Upgrade Jabber with IM and Presence to Webex App
We are going to walk you through the process of moving from Jabber with IM and Presence to the Webex App for your organization. We’ve developed the Webex App and Control Hub to provide you with a modern user/admin experience while keeping your familiar messaging, meeting, and conferencing workflows, but with the benefits of modernizing the user and admin experience. In addition to being accompanied by a visual representation of the steps, there is also more detailed information about the specifics of the upgrade, as well as links to helpful documentation that will guide you through the process.
We will not make any changes for customers using Jabber Phone Only mode or the Webex app with Jabber Phone Only mode.
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Set Up Control Hub
Creating a Control Hub organization, if you do not already have one, is the first step to completing the initial setup of Control Hub. A Control Hub is an administrative user interface that allows you to manage users within your organization and the services they consume. The best way to ensure a consistent user sign-in experience is to enable single sign-on (SSO) for your organization.
Before you begin
The entitlements for the Webex App may already be available to you. When you have licensing in place, then you can move forward with the deployment process. If you haven’t, then we will assist you in moving forward. Contact your Cisco contact or your partner for further assistance if you need it.
- Domains can be added, verified, and claimed by the user.
As a user of Control Hub, you are able to add, verify, and claim your domain names so that you can use features that require proof of domain ownership, as well as help with managing your users, and you are also able to provide additional security and integrity to your organization.
- For a consistent user experience across all components of the system, single sign-on (SSO) should be enabled across all components:
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The unification of CMS, IM, and presence under one platform
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Hub for control of the system
Your Unified Communications Manager (including IM and Presence) and Control Hub environments can be integrated with the SAML Identity Provider in your organization if you already have an identity provider (IdP) in your organization. With single sign-on, all of your organization’s Webex Meetings users, as well as Webex App, will be able to use one set of credentials for all of their Webex applications.
The automatic emails can also be suppressed if you wish. As soon as licenses are assigned to users in Control Hub, Cisco Webex sends them an automated email letting them know. When you have an SSO organization, the automated emails will be suppressed and you will be able to send out your own communications in the place of these automated emails.
- Make sure that your environment is equipped with analytics:
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Unified Communications in the Cloud (CCUC)
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Telemetry over Jabber
In addition to Webex Cloud-Connected UC (CCUC), a set of services within Webex is designed to assist users in improving their administrative workflow productivity as well as providing enhanced business and operational insights. You can benefit from all the benefits that come with Webex’s cloud-based solution while remaining in control of your critical calls on your own premises. As a Webex customer, you have the option of logging into the Webex Control Hub to get a single global view from where you can manage all of your cloud and hybrid Webex services from a single operations control panel that complements your on-premises Unified CM network.
We provide migration insights from CCUC to assist you in the move from Jabber to the Webex App. To find out more about how to migrate Jabber users to the Webex app, please see Migrate Jabber Users to Cloud-Connected UC.
Using Jabber telemetry, which is enabled by default, is also recommended. As your users adopt Webex App, you will be able to analyze the data in order to gain insight into your deployment and usage of Jabber. There is no information collected about you that can be used to identify you personally. Webex Control Hub can be used to display this usage data via the linked document.
- Configure the Control Hub to assign licenses automatically using templates
Using Control Hub, you can create default license templates that will automatically assign licenses to new users as soon as they are created.
The following methods can also be used to assign services to users after they have been created at any time in the future:
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User permissions can be enabled individually for each user
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Allow users to be enabled in bulk at the same time
- The following is an optional procedure for synchronizing users from an existing support directory:
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The Directory Connector (using Active Directory) can be used to connect to Active Directory
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The SCIM API is used to integrate Azure AD with SCIM
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With the help of the SCIM API, Okta (using its API) can be accessed
Using the integration steps for Directory Connector or using the SCIM API option on Control Hub, you will be able to synchronize users from an existing directory into your Control Hub organization. You do not need to recreate your user accounts when you use these integrations because they keep your user list in sync. In Control Hub, whenever you add, update, or remove a user in the directory that you’re synchronizing, the change is reflected in the users’ records.
- Hybrid Calendar Service should be deployed as soon as possible.
Your Webex session can be managed using the Hybrid Calendar Service that connects with Microsoft Exchange, Office 365, and Google’s G Suite Calendar (Google Calendar) on-premises environments. Meetings can be scheduled and joined more easily, especially on mobile devices. It doesn’t require any plugins.
In a meeting, Webex devices such as Rooms, Desks, and Boards can be added for conferencing purposes. The green Join button appears on the device if the Hybrid Calendar Service is enabled. Cisco Unified Communications Manager and Cisco TelePresence Management Suite (also known as Cisco TelePresence Management Suite) support the Join button.
Align Calling
It is possible to configure Calling in Webex App (Unified CM) using the steps below. This solution uses your existing deployment of Unified CM, so you don’t need to make any changes to that. For more information on how to transition from Jabber Unified CM Calling to Webex App UCM Calling and Webex App UCM Calling Configuration, please refer to the following guides.
The configuration of Unified CM Calling should be validated.
Cisco Unified Communications Manager Call Control Manager (5000/7000, Enterprise Edition 6000/7000, or partner solution delivered by HCS) lets you register Webex App directly to your Cisco Unified Communications Manager call control environment.
By integrating Webex App with Unified Communications Manager, end users can directly make calls through Webex App and remotely control their Unified Communications Manager registered desk phone from Webex App.
- Discover Unified CM services and validate them.
Service discovery provides clients with an automatic way to collect information about enterprises (internal) and MRAs (external) networks. Check your deployment guide and environment to see if this configuration is already in place.
- The configuration file for Unified CM needs to be updated.
In addition to the Jabber configuration file, Webex App makes use of the embedded Unified Communications Manager (Unified CM) for a variety of client features, such as specific calling features and migration tools from Jabber to Webex App.
Webex App supports a number of parameters. See the Policy Parameters document for details.
Knowledge workers already have access to most calling features in the Webex App. There may be times when a small subset of your users need advanced calling features, such as contact center and multiline features, not yet available in Webex App. An interim solution would be to launch the Webex App from Jabber. If this option is selected, Jabber is opened when a call is initiated from the Webex App; incoming calls are also ringing directly in Jabber. The documentation for Webex App with Jabber Cross Launch is available at https://www.cisco.com/c/dam/en/us/td/docs/solutions/PA/mcp/APPLICATION_CALLING-WebexTeams_with_Jabber_Cross_Launch.pdf.
Align Messaging
Decide what your organization’s retention policy will be.
It is possible to use persistent messaging with the Webex App. It is possible to set the retention period for Webex App data if you are interested in less message storage for your organization.
By contacting your Customer Success Manager (CSM) or partner, you can request that we extend your retention period by 24 hours.
- FĂ©deration of XMPP should be enabled.
If you want your users to be able to communicate with people using XMPP messenger apps in Webex App, you can choose to allow them to do so.
See the slide deck provided by the XMPP Federation if you would like information about migration specifics.
- SIP Federation should be enabled
A hybrid-enabled user can communicate with a domain that is SIP-federated and allows hybrid communication. It is with this integration that hybrid users are equipped with the ability to connect with users from external domains, which are federated Domain Name Systems (DNSs) using Session Initiated Protocol (SIP).
- Hybrid Messaging should be set up in your company.
Using Cisco Webex Hybrid Message Service, the IM and Presence Service (IM and Presence Service) of Cisco Unified Communications Manager can be connected to Cisco Webex for the purpose of enabling interoperability with Cisco Webex App via Cisco Webex. Users who have transitioned from Jabber to Webex App can still communicate with each other in this way, even though they are still on Jabber.
Align Meetings
For existing Site Admin customers, following these steps will align your meeting environment with the webex app experience and the Control Hub experience if you already use the Webex App.
- If you want to link a Webex site to the Control Hub, follow the steps listed in the link below.
Using the Cisco Webex linking procedure, you will be able to gain access to advanced analytics for your existing Webex sites, as well as have Webex Meetings users linked to Control Hub through linkage to your existing Webex sites.
- Using Webex Meetings, you can enjoy all the features that the platform has to offer.
In this step, you will be able to provide your team of users with the same kind of meeting experience that you have already been using.
For more information, feel free to contact your Customer Success Manager (CSM) or your partner for assistance if you wish to experience the full meetings experience.
Deploy Webex App
Streamline deployment of the Webex App app, including customizing update frequency, communicating with your users and migrating user data from Jabber to the Webex App, and deploying the Webex App app. As soon as you are ready to do so, you should decommission the old messaging organization.
- Deploy a trial version of the application.
Prior to rolling out Webex App to your entire organization, we recommend that you run a trial with a few select users.
- Webex App can be deployed in the following ways:
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Upgrades and installation of new versions
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Controls can be configured for product updates
It is possible for you, as an administrator, to install the Webex App on Windows or on Mac using the MSI or DMG files. For Windows users, it is possible to add parameters to the MSI file to enhance the user experience by including command line parameters. The Webex App automatically updates itself whenever there is a newer version available. In order to complete these steps, you should have a desktop version of Webex App installed on your computer. Webex App can also be installed by the user himself or herself as part of the self-service process. The desktop or mobile versions of WebEx can be downloaded from the following link: https://www.webex.com/downloads.html.
As a Webex App administrator, you have the ability to control the updates that your users receive through the Webex App, as well as when the app is updated. You can allow your users to preview the app before you update them, using a deferral period.
- Providing assistance to users who are migrating from Jabber to Webex App:
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Setting up Jabber to allow users to move their contacts and common settings around (Administrator)
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Moving settings from one account to another (Users) User Guide
A migration tool that is built in to Cisco Jabber provides users with a method of migrating their contacts from Jabber to Webex App, along with other user preferences that are common to both products. It is encrypted so that the data cannot be accessed by third parties. In order to set up your users for this migration, you will need to deploy Webex App to them as soon as you have deployed it. Just a few settings need to be configured in order for this option to be automatically displayed to users in Jabber after they log in. For a more detailed explanation of the migration process, they can refer to the user guide.
- The IM and Presence environments need to be decommissioned.
In order to decommission your old IM and Presence environment, you will need to notify your Customer Success Manager (CSM) or partner as soon as the new environment runs smoothly in your organization, you’ve notified your users of the change, and you’re ready.
Before decommissioning IM and Presence, you need to keep the following points in mind:
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If SIP federation is required in the Webex App, do not decommission it.
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The chat messages that are persistent should be archived as soon as possible.
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Archive your contact lists as soon as possible.
Need some help? We’ve got you
For more information, please contact your Customer Success Manager (CSM) or a partner within your organization.
The IM and Presence Update Program includes all the information you need to get started right away.