Downtime With VoIP Switch

Will I be unable to make or receive calls while I switch my business phone system to VoIP?

Perhaps you have (almost) decided to make the switch to VoIP due to its cost savings, features, flexibility, or scalability. You have done your research and discovered that you can keep your existing phone numbers, extensions, and other important features from your old system. However, you might remain concerned about potential snags or phone system downtime during the actual transition from a POTS (Plain Old Telephone System) to a VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) system. 

Even in our modern age of diverse digital communication methods, telephones remain a vital part of business for most companies. Phone calls facilitate quick, real-time answers – no need to wait and wonder if they received that email or text. You can usually hang up the phone with more confidence as well. Phone calls are much more personal than written communication and give us more interpersonal nuance that help us determine the opinion of the person on the other side of the line. For some people, phones are simply more accessible and familiar as well. Many customers feel better about calling a business to place an order or discuss options than they do about sending an email or making an online order. 

As a result of these factors, among others, many businesses worry about downtime when they are considering the switch to VoIP. However, we would like to share a bit of good news. 

With the help of an experienced IT team, your business does not have to lose a single call during your transition to VoIP. 

Even though your entire phone system is migrating from a traditional, analog system to a digital, internet-hosted system, you can make the switch without disrupting business as usual. Your IT provider should be able to completely set up your new system in your office while ensuring that your existing phone system continues to work as usual right up until the second that you decide to switch. One minute your old phones will be ringing; the next minute your new phones will be ringing – at the same number as before. 

Your IT provider will accomplish this by “porting” your old number (or numbers) from your POTS service to your VoIP service. In order to this without disrupting your incoming and outgoing calls, your IT provider will use some advanced call forwarding options behind the scenes to ensure that calls continue to come into your old system even after they have ported the numbers over. They will maintain this configuration until they are confident that the new system is ready to go; then they can activate the new VoIP system and allow calls to ring through.