By John Meersma | 55 Min Video

Discover the key steps to migrate from Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM) to Webex Calling, including transitioning users, devices, and contacts. Learn how Webex Control Hub analytics can enhance management, troubleshooting, and collaboration performance. This session addresses migration challenges like PSTN compatibility, SIP trunk configurations, and other considerations to ensure a seamless user experience. It’s perfect for technical administrators, VoIP specialists, and IT professionals.

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Migration Planning and Readiness

• Assessment phase: Evaluate PSTN setup, SIP trunk configurations, and CUCM’s compatibility. Identify device, user, and feature readiness.
• Design phase: Blueprint migration stages, map CUCM features to Webex Calling, plan user segments, and design dial plans and number porting approaches.

Webex Control Hub and Analytics

• Control Hub: Central portal for managing organization setup, adding users/devices, configuring call features, and troubleshooting. 
• Analytics and monitoring: Leverage real-time dashboards and analytics to monitor performance and troubleshoot after migration.

Migration Execution

• Device and user migration: Transition existing phones (7800/8800 series) from CUCM to Webex firmware; update contacts and user settings. Use bulk tools (CSV/BAT files).
• PSTN integration and routing: Configure SIP trunks or local gateways, support number porting, and ensure PSTN interoperability. 
• Deployment and testing: Roll out new environment, perform acceptance tests, update third-party integrations (e.g. Microsoft 365), and train end-users.

Ensuring Continuity and Survivability

• High availability: Use site survivability and Cisco IOS router features (akin to SRST) to maintain PSTN access during outages.
• Dedicated connections: Consider Webex Edge Connect for large/multi-site deployments to improve QoS and reduce reliance on general internet links.

Troubleshooting and Best Practices

• Firewall and SIP readiness: Ensure clear firewall rules and internet connectivity; partner assistance eases resolution.
• Partner collaboration: Use a trusted Cisco partner or VAR to streamline migration—many advise against DIY for large environments.

Post-Migration Optimization

• CUCM decommissioning: Remove legacy Jabber endpoints, decommission CUCM servers, and retire Expressway infrastructure.
• Ongoing monitoring: Continue analyzing call quality in Control Hub and refine dialing features, hunt groups, and routing based on usage.

Community Insights

• Cost vs. performance: Licensing may balance out, but cloud migration reduces hardware overhead at the cost of potential ISP or Direct Connect fees.
• Migration experience: One user with 1,800 devices reported a smooth migration within four months; firewall rules were the main challenge. 

Final Takeaway

This webinar delivers a complete roadmap—from initial assessments to decommissioning legacy systems—for moving CUCM to Webex Calling. It emphasizes strong planning, Control Hub usage, PSTN and survivability strategies, partner collaboration, and post-migration monitoring to ensure a reliable, user-friendly cloud calling experience.

Instructor Bio:

John Meersma has nearly twenty years of experience working in the IT industry. His areas of focus are Collaboration; voice, video, and SIP, in addition to routing and switching. John has put his enthusiasm for data networking and his love of working with people to work as an instructor. Over the past two decades, he has taught various IT courses to diverse audiences.

John’s past employment includes monitoring the global WAN for a large pharmaceutical company, spending over five years as a university professor of Cisco and Microsoft curriculum, training engineers for Fortune 50 companies, and independent consultation for small and mid-sized organizations. John has also created and delivered custom courses for Dell Computers. He was also co-owner of an IT consulting firm serving non-profit organizations throughout southwest Michigan. He designed and implemented secure data storage solutions for local hospitals and installed Voice over IP infrastructure for area school districts.