For many enterprises, Cisco Unified Communications Manager (UCM) remains the backbone of business communications. Its reliability, security and proven performance have earned the trust of more than 30 million users worldwide.1 Yet as AI, cloud services and modern collaboration tools continue to reshape workplace communications, organizations running on-premises UCM face an important question. How can they innovate without disrupting critical infrastructure?
That's exactly where Webex Calling Hybrid comes in.
By connecting Cisco UCM to the Webex cloud, Webex Calling Hybrid enables organizations to preserve their existing investments while gaining access to cloud-powered innovation. Rather than forcing a costly rip-and-replace migration, it provides a practical and flexible path toward modernization.
What Is Webex Calling Hybrid?
Webex Calling Hybrid bridges on-premises Cisco UCM environments with Webex cloud services through a secure Webex Calling Trunk. The result is a unified communications environment that combines the stability of on-premises telephony with the agility and innovation of the cloud.
Its modular architecture allows enterprises to adopt new capabilities when and where they make sense. Organizations can start small, deploy targeted services and expand over time without disrupting existing operations. Key capabilities include:
- Unified administration through Webex Control Hub
- Hybrid trunking for consistent PSTN connectivity and dial plans
- Cloud-connected visibility and reporting
- Seamless interoperability between cloud and on-premises environments
- Modernization options for customer experience and contact center services
This approach is particularly valuable for organizations with regulatory, security, compliance or operational requirements that prevent a full cloud migration.
Bringing AI-Powered Innovation to Cisco UCM
Webex Calling Hybrid gives Cisco UCM customers access to a growing portfolio of cloud innovations without requiring a full migration. These include AI-powered capabilities such as AI Receptionist, AI Assistant and Webex Calling Customer Assist, alongside cloud-based administration through Webex Control Hub, Cloud PSTN connectivity, Cisco Calling Plans and enterprise mobility with Webex Go. Together, these services enable organizations to modernize communications at their own pace while preserving the reliability of their existing UCM deployment.
For customer-facing teams, Webex Calling Hybrid opens the door to enhanced customer experiences through AI-powered queue management, caller intent detection, sentiment analysis and supervisor insights. These capabilities help organizations improve service quality without undertaking a complete contact center transformation.
Why Enterprises Are Embracing the Hybrid Model
The hybrid approach gives organizations the best of both worlds. Instead of choosing between on-premises stability and cloud innovation, enterprises can combine them. IT teams benefit from centralized management through Control Hub, gaining a single view across cloud and on-premises environments for provisioning, analytics, troubleshooting and reporting.
Webex Calling Hybrid also supports enterprise mobility through Webex Go, allowing employees to use business calling capabilities directly from their mobile devices using the native dialer. This creates a seamless experience for hybrid and remote workers while simplifying administration.
Additionally, cloud-managed E911 services help organizations simplify emergency calling compliance, reducing operational complexity and improving visibility compared to traditional on-premises approaches.
Extend Cisco UCM the Easy Way with Webex Calling Hybrid and AudioCodes
Download the white paper to learn how organizations are modernizing communications at their own pace while protecting existing investments.
Getting More from Webex Calling Hybrid with AudioCodes
While Webex Calling Hybrid provides the framework, AudioCodes helps enterprises maximize its value thanks to a comprehensive portfolio of solutions that simplify deployment, connectivity and ongoing management. These include certified Cloud Connect services for Webex Calling, session border controllers (SBCs), analog gateways, lifecycle management services and expert professional support.
Organizations can use AudioCodes’ solutions to enable Bring Your Own Carrier (BYOC), connect AI-powered recording solutions, integrate third-party voice applications and bots and preserve essential analog devices such as lift phones, paging systems, fax machines and alarm systems.
With more than three decades of field-proven voice expertise, AudioCodes enables enterprises to modernize communications at their own pace while laying the foundation for success in the voice AI era.
Curious how leading enterprises are modernizing Cisco UCM? Watch our on-demand webinar with Webex and AudioCodes experts to find out.
FAQs
Webex Calling Hybrid is a Cisco solution that connects on-premises Cisco Unified Communications Manager (UCM) deployments to the Webex cloud. It enables organizations to retain their existing UCM infrastructure while gaining access to cloud-based services, AI-powered capabilities, simplified management and modern communications features.
Many enterprises have security, compliance, reliability or operational requirements that make a full cloud migration impractical. Webex Calling Hybrid provides a flexible modernization path, allowing organizations to adopt cloud innovation at their own pace without replacing their existing Cisco UCM environment.
As a certified Cloud Connect provider, AudioCodes delivers seamless, reliable PSTN connectivity, including Bring Your Own Carrier (BYOC) options. AudioCodes also offers session border controllers (SBCs), analog gateways, IP phones, calling plans, Webex Go services, lifecycle management and professional support, providing enterprises with a complete portfolio for deploying and managing Webex Calling Hybrid.
