Yes, but for most businesses the phones are the smallest part of it.

The client: 

Client: Professional services business, approx. 40 staff 

Starting point: On-premise phone system in a comms cupboard 

Deadline: 31 January 2027 

Outcome: Microsoft Teams Phone, plus 6 building services migrated

The problem:

On 31 January 2027 the UK’s old analogue phone network is switched off for good. Business phone systems have to move to VoIP, which carries calls over your internet connection instead of a dedicated line. But the same old lines also run lift emergency phones, monitored fire and intruder alarms, door entry, card machines, disabled-toilet alarm cords and car park barriers. Those need identifying and replacing individually, and each one has a different supplier behind it.

There is no single moment when it all fails. Lines that have not been migrated are moved onto a stripped-back voice-only service with no broadband. 

What business owners think the phone switch off is, and what it actually involves

He rang us expecting a quote for handsets. His words were that he wanted “the phone thing” dealt with before it became urgent, as he wanted to tick it off his to-do list. 

We also asked him a few other questions. Do you own the building and if so have you upgraded your lift phone, intercom system, fire alarm and accessible toilet alarm cord? 

His answer:

“Nobody had ever told me the lift phone and intercom system ran on the same lines. It has always just been part of the building.”

The solution: 

Phone line switch off auditing service 

We suggested walking through the building and auditing every line coming into it. Six of the eight were doing something other than carrying staff calls.

Seven separate suppliers, none of whom had contacted him, and no single person in the business who owned the list. That audit was an eye-opener. With the list, we started focusing on the business phone systems. 

Why business phone systems are an IT project, not just a telecoms order

VoIP runs on your internet connection and your office network. Which means your office network becomes your phone system. A well-configured phone system runs quietly in the background. A poor setup creates problems that can be difficult to diagnose and cause a lot of frustration.

A typical scenario of a bad set up:  The phones ring. Calls connect. But one in five breaks up, the client says “you’ve gone again”. Your staff say I’ll phone you back from my mobile. Calls are no longer logged in your CRM and critical information gets forgotten. Nine out of ten times there is nothing wrong with the phones but the configuration is wrong. 

Our business phone implementation sequence

1. Connection and network. Confirmed the broadband could carry voice at the volume they make calls, then sorted the switching, cabling and traffic priority inside the building so calls are not competing with a file download.

2. Building services. Worked through the audit supplier by supplier. We told him which items were affected and which were fine, gave him the questions to ask his lift and alarm companies so he was not sold something he did not need, and chased the ones who went quiet. 

3. Phones last. Only then did we move the calls onto Microsoft Teams Phone, which they were already part-licensed for without realising it. Calls, messages and meetings in one place, one number per person that finds them at their desk, at home or out. 

Client data security 

Everyone in this business uses the CRM. So when they heard that modern business phone systems can log calls straight into the client record, the team wanted it immediately. 

But the moment the phone system starts talking to the CRM, it pushes information across: who rang, when, for how long, what was said in the notes, and if you record calls, the recordings too. That is personal data about clients moving between two systems automatically and indefinitely.

Which raises four security questions:

• Are you telling people you record them, and where does that notice appear?
• How long is any of it kept, and does anything ever delete itself?
• Who in the office can listen back to a call, and should everyone be able to?
• If a client asks what you hold about them, could you actually find it?

We configured the integration so retention is a decision rather than an accident, restricted access to recordings, made sure a subject access request could be answered, and updated their privacy wording to describe what the business now actually does. It is an odd thing to be dealing with while replacing phones. It is far more awkward to fix after somebody complains.

Importance of cyber security for business phone systems 

Once calls run over the internet, they live in the same place as email and documents. Anyone who gets hold of a staff login now gets the email, the files and the phone calls. This made implementing multi-factor authentication crucial, especially as it is part of Cyber Essentials.

Everything in the building now sits on the same network. For security reasons, we put the building’s IoT on a separate network from the staff computers, so the cheapest and oldest thing in the building is not a route to a cyber attack. 

They are now monitored as part of the IT support contract, rather than being nobody’s job.

The outcome 

• Every analogue line accounted for, with a named owner and a migration date
• Calls on Teams Phone, using licensing they were already paying for.
• Call records flowing into the CRM, with retention, access and privacy wording all decided deliberately.
• Building equipment separated from business systems and monitored.

What the client said:

“You do not need to understand any of it. I still do not, particularly. You need somebody who does, and who is on your side of the table.”

Book a call with me if you would like someone to explain your business phone systems.