General #
What is Horizon with Webex? #
By integrating the proven and reliable calling features of Horizon with the advanced collaboration tools of Webex, Horizon with Webex simplifies small to medium businesses’ (SMBs) communication infrastructures. Horizon with Webex’s best-of-breed approach provides crystal-clear voice, video meetings, and instant messaging all in one seamless platform.
What is the purpose of the upgrade? #
In response to rapidly evolving market innovation, we are strengthening our partnership with Cisco to bring cutting edge solutions and advanced features to our customers.
What is the bulk upgrade tool? #
We have created the bulk upgrade tool for you to quickly and easily provide your clients with Horizon with Webex so they can benefit from its advanced features, enhanced performance, and greater scalability to support their growing businesses – all with minimal disruption.
What version of Horizon with Webex will my customers be upgraded to? #
| Horizon with Webex package | Equivalent |
|---|---|
| Horizon with Webex – Softphone | Horizon Softphone |
| Horizon with Webex – Basic | Collaborate |
| Horizon with Webex – Standard | No equivalent – new package with advanced meetings and collaborative features |
| Horizon with Webex – Premium | No equivalent – new package with premium features and up to 1,000 participant meetings |
Further details on each of the packages can be found in the Horizon with Webex Service Description on the Gamma Academy Knowledge Base.
Please contact your Business Development Manager for pricing of the new packages.
Does it make any difference if customers are on the old Collaborate or new Collaborate service? #
No, the above new packages and equivalents apply to both old and new Collaborate (and Softphones).
What is happening to Horizon Collaborate? #
Full details will be communicated to you soon in a formal notification, but to ensure you have access to the many benefits of Horizon with Webex, we encourage you to upgrade sooner rather than later.
How do I inform my customers? #
As part of the upgrade process, your customers will receive an automated email notifying them of the change.
Additionally, to support your conversations with customers about what Horizon with Webex is, and the benefits of moving to this new solution, we’ve created a range of marketing materials that are now available on Accelerate, our partner marketing platform. This includes a brochure, promotional videos, emails and social content. You’ll also find some sales enablement tools including a Battlecard and Sales Playbook.
Upgrade Process #
How do I use the Bulk Upgrade Tool? #
You can access the tool straight away through the ‘Manage Company’ section of the ‘Horizon Manage Companies page’ in the Gamma Portal, and as mentioned, we have created several support documents to guide you through the process including:
- Gamma Academy:
- Our full Horizon with Webex Accreditation can be found on the Gamma Academy. To access the Academy, follow the link found under ‘Help & Support’ on the Gamma Portal. The Horizon with Webex Accreditation can be found in the Course Catalogue or by using the search function on the main page.
- Gamma Academy Knowledge Base:
- Support documentation including service descriptions, provisioning guides etc can be found on the Gamma Academy Knowledge Base. To access the Academy Knowledge Base, follow the link found under ‘Help & Support’ on the Gamma Portal. Once in the Academy, use the Knowledge Base link on the right and then access the Horizon with Webex production section from the Knowledge Base homepage.
- We are also holding a webinar which will guide you through how the bulk upgrade tool works and to discuss the benefits of upgrading as soon as possible. The webinar will be held on 21st November and will also be available on demand. See here for details.
If you have any further questions on how to use the bulk upgrade tool, please contact the customer support team.
How long does the upgrade process take? #
This depends on how many customers you are upgrading at once. Please allow at least five working days before contacting Gamma Support.
What documentation is available? #
As you are already familiar with Horizon with Webex, the key document is the Bulk Upgrade Tool user guide. However, other resources will be available as well.
Pricing and Licensing #
Will there be any additional costs associated with the upgrade? #
No additional Gamma charges will be associated with the upgrade where the user is given a like for like Horizon with Webex package (see above: What version of Horizon with Webex will my customers be upgraded to?).
Additionally, a billing solution has been developed to ensure you are not double charged for a user who has both a Collaborate (or Softphone) bolt-on and a newly provisioned equivalent Webex bolt-on assigned. This means you do not have to worry about removing the old bolt-on once the user has been provisioned. Please see the Horizon with Webex Service Description for more details.
If we do a bulk upgrade, will we need to remove all old Collaborate or Softphone Bolt-ons? #
As mentioned above, a billing solution has been developed to ensure you are not double charged for a user who has both a Collaborate (or Softphone) bolt-on and a newly provisioned equivalent Webex bolt-on assigned. This means you do not have to worry about removing the old bolt-on once the user has been provisioned. Please see the Horizon with Webex Service Description on the Gamma Academy Knowledge Base for more details.
Support #
Will the upgrade cause any downtime for my customers? #
We have developed the upgrade tool to be as undisruptive as possible, but it may require some unavoidable downtime in some instances:
- Desktop Collaborate (or Softphone) apps: No service disruption
- Mobile Collaborate (or Softphone) apps: After the Horizon with Webex Bolt-on is provisioned, these users will not receive inbound calls for up to one hour on their mobile Collaborate (or Softphone) app.
- Recommended actions:
- Please consider the time when Horizon with Webex is provisioned.
- Please ensure customers are aware of this behaviour and the workaround, as necessary.
- Workaround:
- After the Horizon with Webex Bolt-on is provisioned, a user can log out and back in to their Collaborate (or Softphone) app.
- Recommended actions:
Where can I get support if my customers encounter issues during or after the upgrade? #
Support is available to you as it is today. You just need to contact the Gamma Support Team in the usual way, and we can help get you to the right people to support you. In addition, you will be able to share feedback and attend the feedback sessions to raise questions. Finally, there is support content available on the Gamma Academy.
Feedback #
How can I provide feedback on the upgrade process and Horizon with Webex overall? #
We are very keen to hear yours and your customers’ feedback and your Business Development Manager is on hand if you have any you’d like to share.