“So your company is moving, eh?”

There are numerous reasons why your company is flexing a strategic move.

Ultimately it is to save money or make more money.

Maybe you’re adding a location, expanding, consolidating, negotiated a better lease, purchased a new building… any number of reasons.

There are all these things that need to be done, and then there’s the phone system move.

You got stuck with that one.

Let me just give you the answer right now…

The best way to accomplish your task is to have a fresh cutting edge phone system ready to go at the new location.

Then all you need to do is “flip the switch”.

Your old numbers move from the old site to the new site at the SPEED OF LIGHT.

The staff is already trained, the extension dialing is in place, the Arnold Schwarzenegger messaging-on-hold is complete, and you can “get to the choppa!”

Yes, that’s it.

It’s real, and I and my colleagues do it every day.

Plus you get a full-blown unified communications platform that is light years superior, saves your company money, and drives revenue.

Bey hey, you’re doing this on your own so what are your options?

#1: Let the old phone company move the existing phone system, cords, and handsets. The amount of imminent downtime is unknown.

#2: Let the old phone guys quote you a new phone system (PBX) and charge you boatloads of money, or #2b: show them this article and let them say, “oh yeah, we have a hosted option… we just don’t lead with that, because we like selling you large CAPEX options instead, and then charging you for maintenance.”

#3: Research all the professional options to ensure you choose the best system, minimize capital expenditure, and ensure zero downtime during the move. Plus check all your provider contracts, shop the best pricing, and leverage other “yet-to-be-known” benchmark lows from other negotiated deals in the marketplace. Better yet, let me do all that work for you at no cost.

Of I like option three, but let’s face it, options #1 and #2 are easier.

Just doing it the way you always have… is easier.

Plus, it takes little to no brain power or energy.

However, if you are going to “rip and run” with option #1 or #2, then be prepared to deal with the effect it is going to have on your business over the next five years.

The overall ramifications, communication efficiencies, labor costs, and ability to stay competitive in today’s volatile market are all at stake here.

Why?

The communications landscape is changing rapidly and will be completely different in five years.

Why should you be stuck in some kind of stiff contract?

You should be agile and nimble.

Let your competition stay rigid and short-sighted.

Besides, do you really want your business married to a depreciating technology model when everyday tech companies are breaking new ground?

There is a reason why people want to lock you into a five-year equipment lease.

The only wise choice is option #3.

And that’s assuming that you are a patient, shrewd business owner, with aggressive decision-making abilities.

In-Depth Look at option #3: Moving Your Phone System at the Speed of Light.

First, you are going to have to gather all the information that most vendors would ask for during an hour-long needs assessment:

The number of employees, cabling needs, existing infrastructure, and must have features.

This can all be done for you in a matter of hours if you have a successful team of telecom professionals.

After doing this for years, I have developed a streamlined process that hand-holds companies every step of the way.

See roadmap example below:

This may seem like a lot, but it’s not when somebody else is doing all of the work for you.

Some other questions to keep in mind:

Will people be working remotely?

Are you growing?

Consolidating?

Integrating with overseas employees?

Is there a need to connect with contract manufacturers?

How easy is it to make a change to the phone system now?

Do you suffer from MAC attacks? (Moves, Adds, Changes)

Is flexibility a real concern or do you not mind being controlled by one vendor?

A second thing to keep in mind is Efficiency.

One of the biggest complaints I hear on a daily basis revolves around how hard it is to make a change to the phone system.

Why should it take so long to change an auto attendant greeting, add an employee, or replace a phone?

It shouldn’t.

Why do we need to roll trucks to fix phones, replace cards, and receive bills?

You shouldn’t have to.

“Why do we need to pay for late response times? I thought we had a maintenance agreement?”

You shouldn’t have to pay for rubbish, and I will even go so far as to say… your new provider should pay you to take out the garbage.

If you are moving, take the opportunity to kick all these old issues to the curb.

There are literally dozens of great vendors that would eliminate these issues immediately.

How about an easy to use (GUI) and unlimited customer support at No cost?

No truck rolls needed…

No waiting…

Instant gratification.

A third point that needs to be addressed is reliability.

“Oh, so you are talking about VoIP? I’ve heard it’s unreliable.” 

“Poppycock!”

From who? The small business owner who ran it on a cheap cable connection?

From who? The lawyer who was smart enough to recognize new technology, but got sold by a slick salesman on VoIP ten years ago.

From who? The business that went with their cousin who runs Johny’s VoIP Barn?

From who? business still using twenty-four d-link hubs from 1999, connected across a campus with numerous problematic data loops? (Yeah, don’t sign off on that one).

Hosted PBX, Hosted VoIP, Cloud Voice, Business VoIP or UCAAS (whatever you want to call it) is the most reliable voice service available.

Why?

Redundancy on many different levels.

Your business phone system can run on multiple internet connections.

Your business phone system can be extended to your smartphone

Your business phone system works at home.

It works at a Starbucks in Russia.

It works when you get over 108 inches of snow.

It works during Hurricane Sandy, Harvey, Irma, Wilma, Irene, Matthew, Ivan, Charley…

If one of your buildings was to burn to the ground in a blazing inferno (may the Lord save you from that)… you would still be getting phone calls.

If you are still thinking that VoIP is unreliable, don’t worry.

I will put phones on your desks and let you use them before I allow you to have any sleepless nights.

Let’s talk about a fourth point, Quality.

It’s creepy how clear your phone calls are going to be.

Your new handsets don’t need to have paper labels in the background.

We have digital readout displays now.

You may not even want a handset anymore.

Many people just use a headset and the phone calls come in on their computer’s “soft-phone.”

There are varying degrees of great softphones for you to look at.

Fifthly, let’s talk about the cost and let’s talk about the price.

The CAPEX is going to be next to zero if you follow my steps.

The monthly operating costs are going to be the same or less.

But what is the price you pay if you don’t take a strategic and calculated approach to the phone system move?

The phone guys are going to charge you time and materials.

If you buy a new on-site phone system, then you are going to be staring down at a large depreciating CAPEX or five-year lease agreement… plus maintenance.

In a few years (if not day one) your phone system will be out of date and behind the times.

Further, will everything be moved at the speed of light?

What happens if the phones are down for hours during the move?

What does that cost you?

How does it affect your ability to control labor?

Can people do their jobs or are they sitting around?

How is the company morale affected?

How are people going to view the leadership’s ability to make key decisions?

Can you sell without a phone?

Can you serve without a phone?

So, what does transition look like if you do hand off your move to a business VoIP expert?

Phones can be set up ahead of time.

People can be trained.

Testing can be done.

In short, you can guarantee success.

Wait, did I say guarantee?

I did.

It’s called a POC (proof of concept).

Yes, “prove” is a better word than a guarantee.

Having a vendor “prove it” is better than a handful of testimonials and references.

Who would give you a bad reference anyway?

Sales guys wish you would ask them for a reference.

If all that stood between me and a sale was a reference, then I would win every time.

What should matter is YOU and YOUR strategic deployment.

Your voice services should be easy to move, easy to manage, and include 24/7/365 customer care.

There should be no more maintenance agreements, no more capital expenditure, no more truck rolls, and no more waiting.

So if you’re moving, I would consider a new ride.

One that moves at the speed of light.