Modern Workplace
Telephony
Business telephony from Next2IT, covering cloud VoIP, Microsoft Teams calling, SIP trunking and hybrid PBX, with seamless number porting and 24x7 support.
Telephony for the way you work now
Next2IT designs, deploys and supports telephony that keeps your business connected, from cloud VoIP and Microsoft Teams calling through to on-premise and hybrid PBX. You get clear voice quality, advanced call handling and clean integration with your existing infrastructure, all backed by proactive support.
What we deliver
Cloud VoIP. Fully hosted Voice over IP with auto-attendants, call routing, voicemail-to-email and remote working built in. No on-premise hardware, just internet and endpoints, with predictable monthly costs.
Microsoft Teams calling. Turn Teams into your phone system using Direct Routing or Calling Plans, combining external calls with chat, meetings and collaboration in one place. We handle session border controller configuration, number porting, dial plans and user provisioning.
On-premise and hybrid PBX. Where you need on-site control, we deploy and support systems from manufacturers including Mitel and Avaya, plus open-source platforms, with SIP trunking to replace ISDN and cut call costs.
Features that matter
- VoIP technology. High-definition voice with G.711, G.722 and Opus codecs keeps calls clear across varying bandwidth, at significantly lower cost than PSTN lines.
- Cloud PBX platform. Web-based administration to manage users, call routing and auto-attendants from anywhere, with multi-tenant management.
- Softphone apps. Make and receive calls from desktop, laptop or mobile, ideal for remote and hybrid teams.
- Number porting. Retain your existing numbers when you switch, with the full porting process handled for you.
- Call reporting and analytics. Dashboards tracking volumes, duration, cost, quality and user activity for capacity planning.
- Advanced call handling. Auto-attendants, queues, hunt groups, voicemail-to-email, call recording, presence and find-me-follow-me routing.
- SIP trunking. Replace expensive ISDN with cost-effective SIP trunks, with geographic and non-geographic numbers and unlimited channels.
- Business continuity. Automatic failover that reroutes calls to mobiles or alternate sites during an outage, with 4G and 5G backup an option.
- CRM integration. Screen-pop, click-to-dial and call logging with Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics and HubSpot.
On bandwidth, allow around 100kbps per concurrent call with G.711, or 50 to 60kbps with G.729, so 20 users with up to 10 concurrent calls need roughly 1Mbps dedicated to voice plus quality-of-service prioritisation.
Why Next2IT
We are vendor-agnostic and recommend cloud, on-premise or hybrid based on your needs, not ours. As certified Microsoft partners we have extensive Teams Direct Routing and Calling Plans experience. We manage the complete lifecycle, from consultation and design through deployment, training and ongoing support, with telephony monitored 24x7 through our Network Operations Centre.
We handle number porting end to end, typically 10 to 15 working days, scheduling cutover to minimise disruption. Most organisations moving from ISDN to VoIP cut telephony costs by 30 to 50%, mainly through lower line rental and call charges.
Connected, however you work
From cloud VoIP and Teams calling to SIP trunking and hybrid PBX, we design, deploy and support it, with seamless number porting.
The benefits
The benefits of Telephony
What you gain when telephony is delivered and managed by Next2IT.
Cloud VoIP
Fully hosted voice with advanced call handling and remote working, no on-premise hardware.
Microsoft Teams calling
Turn Teams into your phone system with Direct Routing or Calling Plans.
Business continuity
Resilient telephony with automatic failover to mobiles or alternate sites during outages.
Keep your numbers
We port your existing numbers across with no disruption, so customers reach you on the same lines throughout.
Still tied to ageing phone lines?
Move to flexible cloud telephony and keep your numbers, with clear call quality everywhere.
FAQs
Frequently asked questions
VoIP delivers calls over internet connections rather than copper telephone lines. It typically costs much less to run, adds features like voicemail-to-email and mobile integration, and supports remote working, using your existing network instead of physical line rentals and expensive hardware. With adequate bandwidth and quality-of-service settings, call quality matches or exceeds traditional telephony.
Yes. We handle the complete number porting process, covering geographic numbers (01, 02, 028), non-geographic numbers (0800, 0845, 03) and mobile numbers. Porting typically takes 10 to 15 working days and is managed by our team through Openreach and your existing provider. We schedule cutover for quiet periods and test before and after, and your existing numbers stay operational throughout.
Teams can be your full phone system through Direct Routing or Microsoft Calling Plans. Direct Routing connects Teams to the public telephone network through a Session Border Controller, giving you full control over routing and carrier choice. Calling Plans are simpler, with Microsoft handling the infrastructure and you buying minutes from them. Both let users make and receive external calls inside Teams. We deploy either, handling SBC setup, dial plans, emergency calling and provisioning.
VoIP needs around 100kbps per concurrent call using standard G.711 codecs, or 50 to 60kbps with compressed G.729. A typical office of 20 users with up to 10 concurrent calls needs roughly 1Mbps dedicated to voice. Bandwidth is only part of it: latency, jitter and packet loss matter too, so we recommend business-grade connectivity with quality-of-service policies that prioritise voice. We assess your network during scoping.
Cloud VoIP is typically deployed within 2 to 3 weeks for straightforward implementations. Teams Direct Routing usually takes 3 to 4 weeks including SBC configuration and testing. On-premise PBX installs needing hardware may take 4 to 6 weeks. Number porting adds 10 to 15 working days, and is usually the critical path, so we often deploy the system in parallel with porting.
Cloud systems offer several resilience options: automatic call forwarding to mobiles when connectivity fails, secondary internet connections, and 4G or 5G backup. We configure failover rules that route calls to predefined mobile numbers or alternate sites during outages. IP desk phones often support local survivability using cached configurations, and for mission-critical sites we recommend diverse connectivity from multiple carriers on separate infrastructure.
Cloud VoIP typically costs £10 to £25 per user per month including calls. Microsoft Teams calling adds £3 to £12 per user per month to existing Microsoft 365 licences depending on the calling plan. On-premise systems require upfront capital of £5,000 to £50,000 or more depending on capacity, plus maintenance and SIP trunk costs. Most organisations moving from ISDN to VoIP achieve a 30 to 50% cost reduction, mainly through lower line rental and call charges.
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