Systems, methods, and non-transitory computer-readable storage media for directing conferences to on-premises media agents and cloud-based media agents. A centralized controller and a plurality of cloud-based media agents are disposed within a cloud or other remote or virtual network, and a plurality of on-premises media agents are provided on-premises. The centralized controller manages the directing and forwarding of conferences and is in communication with the cloud-based media agents and the on-premises media agents.