We need a new phone system. What are our best options?

Which of three situations are we in?#

One of three, usually, and each one changes what you're buying. The usual answer is a cloud phone system, called UCaaS (unified communications as a service): calling, voicemail, queues and the front desk, run by a provider.

Our phone system is end of life#

End of life means no more fixes, and sooner or later no more parts. It still rings today, so you have time to bid the replacement properly. Watch for the lines that aren't phones: alarms, elevators and fax often run on copper lines, and they need a POTS replacement, a small device that keeps them working.

Our cloud phone system needs an upgrade#

A cloud system can fall short too. Features you need, support you can't reach, a bill that grew. The move is easier than leaving a PBX, because there's no hardware to retire, but the numbers and call flows still have to move cleanly.

We have several phone systems#

Acquisitions and growth leave you with systems nobody chose together. One system for everyone means one bill and one way of working. The work is the inventory, and moving site by site as each contract ends.

Here are some of our providers that do it. RingCentral, Zoom, 8x8, Dialpad, Vonage, Nextiva, GoTo and Ooma all sell cloud phone systems, and Ooma, Granite, Verizon and T-Mobile sell POTS replacement. Clectiv AI runs the process with them for you: start a project.

Before you call anyone#

No phone provider gets a call until your people, sites and numbers are in Clectiv AI. Then Clectiv AI runs the process, the providers that fit bid and compete for it, and you choose who wins. Ring one first and you get a demo, a per-user price, and nothing to measure it against.

Start a project

What do we decide before anyone bids?#

Count everything once with Clectiv AI, so every proposal prices the same thing. Whatever brought you here, it starts with three questions:

• Who needs a phone, and what kind? Desk users, mobile users, shared phones in break rooms and warehouses, and the front desk.
• Which numbers stay? Main lines, direct lines, toll-free and fax.
• How do calls flow today? The auto-attendant ("press 1 for sales"), the queues, and what happens after hours.

The plan asks the rest, from the lines that aren't phones to the desk phones on every desk.

Then 911, which is the law. Kari's Law requires that anyone can dial 911 directly, with no prefix, and RAY BAUM'S Act requires the call to carry a location responders can use. Every proposal has to show how it does both, in the office and at home.

Decide on AI now, too. Notes and summaries on every call, and an AI receptionist that answers after hours, should be priced in from the start.

You're not starting cold. Clectiv AI runs the process we built with other customers, so you start where they left off. With the plan going straight to these providers, you get the best pricing, terms and contract we can.

How do we keep our numbers and the front desk working?#

You keep your numbers by porting them, and the front desk by rebuilding its call flows before the switch. Both take planning, and both are routine when you plan them.

Porting is the new provider asking the old one for your numbers, on dates you set. The request has to match the old account exactly, name, address and account number, or it gets rejected. Toll-free numbers move on their own track.

The front desk moves before the numbers do. The auto-attendant, queues and after-hours routing get built and tested first, so the first call to the new system lands where it should.

One hint: watch the one-time costs. Porting help, installation and new desk phones add up, and the plan makes every proposal list them.

Common questions#

How does Clectiv AI get this done?#

First stop: Clectiv AI. Tell it what phone system you have and what's changing. It scopes the project with you and writes your plan: what each site has, who needs what, what stays, and when each contract ends.

Then the Clectiv team takes your plan to the cloud phone providers that fit, all at once, through our partner network of 620+ providers. They each bid, they compete on the same plan, and the team pushes on terms until you choose.

Companies before you did the hard part. Clectiv AI runs the process we've run for other customers, so you start where they ended up. Taking the plan straight to the providers that fit is how you get the best pricing, terms and contract we can.

The whole thing is free to you, and it takes days, not months. Everything we cover in voice is on the voice page.

If your people live in Teams, read how to add phone calling to Microsoft Teams.

Leaving a cloud system, or bringing several together? Read how to switch cloud phone providers or how to consolidate phone systems.