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5 Things That Get Neglected in Cisco UC (Until It’s Too Late)

Stephen

After more than 20 years working with Cisco Unified Communications (UC) systems from early CallManager  builds (3.0, yes I'm old) to today’s hybrid UC stacks we’ve seen the same patterns repeat across higher ed, healthcare, local government, and elsewhere.

Organizations rely on Cisco UC to "just work." And for the most part, it does. Until it doesn’t.

Whether it’s CUCM, Unity Connection, Emergency Responder, or Expressway, aging Cisco UC environments often suffer from neglect. Teams change. Documentation fades. Budgets shift. But the system still carries mission-critical voice traffic, and with E911 mandates and Cisco’s end-of-life dates looming, the risks are real.

Here are five things that often go overlooked in older Cisco UC environments, and what you can do about them.

1. E911 Readiness Isn’t Where You Think It Is

Your system may technically support E911, but in practice, we frequently uncover:

  • Phones without accurate location tagging

  • Missing or outdated ALI records

  • Poorly configured ERLs or lack of awareness around Kari's Law/RAY BAUM's Act

These issues create compliance risks and serious liability in the event of an emergency.

2. Dial Plan and Route List Drift

Older dial plans are often packed with legacy route patterns, overlapping extensions, or abandoned test rules that no one wants to clean up. Add a few mergers or building changes, and you've got:

  • Unused or misdirected routes

  • Inconsistent PSTN behavior

  • Integration headaches with Teams or Webex

This drift compounds over time and turns into a hidden source of call failures and operational headaches.

3. Voice System Knowledge Is Leaving the Building

Many IT teams have one long-time engineer who "knows the voice stuff."

But when that person retires, switches roles, or takes PTO, you’re left with:

  • No documentation

  • No clear change history

  • No backup strategy if something fails

Voice is still mission-critical even if no one wants to own it. That’s a fragile position to be in.

4. Licensing and Support Status Is Fuzzy

CUCM 12.5 reaches end-of-support in August 2025, and 14.x isn’t far behind. But most teams aren’t tracking:

  • Whether Smart Licensing is even enabled

  • What’s covered under Flex Plans or UCSS

  • Which components are on unsupported builds

It only becomes a problem when something breaks and Cisco won’t help.

5. Call Quality and Device Registration Issues Go Unnoticed

Most teams no longer actively monitor RTMT or CDRs. We often uncover:

  • Phones that haven't registered in months

  • Gateway instability

  • QoS issues that only affect certain VLANs or sites

These issues simmer under the surface until users start complaining  or worse, during a campus-wide event.

Conclusion:

Cisco UC doesn’t fail often. But when it does, it tends to fail loud and usually without a fully staffed support team behind it. We help IT teams stabilize, document, and extend the life of their Cisco UC systems until they’re ready to modernize on their terms.