If you’ve just acquired another business, congratulations...but along with the excitement, you’ve probably inherited a headache of different phone systems, technologies, and supplier contracts to manage. Each office or site might be running its own system, which can quickly lead to inefficiencies, higher costs, and extra complexity.
- Reduce running costs: you pay less overall by eliminating duplicate infrastructure, combining contracts, and using more efficient modern systems.
- Simplify management: one system is easier to monitor, maintain, update, and support than many separate ones.
- Improve consistency: your users across all sites get the same features, experience, and support.
- Gain more negotiating power: with higher volume, you may get better deals from suppliers.
- Make future expansion easier: new sites or users can plug into the unified system more easily.
Advice: How to Consolidate Effectively
If you did decide to consolidate onto one new system, and manage the process yourself, here are key things to consider.
1. Audit what you already have
List every phone system, telecom supplier, contract end dates, costs, features in use, and pain points. Understand where overlaps or waste exist.
2. Define your target architecture
Decide whether you want a central hosted system, distributed systems tied together, or a hybrid model. Modern VoIP / SIP solutions let you host centrally but support remote / branch sites with equal ease.
3. Map features and gaps
You might discover that one part of your business uses features that another doesn’t. Identify essential features (voicemail, auto attendants, call recording, call routing, etc.) and ensure your unified solution supports them all.
4. Handle supplier and contract differences
- Don’t try to terminate every contract immediately if that carries penalties.
- Time migrations to line up with contract renewals where possible.
- Negotiate with your existing suppliers, as consolidation may give you leverage.
- Use staged cut-overs (site by site) rather than one big “big bang” switch if risk is high.
5. Plan migration phases
Break the consolidation into manageable phases: pilot site, core sites, remote / branch sites. Test and stabilise before moving on.
6. Ensure interoperability
If different sites have different hardware (phones, handsets, existing PBX gear), ensure your unified system can interface or replace them without disruption.
7. Train users and support staff
A new unified system will have differences. Provide training, documentation, and a support plan so staff don’t resist or struggle.
8. Monitor and optimise after go-live
Collect feedback, monitor call quality, tweak routing, and adjust for performance or load imbalances.
What to Expect
It’s important to set expectations that are achievable:
- Savings are real, but they often come over 12–24 months, not overnight.
- Some overlap costs may persist during migration (e.g. temporarily paying double for lines while old and new co-exist).
- User disruptions should be minimal, but small teething issues (call routing glitches, features toggling) can happen.
- Not all legacy hardware can survive; there will likely be parts you must replace.
- Complex contracts may take time to negotiate or unwind — expect administrative and legal delay.
If properly managed, a consolidated system should stabilize and deliver lower total cost, simpler management, and more flexibility within a few months.
What Are Your Options When Consolidating?
Every business is different, so there isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution. When thinking about phone system consolidation, there are a few approaches you may wish to consider:
1. Keep Things As They Are
You could decide to keep each site’s phone system separate.
Positives:
- No immediate changes or disruption.
- Existing contracts and hardware remain in place.
Negatives:
- Ongoing complexity in managing multiple systems.
- Higher running costs and inefficiencies.
- Harder to maintain consistency across sites.
2. Expand an Existing System to Take Over Other Sites
One system becomes the main platform, with other sites migrating into it.
Positives:
- Leverages familiar systems for staff at the main site.
- Can reduce the number of suppliers and contracts.
Negatives:
- Migration can be complex, especially if systems differ significantly.
- Some older hardware or features may not transfer.
- May be less flexible if future growth or additional sites are added.
3. Build a New Unified Platform
Move all sites onto a new, flexible system designed to work across locations, ideally managed through a single dashboard.
Positives:
- Simplifies management and reduces costs over time.
- Ensures consistency, flexibility, and scalability.
- Easier to integrate remote teams or future expansions.
Negatives:
- May require investment and planning upfront, even if this is recouped later.
- Users may need training to adapt to the new system.
No matter which approach you choose, a trusted partner can help you assess your options, plan the transition, and ensure everything runs smoothly, so you get the benefits without unnecessary risk.
Using a single expert provider makes things even easier,
Consolidating your phone systems is one of the smartest ways to simplify your communications and cut unnecessary costs. With a clear plan, the right partner, and modern technology, it’s easier than you think.
With One2Call, you get a single solutions provider, all the skills you need in one central business. Our experts will plan and implement your consolidation alongside you, making sure every stage runs smoothly and every detail is covered.
If you’d like help auditing your systems, planning a consolidation, or executing the migration, One2Call is ready to be your partner.
We already deliver VoIP & SIP systems that are scalable, flexible, and designed to replace old hardware systems. Because we’re not tied to a single provider, we can pick the best setups and move you through transition phases smoothly.
We also handle integration, migration, support, and ongoing management, reducing your stress and risk.
We’ve helped organisations unify multiple sites under one coherent phone platform, manage different supplier contracts, and reduce waste.
Reach out to us and we’ll walk you through the options, risks, and roadmap step by step.
Email us at hello@one2call.net or visit our Contact Us page to discuss your best consolidation options.
