An improved system and method are disclosed for enabling unified communications and collaboration (UCC) communications between incompatible communication systems. For example, the method may include using a universal UCC (U2C2) gateway in a first system to establish a connection with a server in a second system. The U2C2 gateway mimics a behavior defined for use within the second system when communicating with the server in order to be compatible with the second system. The U2C2 gateway notifies a multipoint control unit (MCU) within the first system of the connection. The MCU manages the UCC session and recognizes the U2C2 gateway as the source and destination for communications corresponding to the connection. The U2C2 gateway normalizes media received from the second system for compatibility with the first system before sending the media to the MCU for the UCC session. The U2C2 gateway also normalizes media received from the MCU for compatibility with the second system before sending the media to the second system.