Cisco® Unified Communications solutions unify voice, video, and data, enabling easy collaboration every time.
Product Overview
Cisco UC Integration for Microsoft Lync is a desktop integration that provides access to Cisco Unified Communications from Microsoft Skype for Business or Microsoft Lync clients (Figure 1). The solution extends the presence and instant messaging (IM) capabilities of Microsoft Lync by providing access to a broad set of Cisco Unified Communications capabilities, including soft phone, standards-based video, unified messaging, audio and video conferencing, desk-phone control, and phone presence.
Cisco UC Integration for Microsoft Lync is tightly integrated with either Microsoft Skype for Business or Lync to deliver a consistent and compelling user experience while providing the benefits of increased employee productivity and collaboration, reduced infrastructure complexity, and a lower total cost of ownership (TCO).
Features and Benefits
● Increase productivity with advanced Cisco Unified Communications capabilities: Cisco UC Integration for Microsoft Lync lets you easily add Cisco Unified Communications capabilities to the instant messaging and presence capabilities of Microsoft Skype for Business and Lync. The solution uses Cisco Unified Communications Manager to deliver a scalable, highly available enterprise IP telephony call-processing solution. Cisco Unified Communications Manager users benefit from clear, reliable, and interoperable voice and video communications. The solution adds an integrated Cisco IP soft-phone, which lets you instantly connect and have a business-class communication experience with colleagues, partners, and customers.
You can streamline communications with additional capabilities, including telephony presence so you can see when users are on the phone; visual voicemail, which makes it easy to view, play, and respond to voice messages; communications history; and desk-phone control, which lets you place and receive calls on your Cisco Unified IP Phone directly from your desktop.
● Enhance collaboration with standards-based video and multiparty conferencing: Cisco UC Integration for Microsoft Lync includes standards-based, high-definition video capabilities so you can easily share video with this application or other standards-based video offerings from Cisco or other video providers. The solution is integrated with Cisco conferencing solutions so you can instantly initiate and conduct multiparty audio, web, and video conferences.
● Minimize complexity, deliver high-quality audio, and lower costs: Cisco UC Integration for Microsoft Lync lets you use Cisco Unified Communications Manager for enterprise voice and video communications, while Microsoft Skype for Business or Lync provides instant messaging and presence. Using Cisco Unified Communications Manager for call control lowers costs by reducing management overhead, simplifying infrastructure complexity, and reducing licensing fees associated with deploying a dual call-control architecture. Cisco also offers an end-to-end unified communications solution that encompasses the software application and network infrastructure to provide increased control over voice quality and more robust tools for administrators to manage a mix of voice, video, and high-priority data traffic.
Cisco Unified Communications uses industry-standard audio and video codecs, reducing the need for transcoding gateways.
● Protect your investment: Enjoy an immediate business effect by providing access to industry-leading Cisco Unified Communications capabilities while protecting your investments in Microsoft instant messaging.
Table 1 lists the features and benefits of Cisco UC Integration for Microsoft Lync.
Table 1. Features and Benefits
Feature |
Benefit |
Call Setup |
|
Right-click to make an audio or video call or start a conference from a contact list or instant messaging session |
Check the presence of the person you want to call, and then initiate an audio-only or video phone call to that person quickly by right-clicking and selecting "Place a Call" or “Place a Video Call.” |
Audio or video call from Skype for Business or Lync |
Search for anyone in your address book and initiate a call to that person, or simply type a phone number or enter a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) and then right-click to initiate the call. |
Predictive search |
Look up contacts quickly. Predictive search provides suggestions to you as you type in a search query, and it can index your Lync contact list, recent contacts, Microsoft Active Directory, Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP), Enterprise Data Integration (EDI), or Cisco User Data Services (UDS). |
Inbound call notification |
Receive incoming call alerts with the option to answer with audio only or with video, or divert the call to your voicemail. |
Click to call from Microsoft Office applications and browsers |
Streamline processes by placing calls from the application you are currently using. You can click to call or make a video call directly from Microsoft Internet Explorer, Microsoft Office Excel, and Microsoft Outlook applications.* |
Call-history display |
You can view your recent placed calls, missed calls, and received calls and initiate a new call, view the contact card of the other party, and see the call duration information. |
Call forwarding |
Receive phone calls when you are away from your desk by having your calls sent to another number, for example, to a cell phone. |
Drag-and-drop audio or video calling |
Simply drag and drop a user from your contact list to the phone icon to make an audio or video call to that person. |
Hunt groups |
Hunt groups enable you to direct incoming calls to a group of users. Incoming calls with Cisco UC Integration for Microsoft Lync are clearly labeled as being for a particular group. |
Call pickup |
Cisco UC Integration for Microsoft Lync users can pick up calls directed to a group that they belong to. Group call pickup and directed call pickup allow Cisco UC Integration for Microsoft Lync users to pick up a call directed to another group or another individual user. |
Call notifications on other device |
You can disable incoming Cisco Jabber® call alerts, requiring the call to be answered on a desk phone or headset. |
Ring all devices |
By default an incoming call will ring on PC speakers and all connected devices. |
Personal ringtones |
End users can choose from multiple ringtone options for incoming calls. This feature is beneficial for collaborative office spaces so users' ringtones can be more distinguishable. |
In-Call Features |
|
Conversation information |
You have visual access to information about your active conversations, including calling name and number display; call status; and information about participants, including presence and duration counter. You can control your phone call directly from the conversation window. |
Call control |
The solution provides proven and reliable call-control features of Cisco Unified Communications Manager, including dual tone multifrequency (DTMF), call waiting, mute, transfer, conference, redial, hold, hang up, and merge. |
Share |
You can start a point-to-point or multipoint voice and video meeting and share your desktop, as well as seeing and talking to your contacts. |
Mute before answer |
You can mute during call setup, helping ensure that you can join conference calls without taking the microphone or camera focus. |
Audio device selection |
You can select your preferred headset or other audio device directly from the conversation window. |
Operation Modes |
|
Soft-phone mode (SIP-based) |
You can make and receive phone calls from anywhere you can access the corporate network with your PC or laptop. |
Desk-phone control (computer telephony integration [CTI]-based) |
You can control your desk phone from your PC or laptop while in your office. |
User switch between modes |
You can switch between desk-phone and soft-phone mode as you move around with your PC or laptop. |
Do not disturb |
Call notifications and ringer are suppressed on the desktop when you are in do not disturb mode on Lync. |
Audio Support |
|
G.729a, G.711u, G.711a, G.722.1, and Opus |
Standards-based and wideband audio codecs deliver an enterprise-class quality experience. |
Secure Real-Time Transport Protocol (SRTP) |
Audio traffic is encrypted to help ensure communications security. |
Audio tuning wizard |
You can set headset and audio preferences from the audio tuning wizard. |
Video Support |
|
Codec H.264 |
Standards-based H.264 video provides a high level of interoperability with other video endpoints and conferencing systems. |
High-definition video |
You can make and receive high-quality video calls using 1280 x 720 pixels (720p) in either soft-phone mode or desk-phone control mode on Windows 10, Windows 8, and Windows 7 32- and 64-bit operating systems. |
Multipoint video |
You can join or initiate multiparticipant video calls at QCIF, CIF, VGA, or HD resolution with the addition of Cisco Unified Videoconferencing. You can conduct video calls with a variety of standards-based endpoints from third parties and Cisco, including Cisco TelePresence® conferencing. |
Video setup |
You can set up your web camera preferences from the audio and video tuning wizard. |
Move and resize self-view video window |
You can move or resize your self-view window. The system remembers the position and size of the self-view window for next time. |
Far-end camera control |
You can control cameras that support remote control. Users can zoom, pan, and tilt the camera. |
Presence and Availability |
|
Microsoft Skype for Business and Lync server-based presence |
When you make or receive phone calls from Skype for Business or Lync, your presence is communicated to the Microsoft Skype for Business or Lync server so that anyone else looking at your status will see that you are on the phone. (Cisco Unified Presence is not required.) |
Voicemail Features |
|
View voicemail messages |
You can receive an alert when you have a new voicemail message, see how many new voicemail messages are waiting for you, view a list of voicemail messages, or play back messages in the order in which you wish to listen to them instead of sequentially. |
Filter voicemail messages |
View your voicemail messages based on heard, unheard, urgent, or private status. Filter your voicemail messages so that you can see all of today’s messages, all of yesterday’s messages, all the messages for the last week, or all the messages for the last 30 days. |
Respond to voicemail messages |
Respond to voicemail messages by clicking to call, making a video call, or sending an instant message to the person who left you the message. |
Voicemail message-waiting indicator (soft phone only) and one-click access to voicemail system |
As an alternative to unified messaging, your voicemail system is easily accessible, and you receive alerts when new voicemail messages are available. |
Cisco Conferencing Features |
|
Screen sharing |
From an existing conversation, click to share your screen with the person(s) you are talking to. |
Escalate to a Cisco WebEx® meeting |
Initiate a web meeting session directly from Microsoft Skype for Business or Lync or from your voice or video conversation using Cisco WebEx conferencing to share content, such as a presentation, a document, or your desktop. |
Mobility Features |
|
Single-number reach |
People can reach you with one phone number no matter what device you are using. |
Extension mobility |
You can log in to another IP phone to use with Microsoft Skype for Business or Lync when away from your usual office. |
Remote and mobile access |
Access all your Cisco Jabber features and capabilities when not connected to the corporate network without having to run a separate VPN client. |
User and Support Tools |
|
Error reporting tool |
It is easy to create diagnostic information to troubleshoot if necessary. |
Call statistics |
You can look at call statistics during a call to check the audio or video codec used, and to view other parameters such as frames per second, jitter, and latency. |
Survivability |
|
Call survival when the server connection is lost |
If the connection between the Microsoft instant messaging client and server becomes unavailable, you can still make and receive phone calls with Cisco UC Integration for Microsoft Lync. |
Deployment |
|
Push to deploy |
You can deploy Microsoft Installer configuration files (MSI files) using such methods as Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager. |
Single sign-on |
SAML 2.0-based single sign-on enables you to log in to Cisco UC Integration for Microsoft Lync in the same way that you log in to other applications that are set up to use authentication with your SAML 2.0 Identity Provider. |
Language availability |
You can deploy the solution in any of the following languages: English, French, Japanese, Spanish, German, Italian, Portuguese (Brazilian), Dutch, Swedish, Russian, Danish, Chinese (simplified and traditional), Korean, and Arabic. |
Enhanced directory integration |
The enhanced directory integration feature allows administrators to push Cisco UC Integration for Microsoft Lync out to users with minimal configuration overhead. |
IPv6 support |
Cisco UC Integration for Microsoft Lync supports IPv6-enabled networks. Administrators can configure to use IPv4, IPv6, or dual stack networks. |
Additional Features |
|
Coexistence with other Microsoft Skype for Business and Lync integrations |
You can use the application with other third-party Microsoft integrations. |
System Requirements
Recommendations for minimum requirements are based on Cisco UC Integration for Microsoft Lync on a system that is running only applications and services that are part of the base operating system image. Administrators should account for other applications on the workstation to determine whether the system configuration—the CPU speed and RAM in particular—can perform adequately with other applications running concurrently on the PC that could affect performance.
Tables 2 and 3 list system and hardware requirements, respectively.
Table 2. System Requirements
Functions |
Description |
Cisco Unified Communications Manager for Call Control |
● 9.x or later forBinary Floor Control Protocol (BFCP) plus Cisco Options Package file for User Data Services (UDS)
|
Microsoft Skype for Business or Lync Server software |
● Microsoft Lync Server 2010
● Microsoft Lync Server 2013
● Microsoft Office Online environment with Microsoft Lync Server 2010 or Microsoft Lync Server 2013 or Microsoft Skype for Business
● Microsoft Skype for Business 2015, 2016
● Microsoft Skype for Business Online
|
Client software |
● Microsoft Lync 2010 or 2013
● Microsoft Skype for Business 2015 or 2016
|
Operating system |
Microsoft Windows 10, 8, 8.1, or 7.0 (Pro, Enterprise, or Ultimate), 32-bit or 64-bit
|
Cisco conferencing |
● Cisco TelePresence MCU 4500 Series
|
Voicemail playback |
● Cisco Unity® Connection 8.5 or later
|
Click to call from Microsoft Office applications |
● Microsoft Outlook 2010 (32-bit)
● Microsoft Excel 2010 (32-bit)
● Microsoft Outlook 2013 (32-bit or 64-bit)
● Microsoft Excel 2013 (32-bit or 64-bit)
● Microsoft PowerPoint 2013 (32-bit or 64-bit)
● Microsoft Word 2013 (32-bit or 64-bit)
● Microsoft Outlook 2016 (32-bit or 64-bit)
● Microsoft Excel 2016 (32-bit or 64-bit)
● Microsoft PowerPoint 2016 (32-bit or 64-bit)
● Microsoft Word 2016 (32-bit or 64-bit)
|
Click to call from Internet Explorer |
● Microsoft Internet Explorer 7.0 or later
|
Cisco Expressway |
● Cisco Expressway-E 8.1.1 or later
● Cisco Expressway-C 8.1.1 or later
|
Table 3. Hardware Requirements
● Microsoft Windows 8
● Microsoft Windows 8.1
● Microsoft Windows 7, 32-bit
● Microsoft Windows 7, 64-bit
|
|
● Mobile AMD Sempron Processor 3600+ at 2 GHz
|
|
Cisco UC Integration for Microsoft Lync is available through any of the following bundled software packages:
● Cisco Unified Workspace Licensing
● Cisco Unified Communications Manager User Connect Licensing (UCL)
● Cisco Business Edition 6000
● Cisco Hosted Collaboration Solution (HCS) licensing
● Cisco Enterprise Agreement (EA) licensing
Please visit http://www.cisco.com/go/workspace_licensing for more information.
To place an order, visit the Cisco Ordering Home Page. To download software, visit the Cisco Software Center.
Cisco Unified Communications Services
Cisco Unified Communications Services allow you to accelerate cost savings and productivity gains associated with deploying a secure, resilient Cisco Unified Communications solution. Delivered by Cisco and our certified partners, our portfolio of services is based on proven methodologies for unifying voice, video, data, and mobile applications on fixed and mobile networks. Our unique lifecycle approach to services can enhance your technology experience to accelerate true business advantage.
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For More Information
For more information about Cisco UC Integration for Microsoft Lync, visit http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps11390/index.html or contact your local Cisco account representative.