Call manager & Skype for business (365)

[ssmalley77]

Hey everyone,

I have been through the forums and google searched with no definitive answers... we're looking to deploy Office 365 and would like S4B to integrate with Call Manager 10.5.2

initially we are only after presence updates, however click to call, and similar in the future would be the end goal.

I have recently seen an announcement from MS regarding Skype For business Cloud Connector Edition, however we would like to avoid deploying extra infrastructure if possible.  It has also been suggested to look at CUCI-Lync however everything I've found for this seems to point to on prem Lync/Skype servers.  Some clarity around this would be ideal.  If we can do this natively without 3rd party software would be best but appreciate some extra config & infrastructure/software may be required.

Thanks

[skilambi]

Chad

    The options are

1) If you plan to do A/V/Share on SFB and UCM then you need to use

    a) CMS on premise and through expressway your SFB users can join CMS space and support dual homing

    b)  Use CMR cloud and have your devices interwork in the cloud

    c) Look at O365 and their Polycom real connect in the cloud

    d) Third party vendors like Blue Jeans/Pexip

2) If all you care is audio and want capability to integrate with Cisco desk phones and want to show "On the Phone" state then CUCI Lync is still the best option. It is inluded in UCL ENH or CUWL STD, subject to the device count of the licensing

3) If you want integration between O365 and CUCM like PBX to PBX in the old days and you have SFB using enterprise voice and likewise Cisco phones, then you will need to look at Audio codes or Any node boxes for integration. Keep in mind Cisco doesn't test/support this, so it's up to you to provide support. The Audio codes or Any node will integrate with your UCM system via SIP but in essence you are supporting two phone systems, dial plan considerations, CAC issues etc. CCE (Cloud connector edition) from MSFT is not tested/supported by Cisco and no plans to do that.

4) Bridge OC Plug-in as mentioned above to show On the phone state and desk phone control https://www.bridgeoc.com/products/licc/licc.htm

Of course be prepared to start this topic all over again when MS Teams replaces SFB completely :-)

[dunn1c]

Hello Srinivasan,

Looks like CUCILYNC is our best option. We were working with a vendor that suggested using SfB for IM, Presence, and Sharing (which we already are) and Jabber (in phone only mode) for Voice and Video. I don’t want to use 2 clients so Im hoping CUCILYNC will allow us to just use the SfB client for all the collab requirements while still using CUCM as the voice and video solution.

[skilambi]

Chad

To be frank while you could deploy Jabber in phone mode to be frank CUCI Lync is nothing but Jabber in phone mode running in the background with at least the capability to do right click to call vs two separate clients. Jabber in phone mode is still a valid strategy on mobile since there is no CUCI for mobile so to speak. On desktop to have two clients and not even get click to call unified seems to defeat the entire purpose of unifying communications :-)

One reason however to do Jabber on phone mode independant of SFB is of course if the intent is to go to Jabber down the road it pushes the UI to the client, makes them use it every day and hence transitioning down the road from SFB to Jabber is easier vs CUCI where Jabber even though is the one running in the background is sort of "hidden"

[dunn1c]

So If I use CUCI LYNC to so that I can make calls from the desktop SfB client, I cant do the same from the SfB for app on the iPhone?

[skilambi]

Nope because there is no CUCI plugin for iOS or Android you can load. So one idea is load Jabber in Phone mode along side SFB app but of course there are 2 clients one for IM/P and another for A/V/Share. If you want to make calls from SFB client on mobile you will need to run SFB in enterprise voice mode and you just mentioned you wanted to use CUCM for voice/video and have one call control which I would also recommend.

[dunn1c]

Thank you Srinivasan for the information. I just need to convince my company to drop SfB and use Jabber for all UC and my problem will be solved. ☺

[skilambi]

I concur, the entire point of UC is to frankly Unify communications. I don't mind which vendor you pick but pick one that provides that unified experience. Sure you can cobble together some integration points like the ones discussed but who knows what the next version breaks, vendor roadmap changes etc. A lot of the times these decisions are often led by camps in IT with allegiances towards one or the other vendor and doesn't take into account the end user experience or needs. UC unlike other technologies like firewall/DC doesn't sit behind the scenes, decisions can't be made purely on cost either. However that is the biggest challenge why sometimes UC technologies don't get adopted since the end user experience isn't taken into account.  Hope you can carry that torch to get the biggest bang for your buck with your investments.

[garymanske]

Chad, you might want to check into the Bridge OC (Option 4) above. It's easier to deploy and support vs. CUCILync.

[garymanske]

Chad, Microsoft has changed direction on their O365/Skype for Business path. They are  now working to integrate Skype for Business functionality into Microsoft Teams. There are no API's, etc at this time for ISV's to work with.