Forwarding a Cisco Unified Call Manager (CUCM) number

Cisco Unified Call Manager (also called CUCM, Cisco Unified Communications Manager, or just Cisco Call Manager) is an on-premise phone platform you'll find in a lot of mid-size and large businesses. Forwarding from CUCM to an external number like 365 Agents usually requires an admin to do one-time configuration first — but once that's in place, users can set forwarding themselves.

Heads up: this one is different

Unlike cloud systems, CUCM will silently fail to forward to external numbers if your Calling Search Space (CSS) isn't configured to allow it. You'll enter the 365 Agents number in the Self Care Portal, it'll save without an error, and every incoming call will just ring back or go to voicemail instead of forwarding.

If that happens, it's not a bug in the portal — it's your CSS. Your Cisco admin has to configure the CSS on the line web page to allow external forwarding. This is a one-time setup, usually a 5-minute ticket.

Step-by-step — Cisco Self Care Portal (user)

•Sign in to the Cisco Unified Communications Self Care Portal at the URL your IT team gave you (usually https://<cucm-server>/ucmuser).

•Go to Phones → Call Forwarding.

•Pick your phone number from the list.

•Check Forward all calls to:.

•From the dropdown, choose Add a new number.

•Enter the 365 Agents number. For external numbers you usually need to include your outbound prefix — commonly 9 before the number (e.g., 914155551234). Ask your admin if unsure.

•To also forward internal calls (optional), click Advanced calling rules and repeat.

•Click Save.

Step-by-step — Cisco IP phone (from the handset)

On most Cisco desk phones:

•Press the CFwdALL soft key.

•Dial the outbound prefix (usually 9) followed by the 365 Agents number.

•Press # to confirm. An animated "call forwarded" icon appears on the phone display.

•To turn it off, press CFwdALL again.

If forwarding doesn't work

Test first: from a different phone, call the forwarded extension. If it rings back or goes to voicemail instead of reaching your AI agent, file a ticket with your Cisco admin asking them to:

• Check that the CSS for Call Forward All (CFA) includes a partition that can reach external PSTN numbers

• Verify you have the correct outbound route pattern permissions

• Confirm the target number (your 365 Agents number) isn't being blocked by a Translation Pattern or Digit Analysis rule

To turn forwarding off

In the Self Care Portal, uncheck Forward all calls to: and save. Or press CFwdALL on the phone.

Your forwarding destination

Your forwarding destination is the 365 Agents number we assigned you during setup. You'll find it in your dashboard under Numbers. Remember to include your outbound prefix (typically 9) in front of the number.