Moving to a cloud phone system: what to check before retiring the old PBX

Moving to a cloud phone system makes sense for most companies with ageing equipment, several sites or people who work away from the office. The switch goes smoothly if you first check four things: your numbers and special lines, the quality of your connection, the internal network and your call flows. With those clear, the change can happen without customers or suppliers noticing.

The old phone system in the cupboard often still works, which is exactly why nobody wants to touch it. Then something breaks, a spare part can no longer be found or a new office needs connecting, and the question becomes unavoidable. Here is what to look at before switching off the equipment that has served the business for years.

How does a cloud phone system work?

A cloud phone system is a VoIP PBX hosted on remote infrastructure rather than in a cabinet in your office. Calls travel over your internet connection, phones can be desk handsets, computer apps or smartphone apps, and everything is configured remotely.

The practical benefits are real:

• mobility: people answer the office number wherever they are, with the same features as at their desk;
• several sites, one system: extensions, transfers and queues shared across offices;
• no equipment to maintain: updates and infrastructure upkeep are part of the service;
• quick changes: a new extension, different opening hours or an updated message no longer need an engineer on site;
• integrations with CRM and collaboration tools.

Which phones you can use

A cloud phone system gives you a wider choice of devices than before. IP desk phones remain the most comfortable option for people who spend hours on the phone, such as reception or customer service. Softphones, applications installed on a computer, are used with a headset and suit people who work mainly at a PC. Smartphone apps let staff make and receive calls on the company number while out of the office, without revealing their personal number. Old handsets can only be reused if they are standard IP phones; proprietary phones tied to the old system usually need replacing. It is worth choosing devices according to each person's role rather than giving everyone the same one.

When looking at the options, from cloud VoIP telephony to lines, it pays to start from the real needs of the people who use the phone every day.

What should you check before retiring the old PBX?

Before retiring the old PBX, you need to know exactly what currently runs over your phone lines. Not just the main numbers, but everything that has come to rely on the system over the years.

Numbers and porting

Existing numbers can usually be kept by porting them to the new provider, so customers and suppliers can still reach you on the same number. List them all: the main number, direct dial numbers for individual extensions, secondary numbers and any fax numbers still printed on documents.

Special lines

Alarm diallers, lift emergency phones, older card payment terminals and fax machines are easily forgotten and must keep working. Some need dedicated solutions, such as adapters or separate lines, and should be checked with their maintenance providers before the switch.

Existing contracts

Read the term, commitments and exit costs of your current lines and equipment rental before setting dates, so the switch-off can be planned without surprises.

What connection does a VoIP phone system need?

A VoIP phone system needs a stable connection with low, consistent latency, plus a backup line. With a cloud phone system, your connection effectively becomes your PBX: if the line is unstable, calls drop or break up, even when plenty of bandwidth is available.

Before the move, it is worth checking:

• the real quality of the line at peak times, not just its headline speed;
• whether you have a backup line, on a different technology or provider, that takes over automatically if the main one fails;
• your firewall configuration, which must handle VoIP traffic properly and give voice priority over file transfers.

The internal network

The office network plays its part too. PoE switches power desk phones through the network cable; a dedicated voice VLAN keeps phone traffic separate from data; and well-designed Wi-Fi is essential if many people will take calls on the app. If your cabling is old, now is the time to check it: a properly designed LAN avoids most of the audio quality problems that get wrongly blamed on the phone system.

How should call flows be designed?

Call flows should be designed around how the business works, rather than copied from the old configuration out of habit. The move is a good opportunity to ask how you want customers to be greeted on the phone.

• Greeting: welcome message, menu options, routing by department or language.
• Hours: opening times, lunch breaks, closures and holidays, each with its own messages and destinations.
• Queues and groups: who rings, in what order, for how long, and what happens if nobody answers.
• On-call cover: diversions to whoever is on duty out of hours.
• Integrations: caller recognition from the CRM, calls within collaboration tools, and call recording where needed, always in line with data protection rules and with proper notice to callers.

Well-designed call flows reduce missed calls and pointless transfers, and this is one of the areas where a virtual PBX configured to measure makes a real difference compared with a standard activation.

What happens if the power or internet goes down?

If the office loses power or connectivity, a cloud phone system stays up: the system lives elsewhere, and calls can be diverted automatically to mobiles or another site. That behaviour has to be configured in advance, though, not discovered during the outage.

Two points need particular care:

• emergency calls, which must be associated with the correct address for each site, including when people call from the app;
• power for network equipment: with a UPS on the router, firewall and switches, phones stay working through short outages.

How do you plan the move to a cloud phone system?

The move to a cloud phone system should be planned so that nobody notices it: the new system ready and tested first, numbers moved on an agreed date, checks straight afterwards. The typical sequence is as follows.

1. Assessment of current numbers, lines, contracts, network and call flows.
2. Design of the new configuration, agreed with the people who handle calls every day.
3. Preparation of connectivity, internal network and handsets.
4. Configuration and testing of the new system alongside the old one.
5. Number porting on an agreed date, ideally outside working hours.
6. Checks on every number and call flow immediately after the switch.
7. A short briefing for users and someone to turn to during the first few days.
8. Retirement of the old PBX only once everything works.

A cloud phone system is a flexible tool, but it is not something you switch on with a click. It affects connectivity, the network, how people work and how your business comes across to customers. Designing it around your organisation avoids the small disruptions that, in the first few weeks, can make people miss the old system, and gives you a set-up that does not need rethinking every time something changes.

If you are thinking about renewing your company's telephony, let's talk: we can look at your current set-up together and work out which configuration makes sense for you.

Frequently asked questions

What is a cloud phone system?

It is a VoIP-based business phone system that runs on remote servers rather than on equipment in your office. Calls travel over the internet and can be handled on desk phones, computers or smartphones, with configuration managed remotely.

Can I keep my numbers when moving to a cloud phone system?

Yes, in most cases existing geographic numbers can be kept by porting them to the new provider. Porting should be scheduled for an agreed date, after checking main numbers, direct dial ranges and any secondary numbers.

What happens to calls if the internet connection fails?

The cloud phone system stays up even if your office is cut off, so incoming calls can be diverted automatically to mobiles or another site. To keep the office itself working, a backup line with automatic failover is recommended.

What kind of connection does a VoIP phone system need?

Quality matters more than raw bandwidth: low, stable latency, minimal packet loss and a network set up to prioritise voice. The capacity required depends on how many simultaneous calls you handle, and should be checked at peak times.

Can I reuse my old phones?

It depends on the handsets: standard IP phones can often be reconfigured, while proprietary or analogue phones usually cannot, unless adapters are used. Softphones on computers and smartphone apps are another option.