Product Definition

For Cisco 6000, 7000, or 8000 series phones, please skip down to the section below the supported phone model table.  We DO NOT support Cisco 6/7/8000 series handsets.

The Cisco 7900 Series and newer 500 series SPA phones are an enterprise-grade family of IP desktop phones designed to make voice communications effective and productive.  Many businesses that have already adopted a Cisco VoIP solution look to utilize these handsets and save on up front capital expenditures while taking advantage of a world-class hosted PBX platform offered by Evolve IP.  Evolve IP encourages these business to 1) Utilize those handsets that provide great sound quality during calls and 2) implement a UC application that enhances their voice experience, such as UC-One, Lync or Google integration.

The older model Cisco 794x and 796x series  handsets were originally designed for a different protocol (MGCP and SCCP) but have the capability of communicating using the industry-leading SIP protocol.  The Cisco SPA series are designed for SIP and utilize XML for applications applied on the phone.  There are more limitations for advanced features with using Cisco 794x and 796x series versus the  SPA series phones.  See below for more details.

Target

Any customer looking to reuse Cisco handsets on the Evolve IP platform is a target.  The customer supplies all handsets and will also acquire handsets in the future for growth.  Evolve does not stock for replacement or growth the Cisco handset lines designed in this post.

Evolve IP has performed R&D, engineering, testing, designed automation in OSSmosis, automation with TFTP configuration files, and setup operations support to effectively deploy Cisco handsets on our Broadsoft platform.  In fact, Cisco handsets have been effectively deployed and remain at customer locations on the Evolve IP platform since 2010.

Benefits

• Capital Expenditure (CAPEX) savings through the reuse of Cisco handsets
• Leverage Evolve IP world-class platform
• Cloud-based architecture designed for geographical delivery and redundancy
• Leverage UC applications in conjunction with Cisco handsets for soft clients, mobility apps, IM&P, CRM Integration, and more.
• Lower TCO when reusing Cisco handsets on Evolve IP

Known Limitations

Cisco 794x and 796x series

• Given that these phones were originally designed for a different protocol, there are a few features we cannot offer on our Broadsoft platform: Busy Lamp Field (BLF) is the ability to see when others are on the phone, Shared Call Appearance (SCA)to answer other users’ calls, but allows for the setup of 2 Cisco phones to ring with the same number, and feature keys to handle corporate directory.  As for a fully working inbound/ outbound handset with the ability to fully control the call while connected, the Cisco 794x and 796x series work and sound great.

Evolve recommends the use of a UC application, such as UC-One or other integrated application, with their Cisco handsets to take full advantage of Premium HPBX features.

Features

Cisco 8811 and 8800 Series Phones

We DO NOT support Cisco 6/7/8000 series handsets.   In roughly 2016, Cisco released their 6000, 7000, 8000 series phones.  Cisco designed 2 models of phones- one set of phones to operate with the various Call Manager platforms and one set of phones to operate with 3rd party open SIP platforms.  The phones look the same and even have extremely similar manufacturer part numbers.

CP-8811-3PW-NA-K9  =  Designed for Cisco Platforms

CP-8811-3PCC-K9  =  Designed for 3rd Party SIP Platforms

This is just background info for discovery later this year because we DO NOT support Cisco 6/7/8000 series handsets at this time.

We plan to target Cisco 6/7/8000 series handsets for release in the latter part of 2018.  A time table will be communicated in June/July 2018.

Resources

Cisco SPA Series Datasheets and Information

Cisco 7900 Series Datasheets and Information

Cisco 7900 Series Feature Matrix

Cisco 7900 Series Supported Star Codes Matrix

MOP_Provisioning Cisco 7900 Series Phones

Frequently Asked Questions

How will Evolve IP convert these phones during implementation?

• Evolve needs a list of the users, phone numbers, model of the phone and MAC address.  The list will be used to generate full configurations on our HPBX platform.  At the time of implementation, first the phones need to be set back to default.  Then, an Edgemarc router is installed on-site it will proxy the traffic back to the Evolve network to gain it’s firmware and configuration file.  Testing should then be performed.  Downtime is expected to be moderate to heavy.

Can I have ACD soft keys programmed on the phones to log in and out of queues?

• Yes on the Cisco SPA series of phones.  No custom ACD keys on 7940 and 7960.

Will Evolve IP take support calls on the Cisco phones?

• Yes.   When an issue is deemed to be due to the phone, the customer is then responsible for replacement.

What if I need a replacement phone or a new phone due to growth?

• Evolve does not buy, nor stock, any Cisco phones.  The customer is responsible for phone equipment acquisition

Will Cisco conference and video equipment work on Evolve IP?

• ICB.  No conferencing equipment has been tested on EIP for Cisco units.  Consult Product Development.