Business VoIP – On-premise IP PBX—Guide to upgrading from legacy PBX system

Guide to upgrading from legacy PBX system

A larger organization may find it more beneficial to deploy an on-premise IP PBX system as opposed to a hosted or managed solution. Assuming that you have the in-house IT talent to install and maintain the equipment, then this may be the best option. Although in the long run, your company will undoubtedly enjoy a significant cost advantage, do be prepared for some up-front capital expenditures and some manpower costs.

Legacy equipment is any sort of PBX that is unable to transmit IP packets. In some cases, a network adapter can be added onto the legacy equipment to allow it to function in an IP environment alongside newer on-premise IP PBX equipment.

If an upgrade is imminent in any case, upgrading from your legacy system to an on-premises IP PBX is the best case scenario in most situations, and may even present an immediate cost advantage compared to the alternative of upgrading to a higher-end traditional PBX.

Upgrading to an IP-PBX

A major "forklift" upgrade that addresses the entire system all at once may be time-consuming, confusing and costly, but still, some companies may prefer this route. Also, if you have older equipment, this may be the only option. The good news is that in most cases, it doesn't have to be done all at once if you don't want it to. Many organizations prefer, from a cost standpoint, to preserve their investment in legacy equipment until the lifecycle support has expired. For larger installations with multiple branch offices and thousands of phone extensions, the upgrade can be done gradually, and the on-premise IP PBX can coexist side-by-side with the legacy PBX, or in a hybrid configuration. A VoIP gateway function will allow the legacy system to interoperate with the new on-premises IP PBX system.

One migration option is to use a plug-in module that essentially converts a legacy PBX into an IP PBX hybrid; a technique that makes the transition a little easier. In this case, a VoIP module is plugged into the circuit-switched PBX, with both components connected through a gateway. The hybrid device can then handle both circuit-switched and IP calls.

The company can then make the most use of their existing legacy equipment by extending its life, while at the same time installing on premise IP PBX equipment at new branch offices, or on an as-needed basis when expansion occurs or when legacy equipment becomes obsolete and needs to be replaced.

If your equipment is very old however, gradual migration may not be desirable, or even possible. Newer circuit-switched PBX equipment lends itself much better to migration, so if your installation is more than five years old, the forklift approach may be necessary and you may need to install all new on-premises IP PBX equipment all at once.

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