Migrating from a legacy IP Centrex or mobile cloud solution – which approach should you take?
Do you have a legacy IP Centrex or mPBX solution? What options are available to ensure migration to a new platform, that can grow with your business and match your network evolution plans?
If you have an existing B2B hosted PBX solution, is it time to migrate?
Many mobile (and fixed) operators deployed mobile office and IP Centrex platforms in the last decade or so. One common solution was the Broadsoft platform, which was often deployed alongside an IMS platform. Of course, there are many others.
Most of these solutions are reaching the end of their active lives and service providers are confronted with escalating support costs. Moreover, service providers may have a legacy solution in place that does not match their evolution goals – such as the delivery of VoLTE and VoLTE roaming, or migration to new 5G interfaces. This is particularly true of those based on open-source SIP solutions – which may not be able to adapt to new network technologies or architectures.
As such, there’s a growing need to replace these solutions – and an opportunity to rethink how service providers deliver advanced voice services to their B2B customers. One option is to replace – a typical approach is to ensure that the new system replicates functionality offered by the legacy platform, so that customers enjoy a seamless transition of their services.
Replace and replicate?
At the same time, the new solution can enable new functionality – for example, deeper integration with the mobile core, the addition of VoLTE capabilities, and more. This approach is perhaps more common to operators that have built a large base of B2B customers on fixed connections, with SIP trunking and more – but it has its downsides.
Ensuring an exact match of features can be time consuming – and it can also be unnecessary, because some legacy fixed functionality may not be relevant to all new users. We’ve helped a number of operators with this approach and can discuss your needs, if service replication is a priority. You can read more about an example of such a transition, here.
Extend and enhance with integration options?
Another approach is to retain the existing platform but to use integration to extend the available feature set. That way, the legacy solution can continue to deliver some functionality, but a gradual transition to new service possibilities can be enabled, with these provisioned and delivered by the new platform.
Again, we’ve helped operators with this approach, providing integration to, for example, Broadsoft, so that new functionality can be added to the service offer. You can also read about that, here.
A fresh start
Finally, the other approach is to take a clean slate. Here, there are two options, the choice between which may depend on whether there is an existing B2B customer base. The first is to leave existing customers on the legacy platform. In this case, a new solution can be selected and launched for new customers, while existing ones can remain on the old, until there is a trigger point or incentive to migrate.
But the new offer can pitched to new segments, users that are more familiar with a mobile-first approach, or something different – the point is that there is no need to be constrained by an existing or established offer, which creates the opportunity to deliver something really differentiated from the outset.
The second, for those operators that have not previously launched a specialised B2B offer, is to take a blank slate approach and to select something that is more disruptive to the market, enabling a stronger, more competitive offer to be launched.
Gintel will help you make the right decision
Each of these approaches is valid – and we’ve done them all. That’s thanks to the flexibility of our core platform, proven in different markets and the integration capabilities it offers. So, wherever you are in your B2B journey, we can help you build on success, or enter a new market with confidence.
