Welcome to the Quick Start Guide to UCaaS Migration. Here, you’ll learn how to switch from your outdated phone system to one that can help you stay connected – and futureproof – for years to come.
To simplify things, we’ll divide our UCaaS migration steps into three major sections: plan, prepare, and perfect.
Recommended reading: The Beginniner’s Guide to UCaaS
First, Plan
Before jumping into UCaaS migration, it’s important to have a plan in place. After all, this is a big change and a big investment. You want to know why it’s happening, how it’s happening, and when it’s happening.
Step 1: Check Your Current Setup
Start by evaluating your existing communication setup. Identify your current system’s hardware, software, network, etc. See what capabilities they bring, how they might limit you, and if they’re compatible with UCaaS solutions. Understanding where you’re starting from helps the migration go much smoother.
Step 2: Outline Your Requirements and Set Your Goals
Outline what you want to get out of your UCaaS deployment. Start with your company’s requirements on the day-to-day level. This includes the number of users, types of communication channels (voice, video, messaging, etc.), integration options, and more.
Then, think about your long-term goals. Are you aiming to offer remote work capabilities, reduce costs, improve customer service, or all the above? Knowing this will help you find the right UCaaS platform for your business now and in the future, which brings us to step three.
We recommend that you also talk to your leadership team and employees about what they want from the system.
Step 3: Pick the Right Provider
This is the key to not just a smooth migration but also better communication in the long term. Look for a provider that meets your current needs and can grow alongside you quickly. Consider their reputation for reliability – how often their services are offline – and the quality of their customer support.
Also, check and see if their platform is easy for your team to use and if they take the right measures to keep your data safe. One way to find out is to read customer reviews online or reach out to their customers yourself. Another is to request a demonstration or a copy of their Service Level Agreements (SLAs).
Taking the time to choose the right provider will save you money and stress later.
Want to see why so many customers choose LightSpar? Reach out to schedule a demonstration!
Step 4: Plan Your Migration
Developing a migration plan is vital to your success in UCaaS migration. With the help of your UCaaS provider, design a plan that:
- Establishes a realistic timeline for migration to be sure it doesn’t interrupt daily operations
- Discusses backup options for the system so that if anything goes wrong, you’ll be able to recover your data
- Outlines how to transfer existing data (contacts, call logs, etc.) to the new UCaaS platform
- Talks about how and when to communicate the switch to employees
- Covers how you’re going to document the migration and education of IT staff and users
This will give you an excellent guideline for the second major step.
Second, Prepare
After your planning, it’s time to prepare everything for deployment. At the end of this second step, you’ll be able to enjoy a stress-free UCaaS migration.
Step 5: Make Sure Your Network is Ready
A successful UCaaS migration depends on a steady, reliable internet connection that meets bandwidth, latency, and reliability requirements. Conduct assessments of your speeds and consider implementing Quality of Service (QoS) measures so your network automatically prioritizes voice and video traffic.
While you can squeeze by at slower speeds, we recommend calculating your bandwidth using 250 Kbps per voice call and 1.5 Mbps per video call.
Step 6: Customize and Test the Platform
The great thing about UCaaS is how customizable it can be. Once your IT team—or administrators—gets access to the platform, they can configure user profiles, user permissions, call routing rules, and necessary integrations with their CRM, project management tool, and more.
Next, test everything out. Use different devices and network conditions to access the platform and use it so you can make sure everything works as it should.
Step 7: Implement the Right Security Measures
Protecting your data is critical when setting up your platform. Use strong encryption, implement multi-factor authentication (MFA) for added login security, and set strict access controls to ensure that only the right users can access the right information.
Keep these measures up to date to comply with industry standards and stay ahead of potential threats.
Third, Perfect
You did it – you successfully migrated to UCaaS! But your work isn’t done. Now, it’s time to ensure your UCaaS platform meets your needs.
Step 8: Monitor and Tweak as Needed
Once your UCaaS platform has deployed, monitor its performance. Track users’ time on the platform, the quality of their calls, and all user feedback. Address any issues you find ASAP, and be sure to keep upgrading and updating as needed to keep your users happy and your communications running smoothly.
Step 9: Provide Ongoing Support and Training
If your employees don’t know how to use your platform, they just won’t. It’ll be a fancy piece of technology you pay for every month for no reason. So be sure you partner with your UCaaS provider to provide in-depth training for all your employees so they’ll feel comfortable using the platform.
Step 10: Evaluate and Evolve
Remember those goals you made at the beginning of your UCaaS migration? Review them every quarter to ensure your UCaaS platform is measuring up to them. Also, talk to your team often to see if they need new features or ways to make their work easier.
Enjoy Excellent UCaaS Migration with LightSpar
Moving to UCaaS takes planning and careful steps. However, partnering with LightSpar – and choosing our platform – can make your business more flexible, save money, and improve your team’s collaboration.
Want to see our platform in action? Schedule a demonstration.
Have questions about how we can help? Reach out! We’d be more than happy to help.
