If you’re looking for more flexibility, to decrease physical IT infrastructure, or increased efficiency, you might be considering migrating your phone system to the cloud.
As you think through this potential project, you’ll want to determine how you’ll connect your cloud-hosted collaboration solution to have dial tone.
With an on-premises, legacy phone system, a phone company provides POTS lines, PRI, or SIP trunks so when you pick up the phone you hear that iconic sound and can make a call.
But once you switch to hosted cloud collaboration, you have to figure out how you’ll provide phone service to your new solution.
The KR Group works with our customers to find the best hosted phone solution for their business, and this includes finding the optimal way to connect phone service to your cloud-hosted collaboration.
The Options for Dial Tone with Cloud-Hosted Phones
Since your cloud-hosted phone solution isn’t routed to a traditional phone network (PTSN), you need a third-party solution to make that connection.
If you’re using Webex Calling or Microsoft Teams, you have two options:
1. Direct Routing
With direct routing, you’ll choose a telephony provider, and implement a session border controller (SBC) and SIP Trunks to connect your cloud-hosted platform to dial tone.
This means you have a good deal of control, you get to research the different options for each component and make the choices based on what you know will work for your It environment.
However, if you’re looking to simplify your company’s cloud migration process, you likely don’t want to have to make another decision on a vendor to go through.
That brings us to the second option.
2. Calling Plans/Bundled PTSN
With a calling plan your cloud-hosted calling provider has a verified integration with a telephony provider, and they’ll connect you phone solution via that provider.
You don’t need an SBC or SIP Trunk because the telephony provider your cloud-hosted collaboration vendor works with handles it.
There’s a good chance those explanations didn’t sway your choice one way or the other, so let’s look at some categories you might fall in to determine your ideal dial tone option.
Direct Routing Might Work for You If…
With direct routing, you or your IT department are responsible for the maintenance, uptime, and integration of your cloud-hosted phone system to the PTSN.
If control is important to you, then this option will give you that.
Direct routing is also a good choice if you’re locked into a phone service contract. You can switch to the cloud and use direct routing to connect you to service, and you won’t have to buy out your contract.
Finally, direct routing tends to be the better choice for larger organizations. You’ll pay a per user per month fee for calling plans, but you only have a one-time fee for a SIP trunk or PRI to integrate your cloud phone solution to the telephone provider.
Calling Plans Might Work for You If…
On the other hand, if you want to avoid managing additional infrastructure and are looking to truly have an all-in hosted experience, a calling plan is likely better for you.
Additionally, calling plans are ideal for smaller-sized businesses who don’t have the capital to purchase a SIP trunk or PRI and can budget for a monthly fee to connect to your phone provider.
Plus, you won’t have to plan for replacing and supporting the equipment required for direct routing.
Learn More about Migrating Your Phone to the Cloud
The good news is you don’t have to know what cloud-hosted solution you should sign up for or if you should choose direct routing vs. a calling plan.
By working with an IT consultant, like The KR Group, you can work with a team of experts who have successfully implemented a variety of phone solution in a variety of organizations. They’ll have the insight to guide you through what options will work best for your business.
The first step in migrating your phones to the cloud is to go through a cloud-hosted collaboration readiness assessment. This step reviews all your needs, including if you’re looking to downsize your IT infrastructure footprint, have an existing phone service contract, and how the size of your organization plays into finding the right options for you.
To schedule a cloud-hosted collaboration readiness assessment, set up a risk-free, 30-minute consultation. You can also learn more about this assessment process in our article, “Are You Ready for Cloud-Hosted Collaboration?”
