Cisco Unity Enterprise Deployments

[Tana Franko]

How to Use the Cisco Unity Enterprise Deployment Wiki

Welcome to the Cisco Unity Enterprise Deployment Wiki. This wiki is designed to act as a knowledge base and collaboration tool to develop and present a structured plan, design, and implementation framework for large enterprise deployments.

To use the site: Read the high-level description of the deployment process that appears below. Then, follow the links to drill down into further detail on any area.

To contribute to the site: Use the Edit tab at the top of any page to make changes to that page (note that you may have to log in to see the edit tab). Many tasks have links to pages that explain why the task is important, give additional examples, or list resources. You can add a lot of value to the site by contributing your real-world examples and experience through these links. Some links go to pages that don't exist yet -- for such links, by simply clicking the link, you can create a new page. If you'd like to comment on a page rather than edit it, or if you'd like help modifying a page, use the Discussion tab to enter your comments or suggestions.

The Cisco Unity Enterprise Class Customer Deployment Process
This is a compilation of "best practices" utilized during successful deployments of Cisco Unity into Enterprise Class accounts. The Enterprise Class is generally targetted at deployments larger than 10,000 subscribers, although the information presented here is useful for any size deployment. Each of the phases described below has two parallel tracks. The first track is related to the technical details of designing and implementing the Cisco Unity system. The second track is related to preparing and supporting the subscriber community that will be experiencing Cisco Unity for the first time once the cut-over occurs.
Prepare	Plan	Design	Implement	Operate
This phase typically lasts several weeks.  The purpose of this phase is to spend time understanding what the current voice messaging system offers, taking a look at current voicemail usage behavior, and then capturing that as the requirements that Cisco Unity must meet. TECHNICAL: Develop project timelines and solution requirements, and create a preliminary design. SUBSCRIBER PREP: Fully understand the existing voicemail system and how subscribers use it. For details on the prepare phase see: Prepare Phase Details Page	This phase can also last several weeks. TECHNICAL: High-level architectural decisions are made during this phase: How many Cisco Unity servers? What is the general arrangement? How will it fit into the customer's current environment? SUBSCRIBER PREP: Create your strategy for how you will communicate this change to your subscribers. What training materials will be available? For details on the Plan phase see: Plan Phase Details Page	This phase typically lasts a couple months and involves the customer working with their partner, and possibly Cisco Advanced Services and possibly UCBU representatives. TECHNICAL: The focus here is to get down to nuts and bolts detail on the design: what are the specific configuration settings, etc? SUBSCRIBER PREP: Refine and finalize training materials and subscriber communications plans. For details on the design phase see: Design Phase Details Page	This phase varies depending on the company's approach, but typically lasts between 3 and 12 months. TECHNICAL: This is all about progressing from testing Cisco Unity in a very controlled lab environment all the way through until the last subscriber is cutover. SUBSCRIBER PREP:  The focus here is on sequencing the communications and training and differentiating the power users of voicemail from those that only use it casually.  Also, just like the Technical, it is good to test out the training materials in a "lab" environment. For details on the Implement phase see: Implement Phase Details Page	Typically, this is referred to as Day Two support. TECHNICAL: Making the most of Cisco TAC SUBSCRIBER PREP:  Follow up communcations/personal visits to see how things are going after the cut-over. For details on the Operate phase see: Operate Phase Details Page