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Missing or outdated ALI records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.