Business Phone Systems

We help businesses in Cardiff and South Wales choose, set up and support internet phone systems, from hosted VoIP to Microsoft Teams Phone, working alongside telecoms partners for the lines and numbers.

Phone systems

Business phones, sorted properly

Most business phone systems in the UK now run over the internet, and soon almost all of them will have to: Openreach is switching off the old copper phone network on 31 January 2027. We help businesses in Cardiff and South Wales decide what to move to, set it up and support it afterwards, alongside the rest of their IT.

We’re an IT management company, not a phone network. Your lines, numbers and call plans come from a telecoms provider. We work alongside our telecoms partners, or with the provider you already use, and make sure the system fits the way your business actually takes calls.

Because we already look after your network, computers and Microsoft 365, there’s one team to call when calls sound choppy or a handset won’t connect, rather than a phone company and an IT company each blaming the other.

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Switch-off ready

We find what’s still on old lines and plan the move before the deadline.

VoIP or Teams Phone

A straight recommendation based on how your team takes calls.

One team to call

Phones, network and IT supported together.

Secure set-up

Admin access locked down and costly call types blocked.

The digital switchover

The old phone network closes in January 2027

Openreach, which runs most of the UK’s phone lines, is retiring the traditional analogue network (often called the PSTN) and the ISDN services that run on it. Here’s where things stand in October 2026:

Openreach stopped selling new analogue lines across the UK in September 2023.
The switch-off date is 31 January 2027, and Openreach has said there is no extension to the deadline.
Services that run on ISDN need to move to an internet-based service by January 2027, or they will be ceased.
Lines that haven’t moved may be put on a temporary emergency voice-only service, which Openreach describes as limited, last-resort and more expensive than digital alternatives, or lose service altogether.

Virgin Media also plans to retire its old phone network, but Ofcom says that date hasn’t been set yet. Either way, leaving it to the final weeks risks disruption and higher costs.

What to check

It’s not just the phones

The switch-off affects anything that uses a traditional phone line, and in many offices nobody has a full list. Before you move, check:

Intruder and fire alarms that dial out to a monitoring centre
Lift emergency phones
Card machines that still use a phone line rather than broadband or mobile data
Door entry systems and CCTV connected to a line
Fax machines, and anything else plugged into a phone socket
Every line on your bill, including the ones nobody can explain

Ask each equipment supplier whether their device works on a digital line and what an upgrade would cost. Digital phones need power, so plan for power cuts too: battery backup for the router and key equipment, and mobiles as a fallback for emergency calls.

Hosted VoIP

A hosted phone system

A hosted VoIP system replaces the phone system box on the wall with a service in the cloud. You get desk phones, an app for mobiles and laptops, and features that used to need expensive hardware: call queues, menus, ring groups, voicemail to email, out-of-hours routing and call recording.

It suits businesses that want something that feels like a traditional phone system, with handsets on reception and familiar transfer buttons, or teams that don’t spend their day in Microsoft Teams. Your existing numbers can usually be transferred, so customers keep calling the number they know.

Microsoft Teams Phone

Calls inside Microsoft Teams

If your team already works in Teams all day, Teams Phone turns it into the phone system. Each person gets a number that rings in Teams on their laptop, mobile or a Teams desk phone, with call queues, auto attendants and voicemail managed alongside the rest of Microsoft 365.

It needs a Teams Phone licence for each user, an add-on to Microsoft 365 business plans, plus a connection to the phone network. That connection can come from Microsoft as a Calling Plan, or from a telecoms operator through Microsoft’s Operator Connect programme. As a Microsoft Partner we can supply the licences and set it up. See our Microsoft 365 support.

Choosing

Which is right for you?

There’s no single answer, and we don’t push one. As a rough guide:

Teams Phone tends to suit office teams who already use Teams for meetings and chat, work from home part of the week and mostly take calls at their desks.
Hosted VoIP tends to suit businesses with a busy reception, lots of transfers between people, or staff who prefer a handset and rarely open Teams.
Either way, call quality depends on your network. We check the internet connection and Wi-Fi first and set the network up to give calls priority. See network and Wi-Fi support.

Moving office at the same time? Plan the phones with the move, not after it. See IT projects and office moves.

Call recording

Recording calls: the rules in brief

Most modern phone systems can record calls, and many businesses do it for training, quality or a record of what was agreed. In general terms, the UK rules are:

Have a clear reason. The ICO says recording every call isn’t usually proportionate; evidence of transactions, training and quality control are typical reasons.
Tell callers that calls are recorded and why, usually with a short message at the start, and explain more in your privacy notice.
Tell your staff too, and don’t routinely record personal calls.
Keep recordings secure, limit who can listen and delete them when they’re no longer needed.
Some regulated firms have their own rules: certain FCA-regulated activities require calls to be recorded and kept.

This is a summary, not legal advice. Once calls are recorded, they can do more work: our sister business AlphaOps turns them into call summaries and follow-up tasks, so promises made on the phone don’t get lost.

Security

Phone systems get hacked too

A phone system with a weak admin password can be used by criminals to make calls to premium-rate and international numbers, often overnight or at weekends, and the business gets the bill. The NCSC calls this dial-through or toll fraud.

We change default passwords, use multi-factor authentication for admin access where the system supports it, block international and premium-rate calls you don’t need, restrict forwarding to outside numbers and check call records for anything unusual. It’s the same approach we take with the rest of your managed IT.

How we help

From advice to everyday support

Audit. We list every line, number and connected device, and what each one costs you.
Recommend. A plain recommendation, hosted VoIP or Teams Phone, with costs from our telecoms partners or your preferred provider.
Move. We handle the set-up, the number transfer and the handsets or headsets, timed to avoid disruption.
Support. Your phones are supported alongside the rest of your IT, and we deal with the provider when the problem is on their side.

Questions

Business phone systems: FAQs

When is the PSTN switch-off?

Openreach plans to retire the traditional phone network on 31 January 2027 and has said there is no extension. New analogue lines haven’t been sold across the UK since September 2023, and services that run on ISDN need to move to an internet-based service by January 2027 or they will be ceased. Don’t leave it to the last few weeks.

Are you a telecoms provider?

No. We’re an IT management company. We advise on, set up and support phone systems, working alongside telecoms partners who provide the lines, numbers and call plans. If you’re happy with your current provider, we can work with them.

Can we keep our phone numbers?

In most cases, yes. Numbers, including Cardiff 029 numbers, can usually be transferred to a new provider or to Teams Phone. We check before anything is ordered and plan the transfer so calls keep coming in.

Is Teams Phone better than hosted VoIP?

Neither is better for everyone. Teams Phone suits teams who already work in Microsoft Teams. Hosted VoIP suits businesses with a busy reception or staff who prefer desk phones. We’ll recommend one based on how you take calls.

Will our alarm and card machine still work after the switchover?

Not necessarily. Anything that uses a traditional phone line, including alarms that dial a monitoring centre, lift phones and older card machines, needs checking with its supplier. We help you list what’s connected and plan the changes before the deadline.

It’s very simple

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