On July 13, 2023, seven more campus groups successfully migrated to Zoom Phone Services. The organizations that were part of the most recent migration are the Palm Desert Graduate Center, College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences, School of Public Policy, Enrollment Services, Division of Undergraduate Education, Graduate Division, and UCR Intercollegiate Athletics. To date, over 1,700 phone users in UCR are using Zoom Phone Services.

Moving to Zoom Phone brings significant improvements to UCR’s telephony services. For instance, outages would be a less common challenge with Zoom Phone compared to legacy phone systems. Sheri Morgan, Associate Director of Network Engineering and Operations, shared the advantages of the cloud-based service:

“The cloud-based Zoom Phone has increased reliability, mobility, and flexibility over our current legacy phone system. Staff and faculty are able to answer calls on their laptop [and] cell phone, if desired, and [they can] easily switch [from] a phone call to a meeting.

With the demands of remote and hybrid teaching and work, campus users require flexibility from their telephone service, [which] Zoom Phone provides. It is easy to use, both [in] receiving and making phone calls [and in] switching between a phone call and a meeting. It [also] provides improved sound quality over the existing phone system.”

The campus Zoom Phone upgrade is taking place in batches, and remaining units can expect to upgrade soon. Currently, migration is underway for the School of Education, School of Business, College of Natural & Agricultural Sciences, University Extension, University Library, Auxiliary Services, Information Technology Solutions, School of Medicine, and Health, Well-being & Safety. The Zoom Phone “Go Live” date for these units, which comprises more than 1,500 campus phone users, is slated for August 2023.

Prior to migration, campus phone users undergo training to receive step-by-step guidance on Zoom Phone configuration, desktop and mobile app usage, and active call management. The training schedule is announced by ITS via email. Live support is also offered post-migration to ensure a smooth transition.

All training resources, including the recorded training session and frequently asked questions (FAQs), are available on the Zoom Phone Services webpage. If you have questions or concerns, you may reach the Zoom Phone Project Team via email at zoomphonepilot@ucr.edu.