Prepare Your Migration Path to a Cloud Phone System

Andy DeAngelis
January 21, 2016

prepare-your-migration-path-to-a-cloud-phone-systemThe cloud is the future of business and this is certainly the case when it comes to business communication as well. Cloud phone systems are becoming more and more commonplace in organizations from startups to enterprises everywhere thanks to their powerful features and unparallelled functionality.

If you are considering switching from a traditional phone system to a cloud phone system - or if you have already decided to make the shift - then a key objective in the days or weeks ahead is to prepare your migration path.

Below, we highlight 4 key aspects that will characterize your successful journey forward:

4 Ways to Plan Your Migration to a Cloud Phone System

1. Identify & Educate Your Key Stakeholder Groups

Generally speaking, your key stakeholder groups are your executives/leaders, your employees and your IT staff (we will focus more on IT staff in a moment).

You want to meet with each of these groups to identify their goals and expectations of the cloud phone system. Much of this process will involve explaining the features and functions, since many people – including IT staff – may not be aware of how far cloud phone systems have come in the past few years.

Ultimately, you want each stakeholder group to be “on board” and supportive of the cloud phone system, and prepared to access all necessary resources, tools and training to leverage the benefits.

Please Note: It is possible that your IT staff may demonstrate some resistance (or perhaps something with more intensity!) when presented with the idea of switching to a cloud phone system. This is because they anticipate being overwhelmed with technical service issues. You can assure them that they are getting an on-premises VoIP phone system and a cloud phone system confused.

The former involves installing hardware, which does indeed need to be supported by IT staff. But with the latter, all hardware remains with the vendor, and as such, all maintenance is handled remotely by experts. Your IT staff has nothing to worry about!

2. Choose the Right Vendor

Choosing the right vendor for your cloud phone system is critically important. There are many questions to ask your hosted VoIP provider. You want to work with a partner who:

  • Has proven experience and knowledge
  • Offers full investment protection
  • Has an in-house team of experts
  • Leverages state-of-the-art infrastructure
  • Has systems in place to ensure business continuity 

Essentially, you are looking for a PARTNER that will work with you to ensure that your migration, implementation and ongoing utilization is streamlined and successful. Also note that your vendor will also help you with step 1 in the migration path, which is working with your various stakeholder groups.

3. Prepare for Implementation

With the guidance and support of your chosen vendor, you want to prepare for implementation by ensuring that your network infrastructure is suitable to handle the needs of your (imminent) cloud phone system.

For example, you want to ensure that your business has access to suitably fast and reliable Internet, and that your connection is controlled by a managed router. A major aspect of this step involves testing and re-testing, which again is something that your vendor will handle completely on your behalf.  

4. Orientation and/or Training

Last but not least, you want to put together an orientation and/or training plan in place, so that your employees can start reaping the rewards of your cloud phone system as soon as possible. Again, your vendor will provide you with resources and support to create the shortest possible path to value.

The Bottom Line

As you can see, preparing your migration path to a cloud phone system is linear, straightforward, and without question a step in the right direction since you will be well on your way to saving thousands of dollars per year, while boosting everything from employee productivity to customer service.

Learn More

To learn more about a cloud phone system, contact Votacall today. As always, your consultation with us is free, and there is no obligation or risk.

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