- What is the VoIP Cloud Migration?
- OIT will migrate the servers and applications that power the UA phone system from on-premise hardware to a hosted Cisco cloud environment(Cisco Dedicated Instance, or DI).
- What is included in this migration?
- The migration will include call manager applications, voicemail, contact center, and other management applications.
- Why is OIT making this change?
- OIT is migrating to the Cisco cloud environment to provide a more resilient and future-proof VoIP environment.
- When will this migration take place?
- A pilot group of users will migrate to DI in mid-May. The remainder of UA users will migrate in mid-June.
- What will happen with my desk phone?
- Most OIT-deployed desk phones are already compatible with the cloud environment; some may require a software update, which OIT would apply during off-hours with no user impact. A small set of the oldest VoIP phones may need to be replaced. OIT will contact departments with phones that may need replacement. Once a phone is moved to the new cloud environment, all lines actively on the phone will remain active on the set.
- Will anything change in the programming of the lines on my set?
- Line settings, such as rolling to voicemail or another line if the line is busy or unanswered, will be migrated to the cloud environment and will continue to behave as programmed.
- Will anything change in my caller ID?
- Calls to on-campus extensions will show the five-digit number when you call. The on-campus call log on the phone you called will show the full number (+1 205-34X-XXXX). Off-campus caller ID will remain the same.
- Will anything change in how I dial either on-campus or external calls?
- We do not anticipate any changes at this time.
- Will my voicemail greetings, settings, and saved messages migrate to the cloud?
- Yes, the intention is to move all greetings, settings and saved messages to the new system.
- Will anything else change in my voicemail setup?
- Yes, in the old on-premise environment, voicemail detected the first number dialed, and routed the caller to that first number’s voicemail, no matter how the call was forwarded on campus. In the new cloud environment, voicemail detects the last number dialed before routing to voicemail. Here are two examples:
- An external caller 205-555-1234 dials Jim’s on-campus number 348-1111. 348-1111 has a voicemail box, but Jim is out of the office and forwarded his phone to Suzanne at 348-2222. Suzanne’s busy, so she doesn’t get to answer the phone, so the call routes to voicemail. In the current environment, the caller would get Jim’s voicemail, as that was the first number dialed. In the new environment, the caller would get Suzanne’s voicemail, as that is the last number before the call is routed to voicemail.
- An external caller 205-555-1234 dials Emily’s on-campus number 348-3333. 348-3333 has a voicemail box, but Emily is out on extended leave, and Emily forwarded her phone to the IT Service Desk’s main number 348-5555 so the caller could be assisted. The IT Service Desk’s 348-5555 number has a voicemail-powered phone menu that routes the call to the appropriate place based on the caller’s input in the phone tree. In the current environment, the caller would get Emily’s voicemail, not the IT Service Desk menu, as that was the first number dialed. In the new environment, the caller would get the IT Service Desk phone menu, as that was the last number before the call routed to voicemail to play the menu.
- Yes, in the old on-premise environment, voicemail detected the first number dialed, and routed the caller to that first number’s voicemail, no matter how the call was forwarded on campus. In the new cloud environment, voicemail detects the last number dialed before routing to voicemail. Here are two examples:
- Will my voicemail PIN change?
- Some individuals may have a voicemail PIN that no longer meets the complexity or length requirements of the Cisco Cloud environment, and may need to set a longer or more complex PIN after the migration.
- Does the new environment support my Jabber soft phone?
- As part of the migration to the Cisco cloud environment, OIT will be replacing the Jabber soft phone client with Microsoft Teams dialing for individuals who need a soft phone client.
- Does the new environment support my team’s Contact Center application?
- Cisco’s UCCX (Contact Center Express) offering has been replaced with Cisco WebEx Customer Experience Essentials product. OIT has already migrated all UCCX applications to the WebEx Essentials product as the first step in the migration process.
- I log in to remotely manage a phone or to remotely access a voicemail box using a web interface. Will that process change?
- OIT will be implementing Microsoft’s Azure/Entra single-sign-on as part of the migration to the cloud environment. Specific instructions and documentation for these types of logins will be posted to the OIT Knowledgebase as the migration date approaches.