Benefits of Modernizing Your Antiquated Phone System

A practical guide to moving from legacy phones to cloud communications

Signals your system is holding you back (costs, app sprawl, poor CX, limited mobility).

Legacy PBX vs. cloud UC: capabilities, pace of innovation, integration potential.

The Case for Modernization

CapEx→OpEx shift.

Consolidating vendors/bills; admin simplification.

Quantifying app switching and fragmented workflows; unifying channels.

Cost & Productivity Fundamentals

Network planning, QoS, and WAN/LAN resilience.

Redundancy and failover patterns.

Security basics: encryption, MFA/SSO, audit logs, and compliance support.

Multi-site considerations and change management for users.

Network Readiness, Reliability, Continuity, and Security

Work-from-anywhere; consistent multi-device experience.

Softclient applications for unified communications.

Unified inbox and messaging; mobile considerations.

Hybrid & Mobile Work

Advanced routing options, analytics, and faster resolution.

Breaking down silos between teams handling customer touchpoints.

Integration capabilities.

Customer Experience Improvements

Mapping wants and requirements, timelines, and risk mitigation.

Understanding staff workflows and how their needs correlate to unified communications tools.

Advanced considerations (overhead paging, analog systems, and integrations).

Working with service providers and vendors; reviewing quotes and proposals.

Drafting a simple TCO/ROI view and executive-ready summaries.

Building Your Business Case

Discovery, pilot, staged rollout, training, and adoption tactics.

Overview of implementation lifecycle and what to expect.

Implementation Roadmap

Plan, Build, Migrate: Running Your Own Phone System Cutover

A blueprint for teams planning and executing their own unified communications migration, from initial discovery to system go‑live

Goals and success measures; timeline and milestones.

Who does what; how changes are approved.

Big picture project lifecycle

Project Framing & Governance

Understand any unique requirements and any compliance needs.

Document User lists, phone numbers, ring groups/queues, paging.

Desk phones and special lines (fax, door phones, paging, alarms).

Discovery & Inventory Deep‑Dive

Check internet speed/reliability; prioritize voice traffic (VLANs).

Office network ethernet and power source for phones..

Monitoring plan and what to fix if something’s not ready.

Network Readiness

Call paths and menus; numbering/extension plan; ring groups.

User permissions, sign‑in, and data protection.

Planning for outages and emergency calling.

Determining the best implementation plan based on existing legacy system

Design & Solution

Initial account creation; assign numbers/extensions; set common policies.

Building call flows and standard user settings.

Prepare phone number migration, desk phones, apps, and helpful integrations.

Build & Configuration

Confirming dates; last‑minute changes; quick guides.

Go/no-go deadlines and preparation.

Training plan; internal support readiness; communications to staff.

Cutover Preparation

Try common call scenarios: incoming/outbound calls, menus, queues.

Test failover; agree on acceptance criteria.

Testing & Pilot

Cutover basics; go live checklist; triage issues.

Quality checks and post-launch adjustments.

Go‑Live Execution & Day 2 Support

Review call quality and feedback; small tweaks.

Document final setup; lessons learned.

Optimization & Closure

Mastering Modern Communications

Power-user skills for voice, meetings, text, internal messaging, mobile & eFax

Overview of physical desk phones.

Overview of soft apps and why they should be used.

Sign in, navigate interfaces, select audio devices, and configure notifications

Getting Set Up: Desk Phones & Softphone Apps

Standard dialing options for unified communication systems, answer controls, keypad.

Voice Calling Essentials

Warm vs. blind transferring; park and pickup; merge three-way calls; flipping calls between devices.

Voicemail accessibility options, playback controls, message sharing/deletion.

Find, play, share, and delete call/meeting recordings.

Advanced Call Handling & Voicemail

Presence vs. speed dials.

Company directory vs. personal contacts.

Setting availability (available/busy/away/DND) and reading coworker presence indicators.

Setting personal work schedules and managing call handling options.

Presence, Status & Call Forwarding

Internal team messaging platforms and practices.

Send/receive SMS with customers and other staff.

Messaging & SMS

Start, join, and schedule meetings; screen share and participant controls.

Personal meeting rooms; host controls and recording best practices.

Video Meetings

Types of fax and efax platforms (web/app/email/analog).

eFaxing

Choosing Wi-Fi vs. cellular data or carrier minutes; manage data use.

Using soft apps vs. personal or work cell phones.

Mobile notifications, voicemail access, messaging/meeting tips while travelling.

Working On The Go

Connect calendars and personal contacts.

Click-to-dial, SSO, and review other company level integrations.

Integrations & Productivity Boosters

Diagnosing issues and gathering information for support/IT handoff.

Self-Help & Troubleshooting

A clear on-ramp to UC modernization: understand the business case, plan your migration, and build day-one user proficiency.

Primer Pathway Into Unified Communications Adoption

Primer Pathway Into Unified Communications Adoption

Objectives

Who it’s for

Courses in this pathway

Benefits of Modernizing Your Antiquated Phone System

Plan, Build, Migrate: Running Your Own Phone System Cutover

Mastering Modern Communications

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