There are many reasons to move from an on-site communications solution, such as unified communications, and migrate to Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS), such as scalability, consistent work experiences, and the rich features offered through the technology. Even so, a transition to UCaaS can be a long and complex process.

It’s a migration that demands a lot from your IT team, particularly if pursuing cloud solutions is a relatively recent priority. But if hybrid work is part of your permanent environment, you will need UCaaS to equip your team.

IT leaders are tasked with coming up with a solid strategy and a migration plan that enables a smooth process. Here are three considerations that can help teams establish a better path for migration:

Determine Whether Your Current Vendor Is a Good Fit

Any migration to UCaaS begins with this decision. If you already have an on-site unified communications solution, you may first consider your existing provider. However, you shouldn’t make this decision without carefully considering your options and whether you have a business relationship with a provider that is ideal for you.

You may have the added complication of using multiple on-site UC offerings. You’ll have to decide whether it also makes sense to have more than one UCaaS provider or if you’ll narrow it to one moving forward. It’s easy for this step to add heavy complexity to your process.

If you’ve never had unified communications, you’ll examine the UCaaS solutions from a private branch exchange (PBX) provider. It’s important to consider whether you are comfortable with the technology available through the telecom vendor.

Decide How Much You’ll Migrate and When

There is a broad spectrum when it comes to deploying UCaaS. Most options can be deployed as modular selections, allowing you to prioritize certain features or tools, then roll out others as you need them.

If your PBX demands a full replacement, you’ll likely do a full migration. However, you may see benefits in a rolling transition if there are only certain features that you need from UCaaS. It may be easier to train your team and handle network concerns if it’s a gradual migration.

You may also want to consider how UCaaS fits into your broader digital transformation. If you already have a lot of cloud adoption experience, it may be cost-effective and efficient to do a complete migration. This is particularly true if you’ve had successful buy-in and execution of migrations in the past.

Consider Your Data Storage

UCaaS is always about the end user, but your underlying infrastructure and how to best support the technology are also important factors. When it comes to UCaaS, consider data storage and how the network will be impacted by the transmission of high volumes of data.

Companies in the financial services or healthcare industries have additional concerns about compliance regulations, where data is being stored, and how it is protected in transit. These are critical network security questions that must be addressed before you can successfully deploy a new UCaaS solution.

If your company is considering a shift to UCaaS, contact us at eXemplify today. We can help you answer these three critical questions for your migration and assist you in leveraging the best UCaaS solution for your business needs.