PIN synchronization – To use this feature, it must be enabled in the Cisco unified CM administration. Enabling PIN synchronization makes it possible for end users to log in to extension mobility, conference now, mobile connect and Cisco unity connection voicemail with the same PIN. This makes it easy to access the platform from anywhere at any time increasing the productivity and reliability of the unified communication solutions.

Instant messaging and presence – presence is the ability of a use to communicate across a set of different devices. Multi-device messaging allows transmission of chats to all the devices that the user is logged on to. This means that you will never miss an important chat thereby making communication effective.

High persistent availability means that you can continue receiving important information even when the text conferencing and IM and presence nodes fail. This enhances communication. You also get support for Microsoft SQL server from 2012 sp3 to 2014. You can therefore store information from chats and managed file transfer features. The system has the ability to backup contacts automatically, and also imports or export non presence contacts.

Presence works in three phases which are the publisher user status, collect the status and consume the information. This means that the status of the user and device are collected to show what the user can be able to do at that particular time for instance voice, IM or video chat. The information collected at this time also includes the status of the user for instance busy, available or on a call. All this information helps to make communication effective and fast regardless of where the user is.

Location awareness service – with this service the system shares the location information of the people accessing the network. The administrator can determine the location of a phone that accesses the network. When a user places an emergency call, the server can locate their location using the Cisco Emergency Responder application.

If it is a wired network you can be able to view the Ethernet and switch infrastructure to see which devices are connected to those switches at that particular time. From that you can determine the building, floor or workstation from which the call was placed from. For a wireless network, you can view the access point infrastructure and the mobile devices associated with those access points at that particular time.

Administration – administration is made easy and efficient using simple configuration menus. The menus address specific requirements and have easy navigation and use. There are menus available for administration are; systems, call routing, media resources, advanced features, device, applications, user management, bulk administration and help menu. In administration you can also be able to take care of the operating system. In here you are able to carry out functions like checking the software and hardware status, check and update IP addresses, ping other network devices and much more.

You can also be able to do software upgrades, operating system configuration and change operating system settings. The simplicity in the administration makes it easy to use and care for the Cisco unified communication solutions even with little expertise. For instance use the call routing menu to configure things related with routing calls like route patterns, route groups, dial rules, partitions and much more.

Security – with the security features the users are able to collaborate and connect securely. All information passing through the data, voice, video and mobile applications is treated as confidential and therefore is protected against theft and interception. The information is also inspected to ensure that it complies with the required policies.  Video conferencing calls are also secured ensuring that there is nothing left to chance with the system. Small leaks in information and data can cause a lot of damage to a company therefore it is important to protect each and every resource.

With the security features all data and resources are protected across all the devices used. For web based applications there is form based authentication support which ensures only required users can access the platform. There is also the real time monitoring tool that allows two factor authentications. For AXL and CLI, there is the ability to separate roles as read only or read and write as required.

Enterprise directory user search – it is possible to search for users on the enterprise directory. There is no need to configure or synchronize user directory to the database therefore an administrator can search the user base of over 160,000 users. Mobile and remote users also have access and can search the enterprise directory even when they are outside the enterprise firewall. The system also supports different directory server types.

SSO agreement – an administrator can use the single sign on (SSO) agreement for every unified communications manager cluster. This helps to reduce cost of ownership while improving manageability.

Non-restart installations – the administrator can install a new device package without the need for a reboot of the system. This helps to save time and ensure that the system is on for as long as needed increasing productivity. Some services and installations however require a reboot.

High quality audio – Forward error correction for audio is done so that there is no media packet loss to deliver high quality audio to the endpoints controlled by the unified manager.

Privacy in video conferences – the system has the ability to encrypt the iX media channel in video conferences to enable privacy of information in video conferences. Private information like the identity of participants in the video conference is protected.