December 2, 2024
The end times are near! Technologically speaking, that is. Any business or organization that’s still using version 12.5 of Cisco’s Unified Communications Manager (Call Manager) has limited time before support and patching go kaput. Fortunately, there are proactive solutions they can take to avoid potentially disruptive obsolescence. Mindsight VP of Consulting Services John Irey shared some of his key insights with us.
Q: Can you explain more precisely what is going to end of support and why it’s important?
Cisco Unified Communication Manager 12.5 is going end of support in August of 2025. That matters for multiple reasons. It’s already gone end of software support, which means it’s not being patched anymore unless there’s some drastic security issue and you can’t call Cisco if something goes wrong with your system. You’re out of luck.
Q: What can organizations do before it’s too late?
There are a couple of paths. Maybe you invested in new servers and gateways recently and you like your current system. Most of those systems are going to be good until 2028, if not longer. That’s from a hardware standpoint. From a software standpoint, we have this 2025 end date. Version 14 has been out for a while, and it’s good until mid-2027. Version 15 has been out for nearly a year, and that’s the version you would go to if you’re upgrading from 12.5. There are several reasons for that. One is that it’s the latest version and is stable at this point. It’s also going to give you the longest runway before another upgrade is necessary. Another reason is that the underlying Linux OS in Call Manager or Communications Manager 12.5 and 14, CentOS, has also reached end of support. With Version 15, Cisco no longer uses that version of Linux. Instead, they’ve gone to a new operating system that’s 64-bit and allows for enhanced encryption keys, among other improvements, that make for a better and more secure platform.
Q: Are there downsides to upgrading, even though it’s necessary to maintain support and security?
A lot of times an upgrade is not a big deal. We just install the software, then we reboot to what’s called the other partition. It moves the data over and we’re up and running. Now, because of this new OS, we occasionally have to reinstall because something about the current install isn’t supported in the new version. That’s because Cisco has basically reduced the number of supported configurations—there are three now and there used to be more. So at times it’s a more complicated upgrade. That doesn’t mean we have to rebuild the whole thing from scratch, but it’s a little more involved.
Q: Where do e911 regulations come into play, and why do they matter?
A: Organizations already should have been looking at those regulations, but if they haven’t and now they’re upgrading from 12.5, they really have to consider bringing their systems into compliance with Kari’s Law and RAY BAUM’s Act. Those are federal laws that may not have existed when you did your last upgrade, so you need to take them into consideration. Otherwise, you’re very much in the crosshairs. Many of our customers have already considered that and are good to go. But there’ve been others that haven’t. For those customers, it’s a somewhat bigger upgrade because in addition to installing new software, there’s the 911 compliance on top of that. It starts to snowball as far as the services that are required—from an MSP like Mindsight or other experts—to get things squared away.
Q: If organizations need to upgrade from 12.5, how can they go about doing that?
A: At Mindsight, we first take a snapshot of where you’re at. Where is all your hardware? What are the things we need to do regarding your software? What does that look like this year and next year? When’s the next hardware event? What are the budgetary considerations? Is it better, cost-wise, to go with a cloud solution or stay on-prem? If you’re not chasing features and you’re just trying to get your phone system to work, for instance, maybe upgrading your premise solution is fine. But what does the cost look like over the next five years compared to cloud—maybe Microsoft Teams, WebEx Calling, RingCentral or Zoom? The market is definitely rushing towards cloud, but for certain customers, it’s just not on their radar yet, and that’s okay. Cisco’s not getting rid of its premise-based solution. It’s just a matter of what’s right for you.
I like to build an Excel sheet where Tab 1 is status quo, meaning let’s do the upgrade. Let’s figure out what hardware is next. Let’s figure out what we’re paying our telecom provider for. What are we paying for our SIP trunks? What are we paying for POTS lines? We look at all those figures to determine what the current phone system is costing, then we include another tab that maps out the situation with a cloud solution. Oftentimes, when you stretch it out to that five-year mark, once you introduce multiple upgrades, another hardware refresh, and whatever you’re paying for your telecom, it starts to look very even pricewise. Another cloud consideration is that you’ll never have to do another upgrade, because new features and patches are constantly being added. What we provide, in short, is a roadmap so companies know what makes financial and technical sense.
About Mindsight
Mindsight delivers enterprise managed services and technology solutions to the mid-market across a variety of industries including manufacturing, financial services, government, education – just to name a few. Our solution architects and engineers are 100% expert-level and work as an extension of your IT team. Mindsight is headquartered in Downers Grove, IL, a suburb of Chicago.
About the Expert
John Irey is the VP of Consulting Services at Mindsight, an IT Services and Consulting firm located in the Chicago area. With nearly 20 years of experience in information technology, John has helped businesses of every size optimize the technology powering collaborative solutions. He has extensive experience with unified communications platforms and seeks to provide a consultative voice to the business leaders who rely on Mindsight’s transparency to make the best technology investments. John earned his BA/BS in Information Systems and continues to focus on how emerging technology, such as machine learning and artificial intelligence, impact the contact center. John enjoys spending his free time with his wife and two young children.