Simplify Voice Migrations for Enterprises: 5 Tips for Successful Integration

While organizations prefer an omnichannel communication approach for personalized customer support, reliable voice service is still critical to business. According to UC Today, nearly 7 out of 10 employees say voice delivers improved productivity and helps build relationships. Traditional voice solutions can be costly and inflexible, especially for companies growing or switching to remote office arrangements.

Many companies are seeking a method to simplify their voice migrations for enterprises and ensure seamless business calling. A voice solution allows you to migrate your voice communications to the cloud while maintaining the on-premises technology your business needs. It allows you to unify your communications in a reliable, scalable, and secure solution offering various benefits.

However, there are some challenges when migrating voice services to the cloud. We’ll guide you through the trials of migrating with five tips for seamless integration and help you select an ideal Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) partner for your voice solution.

What Is Cloud-Based Voice, and Why Are Voice Migrations for Enterprises Rising in Popularity?

Enterprise voice solutions that operate in the cloud (or cloud-based voice) allow users to make calls over the internet. Cloud-based communication technologies, such as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), reduce your company’s reliance on in-house infrastructure. They allow users to make calls to VoIP and public switched telephone network (PSTN) phones seamlessly.

Migrating to a cloud-based voice solution provides organizations with exceptional flexibility, security, and resilience. Businesses of all sizes are adopting cloud-based voice solutions to facilitate the rise of remote work, replace costly on-site PSTN services, and provide consistent and reliable phone service to users.

The Benefits of Voice for Enterprise

The benefits of cloud-based calling solutions drive voice migrations for enterprises. Organizations seeking a cost-effective and flexible voice service can benefit from the following:

Ease-of-integration: Cloud-based solutions are often compatible with your existing private branch exchange (PBX) and telephony devices, such as mobile phones, IP phones, and software phones. Your business phone numbers can be ported rapidly, and the solution is often ready for use with less effort than traditional solutions.
Cost-effectiveness: A cloud voice solution requires no costly infrastructure. Typically, your existing internet connection is adequate to provide reliable calling. Costs are significantly reduced, especially long-distance and international calls.
Remote capabilities: Cloud-based solutions are ideal for communication and collaboration between distributed workforces. Remote users get consistent calling from IP phones, software phones, and mobile phones, regardless of location.
Scalability: Unlike traditional on-site solutions, cloud-based voice offers near-limitless scalability. Calling capacity can scale dynamically to meet demands without requiring additional infrastructure.
Security: Keeping your communications secure is simple when you have a reputable UCaaS partner. You’ll get real-time monitoring of your voice networks to ensure your information is safe. Quality services can also optimize your network performance with managed services.
Reliability: A resilient cloud service provider delivers business continuity and reliable calling. With the right partner, your communications will be protected by a redundant global network of rate centers. When your business transitions from on-site to remote work, cloud-based solutions can provide seamless voice migrations for enterprises.
Unified communications: An enterprise voice solution allows your organization to unify its communications in the cloud, providing more control and visibility for employees in all departments.
Enterprise-grade features: A reputable UCaaS provider can deliver enterprise-grade features like remote call forwarding, call transfer, and phone number management, among others.

Facing the Challenges of Migrating to a Cloud-Based Voice Solution

While voice migrations for enterprises can deliver a range of benefits, they might also come with challenges if your business isn’t prepared. Working with a reliable partner can help mitigate or even eliminate many obstacles.

Moving from an on-site solution to a cloud-based service can present security risks if the voice provider or your team is underprepared. When you work with an enterprise voice solution provider that manages your network and security, you can gain confidence that your business communications are secure and resilient.

Related: What Is Enterprise Voice Service?

The cost of migrating can be a primary factor. There are some upfront costs when moving to a cloud-based voice solution; however, they are minimal compared to a new on-site upgrade and can lead to cost savings over time. Often, a business can continue to use its current hardware, including your company’s PBX and telephony devices.

The ease of implementing a UCaaS solution with existing equipment makes it simple to migrate to a cloud-based voice service. A study in Tech Target of over 400 international organizations found that while 3 out of 10 companies still use on-premises communications, over 25% are planning to migrate to the cloud in the upcoming years.

Lack of in-house skills can also be a challenge for some implementations of a cloud-based voice solution. It’s vital to work with a voice partner that offers technical support to help your business overcome hurdles in the integration and management of the calling solution.

5 Tips for a Successful Voice Migration

Successful voice migrations for enterprises start with a thorough examination and planning of your organization’s needs. When you partner with a reputable provider, you can simplify the transition.

Tip 1: Examine Your Current Voice Infrastructure

Evaluate your current hardware, call usage, and requirements to ensure your new voice communications solution meets the needs of your business. Account for any analog or legacy voice equipment your organization may have, as larger enterprises sometimes overlook or are unaware of the full extent of these systems. Doing this will help avoid disrupted operations, compatibility issues, or even compliance problems.

By thoroughly evaluating and integrating your existing analog voice infrastructure as needed, you can ensure a smoother transition while preserving critical voice communication functions and investments. You can ensure compatibility with your current hardware when selecting a voice partner that offers support for legacy systems.

Tip 2: Consider the Needs of Each Department

Departments have unique requirements that a new phone system must meet. Certain departments use features like call transfer, recording, and transcription in their daily tasks. They might also require integration of the voice service with customer relationship management (CRM) software, apps, and other systems for productivity. Determine which phone numbers require porting to ensure the transition is seamless for each department.

Tip 3: Create a Migration Plan for Your Enterprise Voice System and Discuss With Relevant Teams

Create a plan to encourage adoption of the new technology. Migration allows you to transition by department, user, or site in a rolling process for the highest efficiency. However, some organizations would benefit from a full migration rather than breaking it into several steps.

Your plan can include business continuity using the resilience and remote capabilities of cloud-based communications. Consider the new required security for your voice service and the features your partner can provide, such as real-time network monitoring, to ensure your business communications are secure.

Related: A Quick Guide: Navigating Voice Migrations for Enterprise Success

Assess the training needs of leaders, departments, and individuals to ensure everyone is ready for the migration. Planning out milestones for your migration can allow enough time for adjustment and training as needed. Develop a plan to mitigate risks during implementation and have a backup strategy to address complications and delays.

Tip 4: Ensure Milestones and Timelines Are Being Met

While voice migrations for enterprises can be faster than traditional solutions, it’s vital to adhere to your timeline and milestones for effective implementation. A gradual migration is often favorable for organizations to ensure business continuity and seamless implementation.

Tip 5: Partner With an Enterprise Voice Provider to Deliver a Seamless Communication Solution

Partnering with an established voice provider will ensure your company or client has a reliable calling solution. Your partner can ensure secure, scalable, and resilient communications with features for security, business continuity, and management of your voice solution.

A voice partner that manages your UCaaS solution oversees and maintains your communication networks to deliver stability and optimized network performance in a hassle-free solution.

You won’t need a dedicated voice and security team to ensure reliable service. You can access the business-enhancing features your organization needs and use toll-free, local, and international calling at affordable rates. Deployment and ongoing maintenance are simple with a partner that manages your voice networks, and you’ll have access to 24/7 support while maintaining control of the voice solution from a web portal.

Ensure Your Voice Migrations for Enterprises Are a Success With a Secure and Resilient Partner

When migrating from an on-premises PSTN or VoIP system to a cloud-based solution, use the five tips above to guide your decision-making process and partner with a reputable UCaaS provider to ensure a seamless implementation. When you work with a quality voice platform, you can maintain existing on-premises systems, such as your PBX, while unlocking the scalability, reliability, security, and cost-efficiency of the cloud.

Pure IP offers a secure, resilient voice solution that allows you to connect legacy systems with cloud-based voice to simplify voice migrations for enterprises. You can unify your business communications to enhance the scalability, reliability, and security of your voice service at an affordable price.

With Pure IP, you get the support you need to guide you through the design and build, deployment, management, and control of your UCaaS implementation. Our platform makes it easy to manage your voice solution from a web portal and get the business-enhancing calling features your organization relies on. Contact us to benefit from seamless voice access with our managed connectivity solution.