Migration of telephony services from Cisco VoIP to Microsoft Teams

Background

• The existing Cisco telephone system provided to Engineering by UIS will be decommissioned in 2028.
• Due to the age of some of the Cisco telephone handsets currently in use, they are no longer officially supported by Cisco on the central Callmanager servers and need to be removed.
• Given the planned decommissioning of the Cisco phone system, continued provision of a physical Cisco handset is not sustainable.
• UIS no longer provide additional telephone extensions on the Cisco VoIP system. If there is a requirement for a new telephone then this will be via Microsoft Teams.

 

Migration Plan

For telephone extensions with minimal usage

Since 2020 telephone usage across the Department has declined significantly and in many cases the cost to retain an unused or seldom used telephone extension cannot be justified.

Call volumes and usage across the Department have been reviewed and work is underway to significantly reduce the number of telephone extensions in use ahead of the 2028 deadline.

• Where usage is particularly low and an ongoing operational need cannot be established, or where health and safety requirements do not need to be met, telephone extensions will be removed and handsets recovered for return to UIS.
• Each extension removed saves the Department £60 per year in recurrent costs.

 

Where there is an ongoing need for a telephone extension for an individual user

• If there is a continued need for a dedicated telephone extension for an individual user, the extension will be migrated to Microsoft Teams.
• No physical handset will be provided using central Department funding as the expectation is that the user will make and receive calls from within the Microsoft Teams application either on their computer or mobile device.
• If a physical handset is preferred, then Microsoft Teams enabled devices are an option. However, please seek guidance from the IT Helpdesk prior to making any purchase.
• Each extension migrated to Teams will cost the Department £15 per year, representing a saving of £45 compared to an equivalent Cisco extension.

 

Where there is an ongoing need for a shared use telephone extension

• Where there are shared use telephones that have been installed as a health and safety requirement, a physical handset will continue to be provided but will be converted to connect to Microsoft Teams instead of the Cisco VoIP system.
• For telephones in shared open areas that are not required for health and safety purposes usage will be reviewed to determine if a telephone should continue to be provided.

 

Where a shared reception or administrative office setup is required

• Discussion with users will take place to determine the best approach when migrating to Microsoft Teams.
• Where a shared extension number is needed to fulfil an administrative role, this will typically be migrated to a Microsoft Teams Call Queue which then allows a set of specific users to make and receive calls via a shared Teams extension.
• Each user that requires access to a Microsoft Teams Call Queue will also need a dedicated personal Teams extension number before access can be made available.
• In some specific scenarios a physical Microsoft Teams handset may be required in conjunction with access via the Microsoft Teams application on a computer or mobile device. This requirement will be discussed as part of any migration plan.

 

Support

Further information

More information about Microsoft Teams telephony is available on the UIS Microsoft Teams Phone web page, including:

• Benefits of Teams telephony
• Teams Phone user guides

In the first instance, where guidance is needed on Microsoft Teams telephony, please contact the IT Helpdesk.