Cisco UC Licensing. Is FLEX Right for You?
Cisco UC Licensing. Is FLEX Right for You?
Are you looking at upgrading your Cisco Unified Communications to the latest version of 12.5? Do you know the benefits of upgrading as well as the changes in licensing? This blog is all about what you need to know to upgrade your cluster and other applications so you will know if it is worth it for your organization. Spoiler alert – It is!
Cisco Unified Communications Manager version 12.5 has been out for quite some time now. According to Cisco’s website, it was first released on Jan 22, 2019. Most organizations wait a while after the newest version is released to make sure that any bugs are ironed out before jumping on the bandwagon, but what is stopping you now, two years later?
Perhaps it is the last experience you had in upgrading and the long night you spent with TAC trying to figure out what went wrong. Upgrading customer UC environments can take a long time, sometimes as long as 8 to 12 hours. Especially if you have all the applications of Cisco’s UC suite.
Maybe you don’t know what Smart Licensing is all about and you don’t want to take the time to really get involved with it and figure it out. Well, I’m here to explain it all to you so you can feel at ease and get to upgrading. Believe me, the benefits far out way any negatives you may be perceiving. In this article, you'll learn the features of CUCM 12.5, why smart licensing is a great option for most organizations, and when you might want to try flex licensing.
New Features of CUCM 12.5
So, what are the benefits and new features in 12.5? Well, the number one new feature is the introduction of Smart licensing which was introduced with 12.0. I know what you’re thinking, why is Smart Licensing a benefit? I’m going to go into that a little later but for now, just take my word for it, it really is! Here is a list of other new features included in 12.5 that were not available in 10.5 or 11.5.
One-touch cluster-wide upgrade – Upgrade the entire cluster at one time instead of one server at a time.
Activation code on-boarding – Scan a QR code on the phone and automatically register.
Jabber configuration all on CUCM – no need for jabberconfig.xml file.
Enhanced Extension Mobility configuration – login with extension, or self-service id
OAuth support
Improved call recording capability
Improved Cryptographic support
More granular access control to administration
Cipher control to remove weak ciphers for SSL and TLS connections
Control of concurrent session per user
Management of Cisco headsets
CMR Records for SIP trunks
External Presentation Name and Number
There are many more features than this list entails as well. For example, a customer could enhance their Extension Mobility for use with Cisco Headsets. The user will be able to plug in their Cisco Headset to the base station attached to the phone and automatically login to extension mobility.
What is Flex Licensing and How Will it Help Me?
A couple of years ago Cisco introduced a new licensing model that dramatically changed the way customers could acquire Collaboration Software and Support. It is called the Cisco Collaboration Flex Plan. Cisco started to see the move in the industry to the cloud and began the change from on-premise to Cisco Webex and Webex Calling. They understood the importance of delivering the best industry-leading collaboration devices and tools in a cost-effective manner, enabling customers to leverage on-premise as well as Cloud offerings to give them the best experience possible. The Flex Plan is a subscription model approach aimed at simplifying Collaboration licensing, and it includes both on-premise solutions as well as Cloud solutions.
The Cisco Collaboration Flex Plan helps protect the investment you have already made in Cisco Collaboration, enabling you to continue using the on-premise applications you already have or transition to Cisco’s amazing Cloud offerings. The single subscription plan includes entitlements, software, and technical support for both on-premise and cloud-based options.
What about my current licenses?
Cisco allows you to leverage your current CUWL licenses and convert them to Flex. This means that once you are ready to upgrade your on-premise environment to 12.5 and Smart Licensing. Those CUWL licenses will have already been converted and ready for consumption on Cisco’s Smart Licensing Portal. Also, your Software Support investment that you have already purchased can be credited to your Flex Plan.
What other Features are there with Flex?
Are you looking to convert to Cisco Webex or Webex Calling? Cisco’s Flex Plan allows you to move at your own pace. This is the biggest benefit that comes with the Flex Plan. You can completely change your on-premise CUCM and other UC applications all at once to Webex and Webex Calling. Or the Flex Plan gives you the option to take a hybrid approach and move certain devices to Webex Calling. This allows you to take it slow and convert one site at a time. With the Flex Plan, the choice is yours giving you simplicity, flexibility and agility and offering your users the best collaboration tools.
What is Smart Licensing and What do I Need to do for It?
So, I have been talking about Smart Licensing this whole time and I promised that I would explain it in more detail. Well, here you go. Smart Licensing is Cisco’s move to keep all of its licensing in the Cloud. Smart Licensing is not just for Collaboration Licensing but for all other Cisco Licensing such as routing and switching as well as security and wireless. Smart Licensing works hand in hand with Cisco’s Collaboration Flex Plan as explained above. In other words, the Collaboration Flex Plan is the subscription model that you purchase and your Smart License account is where those licenses will be held and managed.
Smart Licensing is simple as well. Once you have your Smart Licensing Account setup and your licenses have been converted, all you need to do is create a Token on your Smart Account. This token is a string of text that you copy and paste into your CUCM Licensing page to register your publisher. The CUCM needs to have internet access to do this. Once registered the Smart Licensing Portal will see your devices and tell you if you are in compliance.
If your CUCM servers do not have internet access you can set up a proxy server that CUCM will be pointed to. It will register with that server and the server then communicates with the Cisco Licensing site.
What are Cisco’s Cloud Offerings?
Although I think that the on-premise business phone system is not going away anytime soon, Cisco is still at the forefront of the push to UcaaS (Unified Communications as a Service). Cisco Webex and Webex Calling, as well as Webex Contact Center, are amazing products and Cisco is again leading the way. Webex Conferencing is second to none in video conferencing as well as security. Cisco Webex Calling is Cisco’s UcaaS offering where all of your phones register to the cloud. You can leverage your PSTN Carrier and CUBE router or you can use Cisco’s partner carriers. For larger enterprises, Cisco also has UCM in the cloud which is on Cisco’s own cloud network. Rest assured that Cisco has an option for you and your network and with Cisco Collaboration Flex Plan you can choose at which pace you want to go.
Cisco Licensing was once a convoluted mess. Cisco has made some significant changes to make it simple and flexible. The Cisco Collaboration Flex Plan and Cisco Smart Licensing are not mutually exclusive. You can upgrade your CUCM and other applications and convert existing CUWL licenses to Smart Licensing without moving to the Collaboration Flex Plan. However, Cisco gives some pretty good incentives and there are some great benefits to doing so. I hope this has cleared up what can sometimes be a very confusing area of Cisco Licensing.
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