Global Cisco Unified Communications Cloud Migration

Client: Multinational Pharmaceutical Enterprise
Industry: Highly Regulated, Global Operations
Geographic Scope: 125 sites worldwide
Services: Project & Programme Management
Technology: Cisco Unified Communications (On‑Prem to Cloud)

The Challenge

The client operates a large, globally distributed Unified Communications environment built on on‑premises Cisco infrastructure.
This legacy setup supported desk phones and Cisco Jabber across 125 sites, but was increasingly difficult to scale, costly to maintain, and misaligned with the organisation’s broader cloud and modern workplace strategy.

The organisation required a controlled, low‑risk migration to a Cisco cloud‑based Unified Communications platform, while ensuring:

  • Minimal disruption to business operations

  • Consistent user experience across regions

  • Alignment with regional network readiness and local constraints

  • Clear governance across multiple workstreams and vendors

The scale and geographic spread of the programme introduced significant complexity, including time‑zone coordination, dependency management, and change adoption across diverse user groups.

The Approach

ENBLEM was engaged to provide end‑to‑end project management leadership, acting as the central coordination point between business stakeholders, IT teams, network providers, and Cisco delivery partners.

Our approach focused on structured delivery with flexibility, ensuring global consistency while allowing for regional variation.

Key elements included:

  • Programme governance and planning

    • Definition of delivery waves and site groupings

    • Integrated master schedule covering 125 sites

    • Risk, dependency, and issue management across regions

  • Stakeholder and vendor coordination

    • Alignment between internal IT, network teams, and external partners

    • Regular global and regional governance forums

    • Clear escalation and decision‑making pathways

  • Site readiness and migration control

    • Coordination of network readiness and pre‑migration checks

    • Migration run books for desk phones and Jabber services

    • Structured cut over and rollback planning

  • Change and communications management

    • User communications aligned to regional roll outs

    • Support readiness and handover to operations

    • Hypercare planning following migrations

The Solution

The programme successfully migrated desk phone services and Cisco Jabber from on‑premises infrastructure to a Cisco cloud Unified Communications platform.

Delivery was executed through a phased, wave‑based rollout, allowing lessons learned to be applied progressively and risks to be tightly controlled.
Each site migration followed a consistent framework while accommodating local operational and regulatory requirements.

ENBLEM maintained full visibility across all 125 sites, ensuring dependencies were managed proactively and stakeholders remained aligned throughout the programme lifecycle.