Avaya to RingCentral Migration: A Step-by-Step Guide

Does your team spend more time keeping up with the Avaya hardware and failing at hybrid work? Then switching to a cloud-based communication platform like RingCentral can be a better choice. RingCentral is often known as Avaya Cloud Office.

RingCentral can help organize communication, cut costs, and enhance collaboration. So consider migrating from Avaya to RingCentral, which can give us a scalable solution with advanced features.

In this blog, we will give a structured approach for the Avaya to RingCentral migration. These migration steps reduce downtime and maximize productivity.

When to Consider Migrating from Avaya to RingCentral?

Avaya has been a reliable on-premise solution. But due to several disadvantages, it’s time to consider a cloud-based alternative, such as RingCentral.

• Cost Reduction: When you need a large, capital-intensive expense to upgrade your Avaya PBX or when the license purchasing is expensive, then migrating to RingCentral will be a better choice. 
• Cloud-Ready Business: If the requirements need secure, accessible communications for the growing hybrid and distributed workforce, then the Avaya system will not be able to match up.
• Advanced features: When your requirements need video meetings, team messaging, and AI-powered analytics, Avaya systems fail up. RingCentral can offer these features.
• Integration: Avaya systems may not integrate seamlessly with modern business applications. RingCentral integrates with other Microsoft tools like Microsoft 365, Salesforce, and Slack. This enables workflow experience. 
• End-of-Life or Limited Support: If it is time for any end of contract, the hardware or software version is approaching its end-of-life, or will no longer receive any security patches or support. Then it is time to consider moving to another contact center like RingCentral.
• Future-proofing: Migrating to RingCentral allows you to align with serving customer needs. It helps in sustaining a long-term partnership and incorporating features like AI, automation, and enhanced integrations.

Benefits of Migrating from Avaya to RingCentral 

Migrating from Avaya to RingCentral is more than a phone system upgrade; it creates a unified communications platform. Some of the key benefits of migrating from Avaya to RingCentral are

• Reducing hardware costs: With the cloud-based infrastructure, RingCentral can lower the hardware costs. They can eliminate large, up-front capital expenditures for a new PDX server. All updates, maintenance, and upgrades are done in the cloud, and thereby, infrastructure costs are also reduced.
• Ease of use and unified communications: Due to the user-friendly design, no training is required for the employees. It is easy to use. RingCentral has built-in Message, video, and Phone (MVP) framework and consolidates into a one platform. RingCentral also gives enhanced collaboration with features like file sharing and task management.
• Modern tools: RingCentral provides a modern, flexible, and scalable communication solution, including video calling and chat services that allow businesses to get more benefits.
• Seamless Integrations: RingCentral allows seamless integration with Microsoft Teams. This allows the usage of AI advanced analytics to monitor call quality, user adoption, and key performance indicators in real-time.
• Scalability and Flexibility: RingCentral’s communication tools are flexible to be accessed from various devices, and they can be accessed globally to meet the needs of international businesses.

Step-by-Step Plan for Your Avaya to RingCentral Migration

A successful Avaya to RingCentral Migration will need careful planning and execution. Starting from the initial assessment to the final deployment and training, the steps required are

1. Assess the Avaya environment: Analyze the entire Avaya environment. Identify and document all Avaya hardware, users, extensions, software licenses, and physical phones. Create a detailed list of every feature, like call flow, IVR script, hunt group, custom reports, call Queues, Time-of-Day routing, Music on hold (MoH), and emergency services (911/999). List all applications (CRM, ERP, Contact Center Software) that integrate with your Avays system.
2. Migration Plan: Clearly determine the needs for the RingCentral migration, whether it is cost savings, scalability, remote work, or any advanced features. Set a timeline for the Avaya to RingCentral Migration, including key milestones, training schedules, and final cutover date. Take a backup of all essential data, including contacts, voicemail, and call logs, before starting the migration. Create a migration plan, whether it is a phased approach or a full migration. Get a letter of authorization (LOA) and accurate account information for porting the existing phone numbers to RingCentral.
3. Prepare Your Network and Infrastructure: Check for Network readiness by working with RingCentral’s technical team. It will avoid performance issues post-migration. Do check all latency, jitter, and bandwidth tests to ensure that security settings can support RingCentral’s cloud services.
4. Configure RingCentral: Start by setting up the RingCentral account and administrative portal. Configure RingCentral accounts, core workflows, numbers, IVR, user profiles, call flows, voicemail, and integrations with tools like Microsoft 365 or Salesforce. For each user type, such as standard user, contact center agent, or message-only extension, determine the appropriate RingCentral license. Add and set up user profiles and extensions in the RingCentral Admin portal. Establish new integrations with your business applications. 
5. Port Numbers and Data Migration: This is the main step of exporting the data from the Avaya contact center. Initiate the number porting process for each user group, as the process is carrier-dependent. Select a representative pilot group and migrate them to RingCentral. Rebuild your Avaya call flow logic (IVRs, Queues, Routing) with the RingCentral admin portal. 
6. Testing: Select a small group of users (as a pilot group) and start user acceptance testing of every single feature, including Internal/External calling (inbound and outbound), voicemail, transcription, and mobile app functionality, 911/E911 service confirmation at each physical location.
7. Training users: Provide hands-on training about RingCentral features such as video meetings, messaging, and mobile access. Inform stakeholders and employees about the migration timeline. Focus more on new features such as video, messaging, file sharing, and how to make or receive calls.
8. Launch: After pilot testing with a small group to validate call quality, integrations, and user experience. Schedule a cut-over date; the phone numbers being ported will switch from the Avaya system to the RingCentral network. Now redirect the calls from the Avaya system to the RingCentral system. If porting is not immediately available, forward the call from the Avaya system to temporary RingCentral numbers. This will ensure zero downtime.
9. Post migration and Optimization: Continuously monitor system performance, call quality with analytics throughout the rollout. If any issues are found, resolve those. After the migration is verified and RingCentral is stable, start decommissioning the old Avaya equipment. Gather feedback from users of the new platform and address any workflow or training gaps.

Handling Common Issues in an Avaya to RingCentral Migration

Like all other migrations, challenges may arise if it is not managed properly. Handling these issues can help in a proactive and disruption-free cutover.

• Porting rejection: One of the most common reasons for delay in migration timelines is the Number Portability (LNP). It is the process of moving your phone numbers from Avaya’s associated carrier to RingCentral. To solve this, assign a single internal contact to work with the RingCentral porting team and obtain the CSR from the current carrier before submitting the LOA. Disconnect the Avaya circuits only after the Firm Order Commitment (FOC) date from RingCentral.
• Network and bandwidth issues: RingCentral relies on a private-network voice system that relies on a local area network (LAN) and Internet connection. This may result in poor call quality, dropped calls, or lag, which often result from insufficient bandwidth. To solve this, ensure your network and VoIP hardware are up-to-date and compatible with RingCentral’s system. Pre-conduct a network readiness assessment and upgrade bandwidth if necessary. Implement Quality of Service (QoS) if you want to prioritize voice traffic.
• Phone hardware compatibility: Many Avaya phones are not SIP capable and may not directly work with RingCentral. To solve this, sign in to the RingCentral Admin portal to verify and enter the correct SIP domain, proxy server, and authentication settings. Check RingCentral’s device compatibility lists before starting the migration process.
• Integration challenges: Some third-party systems, like CRM or productivity apps, may find it difficult to connect with the RingCentral admin portal. To solve this, audit the Avaya environment and analyze the integration requirements, and utilize RingCentral’s app gallery or APIs to ensure smooth connectivity. 
• Security and Compliance: A Cloud environment may pose security risks. To overcome this challenge, review RingCentral’s compliance certifications, such as HIPAA, GDPR, and security policies. Ensure that they align with the business requirements.
• User adoption: Sometimes users may hesitate to adopt RingCentral’s cloud platform, such as moving from a desk phone to a soft phone. To overcome this, provide training for the users about how to handle new features in RingCentral. Do Pilot testing with a small group of users in order to assess user adoption.

Partner with Entrans for your Avaya to RingCentral migration

The Avaya to RingCentral migration is about making your system future-ready. With the right migration partner like Entrans, we handle even complex migrations. 

Entrans helps in migrating to RingCentral with advanced features and integrations. We help you to stay ahead in the digital-first marketplace. 

With our proven track record of successful migrations, we also ensure that your system is secure and scalable.

Want to know more about? Book a consultation with us.

Avaya to RingCentral Migration: Frequently Asked Questions

1. Can we keep our existing Avaya phone numbers?

Yes, we can keep existing phone numbers by porting them to RingCentral. With the right documentation and carrier approval, we can handle the transfer request to your current carrier.

2. How long does the number porting process take?

Number porting usually takes 2-4 weeks. Depending on the complexity of the setup and carrier, large projects may take longer.

3. How long will the downtime be for the Avaya to RingCentral migration?

Proper planning and execution of the Avaya to RingCentral migration will reduce the downtime. Downtime can still be minimized with the help of phased migration and pilot testing. 

4. How does security in RingCentral compare to Avaya?

RingCentral, as a cloud-based provider, offers enterprise-grade security. With proper encryption, multi-factor authentication, and compliance standards, security is assured.

5. Is there any automation tool for Avaya to RingCentral migration?

No, there is no fully automated tool for Avaya to RingCentral migration. But through a Partnership with Avaya Cloud Office (ACO), it offers guided migration services to simplify the Avaya to RingCentral migration.