An educational institution with around 30 staff members relied on an ageing Nortel BCM 50 phone system across their campus. While it had served them well since the 2000s, looming infrastructure changes and rising limitations meant a modern replacement was unavoidable.

Unified IT migrated the institution to Microsoft Teams Phone with Operator Connect, delivering a future-proof, cloud-based calling solution that integrated seamlessly into their existing Microsoft 365 environment.

The client’s Nortel BCM 50 was a once-popular hybrid PBX, blending traditional telephony with early VoIP features. Despite still being functional, it was increasingly unsuitable for their needs:

Dependent on ISDN lines, which will be phased out by BT’s ISDN/PSTN switch-off in 2025.

Difficult and expensive to support due to the age of the system and Nortel’s 2009 bankruptcy.

Limited flexibility for remote work and modern collaboration.

The institution faced a hard deadline: upgrade their telephony or risk service disruption when ISDN is retired.

Unified IT recommended Microsoft Teams Phone with Operator Connect, offering:

Carrier-grade calling directly from a trusted telecom operator, with enterprise SLAs.

Native integration with Microsoft Teams for seamless collaboration and communication.

Simplified number management through the operator’s portal, reducing administrative overhead.

Future-proof flexibility, enabling easy scaling as the institution grows.

This solution combined the best of cloud telephony with the reliability of a direct operator connection, ensuring high-quality calls and minimal complexity.

To minimise disruption, Unified IT delivered a carefully planned rollout:

Reviewed existing extensions, call flows, and user requirements.

Coordinated directly with the chosen Operator Connect partner to port numbers smoothly.

A test group of staff trialled Teams Phone before full deployment.

A phased migration ensured minimal downtime, with the old system decommissioned once Teams Phone was live.

The switch was completed with virtually no service interruption.

The institution achieved measurable improvements immediately after the migration:

Eliminated legacy risks by moving away from ISDN-dependent hardware.

Reduced costs on maintenance and support for an outdated PBX.

Improved flexibility, with staff able to make and receive calls from anywhere via Teams.

Future-ready telephony, aligned with BT’s all-IP strategy and the institution’s growing reliance on Microsoft 365.

This upgrade was long overdue, but Unified IT made it seamless. The move to Operator Connect within Teams has not only modernised our telephony but also simplified how staff communicate every day.

Unified IT specialises in modernising legacy phone systems with future-ready cloud solutions. We deliver seamless, cost-effective migrations that keep businesses connected and ahead of change.