How to prepare for the 2025 switch-off

The ISDN switch off is happening whether we like it or not. That’s the simple truth that all businesses need to be aware of. You might be quite happy with your current telephony solution, but if it’s based on ISDN technology it will have to be replaced, and preferably sooner rather than later.

Our advice is simple. Start preparing for the 2025 switch off now. The sooner you start preparing, the more time you’ll have to research solutions and check out potential providers. Voice over IP (VoIP) technology comes in lots of different flavours, and you need to choose the right one for your business needs.

At the same, potential technology partners offer different levels of expertise and experience, and different kinds of service. Some may be national providers. Others will have specific local knowledge. It’s worth spending some time researching potential partners and making sure they’re a good fit for you.

So preparation is all important. In the rest of this blog we’ll discuss what that means, and what you should be doing now.

Find the right partner for your ISDN journey

Getting the right partner is crucial. A good provider will understand your business and its ambitions, and help you implement the very best VoIP solution for you. They won’t sell you a product. They’ll sell you a solution to help your business thrive.

But how do you choose the right partner for your particular business? If you’re a smaller local company, it’s worth looking for a telecoms provider with specific local knowledge. If you plump for a large national organisation you’ll get a standard service that can be replicated anywhere, and that doesn’t take local circumstances into account.

A local provider knows your business challenges and the communications options that are available to help you solve them.

Read testimonials from other businesses in the area so you know that, when it comes to designing, implementing and supporting VoIP solutions, your prospective partner has an impressive track record.

In addition, most businesses depend on being available to customers on the telephone at all times, so also check that a supplier offers business-grade Service Level Agreements (contracts stating how quickly they’ll fix a fault) so you can be confident you’ll never be offline for long.

And of course, talk through any prospective partner’s experience and expertise. They need to be specialists in telephony and communications technology, rather than a generic IT company. If they’re expertise isn’t obvious, ask them about it.

Consider the solutions available

So what about the solution itself? There’s lots to consider here. You’ll need to take into account what you use telephony for today, and what you might want to use it for in future. Are you likely to be opening new sites, or equipping staff for remote or hybrid work? Are you looking to grow?

All these factors play a part in determining the kind of VoIP solution you need, but again, a good partner is worth its weight in gold here. They can help you audit your current use and predict future innovation, and work with you to arrive at a solution that is both future proof and within budget.

Is it time for an upgrade?

Within that, it’s really important to consider wider uses of communications technology. You might feel you only need the most basic VoIP telephony service now, but will that always be the case? You could see the ISDN switch off as an opportunity to implement a solution that helps your employees communicate and collaborate more effectively.

The fact is, you don’t want to implement a new phone system and then have to adopt a more sophisticated one a couple of years down the line. Why not get the heavy lifting done in one go?

With that in mind, cloud really is your friend. A cloud-based service lets you easily equip remote and hybrid workers with the communications tools they need, and can also provide a complete communications solution – voice, video, email, chat and more – in a single package.

These are all things to consider when deciding on a new telephony solution. If you’re growing and need to scale easily, or want to connect new sites or remote workers, cloud solutions are an obvious choice.

Start developing an implementation plan

Once you have these ducks in a row, you can start thinking about how to implement your new solution. This is an important part of the process because telephony is crucial to most businesses. For that reason, implementation needs to be smooth and efficient, avoiding all unnecessary disruption to your day-to-day operations.

Again, lean on your partner here. They’ll be able to give you chapter and verse when it comes to timings, cost and continuity.

They’ll also be able to advise you on anything else that your new solution requires, like an infrastructure upgrade.

One thing you need to think about before adopting a new communications solution is the connectivity that makes it possible. While most connections can handle basic VoIP calls, it’s also true that the better your connectivity, the more simultaneous VoIP calls you can make and the more advanced features your solution can support.

Discuss what else you might need to put in place with your technology partner.

Do it today

The fact is, there’s lots of choice out there and lots to consider, so it’s worth starting to think about it now. Planning ahead will help make sure you get the best post-ISDN solution for your business needs.

As a telecoms specialist, ConnectaPhone can help you assess your current and future requirements and recommend a solution tailored to your circumstance. We’re a local supplier with 30 years of experience. That means we know the kinds of challenges small businesses in this area face and the VoIP alternatives available.

To learn more about VoIP and what ConnectaPhone can do for you, please get in touch with our friendly team on 01732 449 000 or book a call.