco routers. If a Wide Area Network link fails, Cisco SRST in the Cisco router offers core Cisco UC Manager services until the connection is returned. For a description of Progent's consulting support services for Cisco ISR routers, refer to consulting and troubleshooting services for Cisco ISR routers.

For small business networks, branch locations, and retail environments that do not need the full feature set available from Unified CM, Unified Communications Manager Express, formerly known as CallManager Express offers an economical PBX alternative that handles the needs of locations with as many as 450 users. Because Unified Communications Manager Express Unified Communications Manager Express (Unified CCX) is built into the IOS Software operating on a Cisco Integrated Services Router (ISR), smaller organizations can rapidly implement a unified voice/data environment.

Cisco's Business Edition 6000 is a family of complete platforms that provide fundamental collaboration capabilities including routing, IP gateway, premium voice/video, messaging, chat and real-time presence, teleconferencing, and paging services, allowing any user to collaborate on any endpoint device from any place. All Business Edition 6000 systems come preconfigured with virtualization and Unified Communications applications, making deployment fast and easy and cutting cost of ownership for companies with from 25 to 1000 workers. All BE6000 solutions are delivered preloaded with virtualization and UC applications software. Organizations can instantly activate collaboration software applications whenever their needs evolve.

The entry-level Business Edition 6000S includes five fixed unified communications applications installed on a single combination router/gateway/virtualized E1600 M2 blade server device and can handle a maximum capacity of 150 workers and 300 devices. The mid-market Business Edition 6000M includes 4 collaboration software application options activated on a single virtualized Cisco UCS C220 M4 server and supports as many as 1000 workers, 1200 devices, and 100 contact center agents. The high-end BE6000S Supports eight unified communications application options enabled on a single virtualized Cisco UCS C220 M4 server and can handle up to 1000 workers, 2500 endpoint devices, and 100 contact center agents.

For additional information about Progent's support for Unified Communications Manager (CallManager), visit Unified Communications Manager and Cisco CallManager planning, configuration, upgrades and technical support.

IP Phones: VoIP and IP Media Endpoints
An IP communications endpoint is a user instrument, and can be a physical phone or a soft phone program on a PC or handheld computer. In the IP world, each IP phone is Ethernet connected. Voice over IP phones offer all of the functions that a conventional phone handset has, but IP phones often provide additional features such as being able to access websites or run collaboration software.

Unlike ordinary PBX technology, in a Cisco IP phone environment you can implement almost instantaneous relocations, adds, and modifications. All you do is take the IP handset to your new location, plug it into an Ethernet jack, and the device announces itself with Cisco Unified Communications Manager. All user rights and configurations are automatically re-established, doing away with the cost and delay of sending support personnel to wiring closets. An additional useful feature is extension mobility, which allows you to log into any Cisco VoIP phone and receive your own phone number and rights.

Cisco provides a broad selection of Unified CM hardware endpoints. The entry-level SPA 300 family are basic IP and Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications (DECT) devices that feature wide-band audio, support for hosted Internet Protocol phone environments or an IP private branch exchange (PBX), easy installation and secure remote provisioning, unobtrusive software updates, and browser-based set up. The low-end SPA301 is a one-line IP endpoint with no screen or speakerphone, a base dialer that has a single Ethernet connector, and a wired handset without a keypad. The SPA302D, intended exclusively for use with the Cisco SPA232D Multi-Line DECT ATA, is a multiple-line wireless DECT handset that offers 10-lines, a 176 x 220 pixel color display, and a dial pad with a speakerphone. Cisco's SPA303 is an economical three-line SIP-based phone with two switched ports, a 128x64 mono display and a speaker.

The SPA500 family IP phones are low-cost devices that support both SIP and SPCP signaling protocols, two integral switch ports, speakerphones, built-in web servers, PoE, and conferencing support. Most models have a 128 x 64 mono screen display, The SPA501G has eight lines and has eight soft keys but no LCD screen. The SPA502G IP Phone supports a single line and has no programmable buttons. The SPA504G IP Phone supports four lines and has four soft keys. The SPA508G IP Phone supports eight lines and eight soft keys. The SPA509G IP Phone supports 12 lines and has 12 soft buttons. The SPA512G VoIP phone supports four lines, no soft buttons and supports 1xGb Ethernet. The SPA514G IP Phone supports four lines, has soft buttons, and supports Gigabit Ethernet. The high-end SPA525G2 IP Phone has a 320 x 240 pixel color display, supports five lines, and includes five soft buttons.

Cisco's IP Phones 3900 Series and 6900 Series are specialty IP voice endpoints intended for occasional-use settings such as lobbies, hallways, and conference centers. Cisco's Unified SIP Phone 3905 features VoIP phone features a 128 x 32 mono screen, a 10/100 Ethernet switch, a speakerphone, and PoE. The simple Cisco Unified IP Phone 6901 is a one-line device with no display and uses a hook switch for transferring a call and conferencing.

The 7800 Series of value-priced IP phones are VoIP desktop endpoints with backlit monochrome screens, four programmable buttons, 11 fixed-feature keys, an Ethernet switch with Class 1 Power over Ethernet, and an integral speakerphone. The 7800 Series IP Phones support only the SIP signaling protocol. All models in the 7800 Series incorporate the same high-fidelity speakers and microphones as Cisco's 8800 Series IP phones to provide a state-of-the-art audio experience. 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 intended for shared areas as well as for employees with occasional-to-light voice communications needs. The IP 7811 comes with a 3.28-inch 384 x 106 screen plus 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 model in the 7800 series to support Gigabit Ethernet. The high-end IP Phone 7861 VoIP phone is a 16-line device intended for administrative staff, contact center agents, and managers who have heavy call requirements.

Cisco Unified IP Phone 7900 Series are SIP and SCCP media endpoints with a 320 x 240 color display, an integral Gigabit Ethernet switch, Class 3 Power over Ethernet (PoE), 10 fixed-feature keys and a speakerphone. The Cisco Unified IP Phone 7945G is a two-line device and the Cisco Unified IP Phone 7965G features four lines. Both VoIP phones have a 5-inch display and four soft keys. The Cisco Unified IP Phone 7975G device is an eight-line media phone featuring a 5.6-inch touch screen and five soft keys.

Cisco's IP Phone 8800 Series is a family of SIP-based endpoints that features desktop units, a conference phone, and mobile wireless IP Phones. The desktop units are five-line IP phones featuring a 5-inch 800 x 480 pixel screen, a Gigabit Ethernet switch, a speakerphone, four soft buttons and 12 fixed-feature buttons. The Cisco IP Phone 8811 features 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, 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 one USB port with charging capability, supports Intelligent Proximity for Mobile Voice and Class 3 PoE, and is available in Bluetooth and non-Bluetooth models. Cisco's IP Phone 8861 includes a WVGA color display, Bluetooth, dual USB ports with charging capability, and supports Cisco Intelligent Proximity for Mobile Voice, Wi-Fi, and Class 4 Power over Ethernet. The Cisco IP Phone 8865 has a WVGA color screen, 720p HD video, a tiltable camera, Bluetooth, dual USB connections with charging capability, and supports Cisco Intelligent Proximity for Mobile Voice, Wi-Fi, and Class 4 Power over Ethernet.

Cisco's wireless VoIP phones are hardened Wi-Fi devices designed for workers who are mobile within campus, hospitality, health-care or other environments where management wants portable phones that offer more control, security and durability than is achievable with the BYOD (Bring-Your-Own-Device) style of mobile collaboration. Cisco's 8821 and 8812-EX wireless IP phones offer mobile onsite users the advantages of voice over wireless LAN technology in workplaces with 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi infrastructure. The 8821 Wireless VoIP Phone features a 2.4 inch color screen, a durable case designed for shock resistance and IP67 for particulate and splash resistance, extended batteries, a built-in full-duplex speakerphone, and an integrated Bluetooth 4.0 transceiver to support cordless headsets. The 8821-EX Wireless VoIP Phone adds anti-sparking protection for use in hazardous work sites. The 8821-EX also features a shell fabricated out of yellow plastics, which makes the 8821-EX easy to find the event of a crisis. Find out about Progent's Wireless VoIP Phone integration and troubleshooting consulting.

Cisco's discontinued 9900 line of high-performance VoIP phones combine high-quality voice with high-resolution color displays to provide a productive multimedia experience for managers and executives. Both IP phones in this family include an SD 24-bit color screen, a Bluetooth 2.0 radio to support a wide selection of headsets, and a built-in Gigabit Ethernet port. The Cisco EnergyWise function is offered as an option and can cut off-work energy draw by as much as 90 percent. The Cisco IP Phone 9951 features a 5-inch screen and allows up to 2 Cisco 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 802.11a/b/g Wi-Fi transceiver for deployment with voice-over-wireless LAN environments, and 4 customizable touchscreen keys to invoke Cisco Unified Communications functions. The 9971 IP phone supports up to 3 Cisco IP Expansion Modules for adding scalability to customizable line and feature keys.

Unified Communications Application Software
Under Cisco's Unified Communications architecture, IP phone, video, and other converged applications are physically independent from the call- and voice-processing mechanism, and they may reside at any location within the system. A single network framework offers an open platform for powerful applications and acts as a solid foundation for future convergence-based software. Cisco cooperates with leading IT industry partners to provide a wide range of IP phone and video software applications and products. Cisco also supports the ability to create and manage customized in-house programs.

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

Cisco Jabber
Cisco Jabber is a unified communications application that supports presence, instant messaging, voice, HD video, voice messaging, desktop sharing, and online conferencing features for Windows PCs, Apple Macs, iPads and Android tablets plus iPhones, Android phones, and Blackberries. Cisco Jabber is an evolution and integration of the Cisco Unified Personal Communicator soft phone application, Cisco Mobile, and WebEx Connect, with major improvements in the areas of HD video features and desktop screen sharing, and extending the collaboration experience to additional operating systems and devices. Jabber works with Unified Communications Manager for call and session control, Cisco Unified Presence for IM and presence, Cisco Unity Connection for voicemail and programmable attendant, and Cisco WebEx Meeting for conferencing.

Because Jabber is built around key communication standards, it can interoperate with a broad selection of third-party products. For example, Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP) allows Cisco Jabber users to exchange instant messaging and presence data with various XMPP clients such as Adium for Mac OS, Sametime, and Microsoft Lync. Jabber collaboration features can be accessed from Microsoft Office programs such as Microsoft Outlook and SharePoint. This broad platform compatibility maximizes output by providing a consistent user experience and fully enabling the BYOD paradigm of networking. Progent offers the expertise of certified Exchange and Outlook consultants and SharePoint application developers who can assist you to integrate Jabber with Microsoft's popular collaboration products. Progent also offers help with Apple iPhone and iPad integration as well as Google Android phone integration to help you to increase the productivity of your BYOD ecosystem.

Cisco WebEx Meeting Center
WebEX Meeting Center enables online meetings for participants using a web browser or almost any desktop or handheld device. Cisco WebEx is offered as SaaS through the Cisco WebEx Cloud. This makes it simple to roll out and expand, streamlines administration, eliminates heavy up-front investment, features high availability and enterprise-class data protection, and provides excellent performance. Key capabilities include support for sharing specific content or your entire screen with remote participants in real time, the capability to embed multimedia into your presentations including Microsoft PowerPoint and Flash animations, session and content recording plus playback for future reference and training, single sign-on (SSO) and integration with Cisco collaboration products like Jabber and Cisco TelePresence, plus stringent data privacy and encrypted connections with tight policy management.

Cisco WebEx Meeting Center runs on Microsoft Windows, Apple Mac, and Linux-powered PCs and permits mobile users to initiate, calendarize, and participate in meetings on Android smartphones and tablets, Apple iPhones and iPads, BlackBerry handhelds, and Microsoft Windows Phone. You can also initiate web meetings with a few clicks from Microsoft Office, Microsoft Outlook, Notes, and a selection of IM applications.

Cisco TelePresence Products for On-premises Video Conferencing Ecosystems
For medium-size businesses and larger enterprises who wish to build an in-house or hybrid on-premises/cloud environment for teleconferencing, Cisco offers a selection of Cisco TelePresence platforms that enable high-quality video conferencing for participants with virtually any endpoint device at any site. Cisco TelePresence Server is an expandable video conferencing bridge that runs in conjunction with Cisco Unified Communications Manager to deliver multiparty video, audio and content sharing to UC environments and can expand meetings to include cloud-connected Cisco WebEx Meeting Center participants. Cisco TelePresence Conductor software simplifies management of how teleconferencing bandwidth and features should be allocated for every individual participant, enabling administrators to define the precise service level and user experience needed for every user. Cisco TelePresence Content Server records video and presentations for live streaming as well as on-demand viewing.

Cisco Unity Connection and Unity Express for Unified Voicemail and Automated Attendant
Cisco's Unity Connection, an integrated extension of Unified CM, is a converged voice messaging solution that facilitates teamwork by offering flexible set of alternatives for accessing voice messages within an environment that is simple to deploy and administer. Cisco Unity Connection lets you access and manage your voice messages from your email inbox, browser, Jabber, a Cisco Unified IP Phone, a smartphone, or a tablet. Cisco Unity Connection also provides sophisticated speech-recognition features for hands-free management and extensive Automated Attendant features such as smart routing for incoming phone calls and custom call-screening and message-alert settings. The Unity Connection system operates as a virtual machine that can be hosted on a Business Edition 6000 server or a Cisco Services Ready Engine 910 router service module and can accommodate as many as 20,000 voice mailboxes on each server.

Cisco Unity Express (CUE), available in certain Cisco ISR routers, offers cost-effective voicemail, integrated messaging, IVR, and automated-attendant services for small to mid-size businesses (SMBs) and corporate branch offices with as many as 500 users. Cisco Unity Express allows users to manage voicemail messages using a Cisco Unified IP Phone display, a browser, or an email system. ISR Routers for which Cisco Unity Express is available as a network module include Cisco's 2800, 2900, 3800, and 3900 Series. Progent offers comprehensive deployment and troubleshooting services for Cisco routers.

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

Unified Contact Center Express (Unified CCX or CCX) offers an out-of-the-box solution for creating a customer contact center for mid-scale deployments that handle up to 400 agents. Multiple bundles are offered, plus a variety of optional enhancements. Unified Contact Center Express integrates closely with CUCM and provides smart call distribution, client interaction management, reporting, interactive voice response, and management of voice, email, web chat, and social media inquiries. Cisco Unified Contact Center Express includes Cisco Finesse, a browser-based desktop agent that needs no client software setup. Advanced options include conditional routing, estimated-wait-time messages, and workforce and quality management.

Cisco Mobile Connect for Single Number Reach
Mobile Connect, commonly known as Single Number Reach, makes it possible for users to be called from a single number that rings simultaneously on their Cisco VoIP Phone and their mobile phone. Users can transfer live conversations between their desktop VoIP phone and their smartphone without disruption. Unanswered calls can be transferred to a Unity or Cisco Unity Connection voicemail account. Users can create their own access lists that determine which calls are extended to alternate phones.

Cisco Prime Collaboration Provisioning
Cisco Prime Collaboration offers an automated process for initial deployments and for follow-on moves, additions, changes, and deletions. A user-friendly interface provides a single view of a user and the subscriber's services. Cisco Prime Collaboration significantly speeds up company-wide rollouts and reduces the effort required to implement future updates. Prime Collaboration in addition provides management analytics that show application adoption and consumption trends, enabling administrators to make more efficient use of resources and further reduce total cost of ownership.

Cisco Communications Gateways
Cisco's communications gateways permit Cisco Unified Communications deployments to connect with other networks and with clients operating beyond the firewall. Cisco's portfolio of gateways provide unified communications services for a broad range of gateway as well as session-border-control applications.

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

Cisco Expressway Collaboration Gateway
Cisco's Expressway is a powerful unified communications and collaboration gateway that enables organizations to allow employees, vendors, customers, or partners who are working on different network environments, workgroup platforms, or endpoint equipment to access to Unified Communication features. Cisco's Expressway integrates with a Cisco CM deployment or Cisco Business Edition 6000, or can be run through the cloud with Cisco Hosted Collaboration Solution to make collaboration more universal. Key features of Expressway are include:

• Mobile and Off-site Connectivity: Remote users who have any Jabber-supported desktop or handheld computer or teleworkers with Cisco TelePresence endpoints get the benefit of single-sign-on and of Transport Layer Security (TLS) and can access all their collaboration workloads (video, voice, content IM, and realtime presence) without the inconvenience a VPN connection. Also, teleworkers can use their Cisco TelePresence endpoints without the need for a VPN tunnel, providing a user experience at home that is identical to the corporate office.
• Jabber Guest Support: Cisco Expressway is integral for supporting the Cisco Jabber Guest, which makes it possible for “guests” to communicate with your business simply and safely through streamlined browser and mobile multimedia phone calls.
• Cisco Cloud Connectivity: Expressway can function as a gateway that creates a path between on-premises Cisco or non-Cisco systems and Cisco's WebEx cloud. By supporting Cisco Collaboration Meeting Rooms (CMRs), Expressway offers a world-class, extensible conferencing environment that seamlessly integrates high-quality voice, high-definition video, and data sharing to any client, anywhere, using any endpoint.
• Interoperability: In case your company currently has non-Cisco video products, Expressway can assist you to move efficiently to Cisco technology when it makes business sense. Cisco Expressway offers video interoperability with industry standard H.323, H.264 Scalable Video Coding, or Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) systems. Internetworking capabilities supported by Expressway include IPv4 to IPv6, H.323 to SIP, and Microsoft Lync 2013 H.264 Scalable Video Coding (SVC) to MPEG-4/H.264 AVC.

• WebEx Cloud Connected Audio for high-capacity SIP-media-connected audio conferencing
• Voice and Video recording
• SIP-based Call-center and IVR solutions
• Policy-based evaluation of voice calls
• B2B immersive telepresence over SIP

Cisco's End-of-Life UC520, UC540 and UC560 VoIP Phone Systems
The end-of-life Cisco Unified Communications 500 (UC500) Series is an early VoIP and unified communications system for small organizations. UC500 models deliver voice, data, voicemail, automated attendant, video, firewall, and wireless functionality, work with older Cisco VoIP phones, and support various public switched telephone network (PSTN) interfaces.

All of Cisco's UC500 series bundles include a compact switch with 8 Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) ports plus additional FXS and foreign exchange office (FXO) ports, a firewall, and VPN support. Integrated WiFi is optional. VoIP user capacity can be expanded by connecting with Cisco Catalyst Express switches. Each UC500 offering also includes 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 users and include 4 FXS and 4 FXO ports. The Cisco UC540 package allows 24 to 32 clients and provides 8 FXO ports. The Cisco UC560 system allows 48 users and 12 foreign exchange office interfaces.

Progent's Cisco-certified VoIP experts can help you to support your legacy UC500 VoIP gateway or plan and implement a smooth upgrade to a current VoIP system like the Cisco Business Edition 4000.

How Progent Can Help You with Cisco IP Voice and IP Media Phones, CUCM, and Telepresence
Progent can provide remote or onsite help from a Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) Collaboration expert to assist your business to design, deploy, administer and troubleshoot unified communications networks built on Cisco Unified Communication products in a centralized, distributed, or hybrid environment. Progent's Cisco-certified engineers have in-depth backgrounds with Unified Communications Manager and Cisco CallManager, Voice over IP and video phones and other endpoints, Unified Communications applications such as Cisco Jabber and WebEx Meeting Center, Cisco's video conferencing technologies, collaboration gateways, utilities built into Cisco switches and routers. Progent can also provide expertise with related technologies such as Cisco SRST, CUBE, H.323 and H.264 gateways, Call Admission Control, VoIP trunks, various signaling protocols, and Cisco's AVVID architecture. Progent's SIP infrastructure experts can also help you to build SIP connectivity environments that incorporate SIP VoIP phones and video endpoints, SIP-based CUBE trunks, and SIP management tools with Cisco Unified Communications Manager.

Progent's application programmers can create specialized unified communications software that will help your organization to incorporate the features of Cisco Unified Communications Manager into your business processes for increased efficiency. Progent can audit your existing network and Internet access infrastructure to determine whether your system is optimized to accommodate high-quality Voice over IP and HD video, help you to select and deploy Cisco products that make sense for your present situation and downstream expansion objectives, and interface your Cisco Unified Communications products with technology from other vendors. Progent's CISSP-ISSAP certified data security and compliance consultants can show you how to create, implement, and validate a comprehensive security and compliance plan for your converged communications ecosystem. In addition, Progent can help your organization to configure Cisco high-availability technologies like Cisco Unified Survivable Remote Site Telephony to provide affordable call control backup in remote-branch and telecommuter sites, and Progent's disaster recovery and business continuity preparedness experts can help you develop a viable disaster recovery plan to ensure the availability of your business-critical unified communications system.

Cisco Unified Communications Manager/CallManager Migration Services
Versions of Unified Communications Manager 8.6 before 8.6 and all releases of CallManager have reached end-of-life. This means Cisco Engineering will no longer enhance, repair, or test this older software. Security patches for this business-critical product will end, which in some situations could create regulatory compliance or legal liability issues.

Progent continues to offer expert support for outdated releases of Cisco Unified CM and Cisco CallManager, but if you are still using an out-of-dated release of this pivotal application you should start immediately to prepare for your upgrade. Progent's Cisco-certified consulting professionals can assist you to migrate efficiently to the current version of Unified CM and can often save customers up to 50% off consulting costs compared to competing computer service firms thanks to Progent's documented procedures and experience in this practice area. By adhering to best practices, Progent can make sure your company realizes a fast payback on your investment by helping you take full advantage of the new and improved feature set, lower administrative and support expense, more productive collaboration, and stronger security offered by the current release of Unified CM.

Progent's upgrade consulting services include return-on-investment assessment, project management or co-management, pilot testing and validation, Cloud connectivity, configuring collaboration endpoints from Cisco and other vendors, mobile connectivity, data protection services, management automation, disaster recovery/business continuity planning, network topology design, training, and continuing consulting services and technical support. Progent also offers fixed-priced migration service bundles to make sure your costs are predictable and affordable.

For additional details about Progent's engineering expertise for Cisco technology, pick a topic:

• Overview of Progent's Cisco Support
• Fast and Affordable Remote Help from a Cisco CCIE Engineer
• Cisco ASA 5500-X Series Firewall with Cisco Firepower Services: Setup and Troubleshooting Services
• ASA 5500 Series Firewall Upgrade. Migration Support
• PIX Firewall Engineering Services
• Cisco Routers Consulting Expertise
• Cisco Wireless Network Design Services
• Aironet APs Consulting Expertise
• Cisco WiFi Controllers Support Services
• Cisco Meraki APs Engineering Expertise
• Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM or Unified CM) and CallManager Consulting and Technical Support
• Cisco Jabber Consulting and Support Expertise
• Cisco Catalyst Switches Consulting and Support Services
• Nexus Switches Deployment Expertise
• Meraki Switches Deployment Expertise
• Cisco VPN and Network Security Setup and Troubleshooting Support
• SIP and CUBE Infrastructure Solutions: SIP PSTN Trunks and Cisco CUBE Integration Consulting
• Design Solutions for Cisco-based Data Centers
• Infrastructure Optimization Services for Internet Service Providers
• Streamlined Management Technologies for Cisco-based Environments

• Online Troubleshooting for Cisco VoIP Phones and Unified CM Temecula, CA
• SharePoint Remote Consulting
• Technology Consulting Services for Redhat Linux, Solaris, UNIX
• Integration Support for Voice Over IP Watsonville, CA
• Worldwide Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 Network Integration
• IP phones IT Consulting in Montgomery, Alabama
• Telepresence Technical Support Services San Mateo, CA
• San Rafael, CA VoIP Phones Computer Engineer
• CISM Consultant Open Positions