Bringing UX to a team that had never had it

Overview

Cisco Unified Communications Manager (UCM) was the backbone of Cisco's global collaboration services, deployed across more than 200,000 customers and 85 million devices. As part of a larger strategic shift, Cisco launched Webex Cloud-Connected UC (CCUC), a hybrid cloud solution that bridged on-premise UCM infrastructure with cloud-based services such as certificate management, analytics, and operational insights.

Visit the official Webex CCUC site→

The challenge

Many Cisco enterprise customers had deep investments in on-premise infrastructure and were cautious about moving fully to the cloud.

Goals

For customers

• Maximize existing investments by integrating cloud-based management features
• Reduce operational costs through real-time analytics and proactive recommendations
• Enable guided upgrades and troubleshooting
• Gain a centralized, cloud-powered view across all UC clusters and nodes

For Cisco

• Unlock insight into real-world product usage
• Shift revenue from perpetual licensing to a subscription-based model
• Improve the admin experience and accelerate cloud adoption

Target personas

CIO and IT executives

Wanted high-level visibility into system health, usage, and critical issues.

UC admins

Needed operational insights, alerts, quality metrics, and guidance on issues.

IT buyers and sellers

Focused on asset optimization, adoption metrics, and capacity planning.

Adoption journey

We introduced a $0 SKU strategy to drive adoption. Customers first accessed cloud analytics for their on-premise UCM clusters; as confidence grew, they moved from on-premise to hybrid, and some eventually embraced full cloud deployments.

Proposed solution

The solution split into two core modules.

1. UCM management interface

A unified portal for onboarding, managing, and monitoring all UCM clusters.

• Intuitive onboarding wizard. Step-by-step guidance for connecting on-premise clusters to cloud services.
• Centralized dashboard. Real-time monitoring of system health across all connected clusters.
• Certificate management. Automated tracking and renewal of security certificates.
• End-to-end visibility. Complete service visibility from infrastructure to end-user experience.

2. Analytics platform

A data exploration and visualization interface powered by AI and ML.

• Interactive dashboards. Customizable filters and date ranges for targeted analysis.
• Drill-down capabilities. Deep dives into specific metrics for troubleshooting and usage analysis.
• Analytics evolution. A roadmap from descriptive to prescriptive and predictive analytics.
• Exportable reports. Insights generated and shared with stakeholders across the organization.

Design process

1. 01

   Discovery and alignment

   Held workshops with stakeholders to align on goals and adoption challenges.

2. 02

   Persona definition

   Refined personas based on interviews with IT admins, CIOs, and account managers.

3. 03

   Journey mapping

   Outlined the hybrid user journey from on-premise to full cloud adoption.

4. 04

   Ideation and wireframing

   Collaborated on workflows and created multiple iterations for dashboard flows.

5. 05

   Prototype and validation

   Delivered high-fidelity clickable prototypes, tested internally and with select users.

6. 06

   Executive review and buy-in

   Presented the design vision and early user feedback in product council reviews.

Final deliverables

• End-to-end design for UCM management workflows
• AI/ML-powered analytics dashboard designs
• Persona-driven interaction flows and information architecture
• Executive decks and design documentation for stakeholder buy-in
• A UX playbook for future features and design handoff assets

Impact and outcomes

• Strategic transition. CCUC became the stepping stone for hybrid and cloud-only Webex customers, accelerating cloud adoption.
• Operational efficiency. Administrative efficiency improved through centralized cluster and certificate management.
• Customer trust. The platform built a strong foundation for customer trust and a long-term cloud transition.

Analytics evolution

1. 01

   Descriptive: what happened

   Reported on past events and metrics. Delivered immediately.

2. 02

   Prescriptive: what should we do

   Recommended optimal solutions. A short-term target.

3. 03

   Predictive: what will happen

   Proactively identified potential issues. A future enhancement.

The roadmap advanced from descriptive to prescriptive and, eventually, predictive analytics: from reporting past events to proactively flagging issues and recommending solutions.

Customer feedback

• Addressing hidden pain points. Initial feedback showed the analytics platform solved several previously undiscussed pain points, particularly around visibility and troubleshooting.
• Hardware optimization. Customers reported real improvements in hardware utilization efficiency, leading to better resource allocation and cost savings.
• Reduced support tickets. The intuitive interface and proactive alerts led to a measurable drop in support tickets and faster resolution times.
• Global spend visibility. Customers gained visibility into their global spend and usage patterns, supporting more informed decisions and budget planning.

Reflection

Beyond CCUC itself, this project marked a turning point for UX in the organization. The team's remit grew past analytics into migration, monitoring, and platform unification, and UX earned a seat at the table as product and engineering recognized the value of user-centered thinking in shaping scalable, data-driven platforms.

UX stopped being seen as a pixel-pushing function and became a mindset that brought clarity, empathy, and user insight into decision-making, which let the team move beyond execution toward strategic influence, product differentiation, and a more mature, user-aware approach to platform innovation.