Are your business communications prepared for The Big Switch Off?
By 2025, the traditional phone systems using PSTN & IDSN lines will be switched off and obsolete permanently. In fact, in 2020, BT already started phasing them out. Whilst we’re still 3 years away from the final, big switch off, businesses should be preparing and aiming to switch to VoIP as soon as possible.
Why’s the change happening?
ISDN lines have been around since the 90’s. PSTN since the 1800’s. Since the early 90’s and definitely since the 1800’s, there have been several changes to how we all communicate both personally and professionally within our jobs. The old ways are outdated and bringing about unwanted issues for businesses which they can simply avoid by switching something new and future-proof such as VoIP (Voice over Internet-Protocol). We’ve previously looked at what these changes mean for businesses.
How do I know what to do? How do I prepare?
Many of the businesses we’ve consulted over the last few months and years, did not have a clue on what line they had and as an extension, what to do. If you are not aware, you can simply ask your provider to clarify. From there, you can prepare to make the switch.
“Over 25% of business decision makers in the UK are unaware of the BT ISDN Switch off that will take place in 2025.” 1
“It is estimated over 2 million businesses are still using the technology first introduced in 1986.” 2
Statistics like the above show that many are still not future proofing their business. If you find yourself in that position, don’t panic. At least not yet. It would be wise to make the switch now before 2025. Leaving this change to the last minute could bring about unexpected downtimes, waiting for setups and costlier changes.
You can prepare by beginning to look at making the move now. What do you currently have? What issues do you currently experience with your telephony solution? What future proof solution can eliminate those issues? What works best for you and your team? Taking the time to thoroughly answer these types of questions will enable you to best prepare to make the eventual switch.
That being said, each business is different. No two businesses are the same so naturally, no two solutions are the same. When planning to make the switch you need to make sure that what you’re switching to is tailored to your business and your requirements.
VoIP is our recommended telephony solution. It’s easy to set up and use, future proof and cheaper than traditional telephony communications. All you need to ensure is that you have a fast, reliable internet connection. There are of course alternatives, so if you feel like VoIP isn’t for you, let us know. Here’s why we like and therefore recommend VoIP.
What are the benefits?
There are many benefits with a Hosted VoIP solution. In our previous blog, we discussed them in further detail. To give you a brief overview, here’s what you can expect from a Hosted VoIP solution:
Flexibility throughout your business in terms of being able to work and communicate from anywhere.
Cost savings including but not limited to hardware, maintenance and callings fees.
Efficient business scalability no matter your needs and how quick they change.
Delivering an improved customer service.
Futureproofing your business infrastructure and way of communication.
Improved collaboration and productivity on a company wide scale.
As mentioned, we have deep dive on these benefits in our previous blog.
What to do next?
Sooner or later, businesses wanting to thrive, will have to make the switch to a VoIP solution. With this comes change, trouble and pessimism. We’ve recently made this move to VoIP and can weigh in that the benefits far outweigh the cons or difficulties. There may be issues along the way but that happens. By giving yourself time, rather than rushing come 2025, issues can happen and be resolved smoothly.
Our experience in making the move and helping our customers make the move too has positioned us to support other businesses through their VoIP telephony journey. If you’re unsure on what this looks like for your business, where to start and what to do, please fill out the form below. We’d be glad to meet with you and get an idea of what your goals are and how VoIP can enable those goals. We understand that each business is different, and that no two VoIP solutions can be the same. It must be tailored to you. Contact us below and let’s discuss further.
If you’d rather call or email, you can reach us at:
01737 228 208 or by emailing commercial@sweethaven.co.uk
1. https://pescado.co.uk/insights/25-business-uk-unaware-isdn-switch-off
2. https://millgate.co.uk/learn/isdn-switchoff/#:~:text=The%20ISDN%20switch%20off%20will,technology%20first%20introduced%20in%201986
3. https://www.kixie.com/sales-blog/8-business-voip-stats-to-know-for-2022/
