UCaaS: Futureproof your small business for the PSTN Switch Off and beyond

Is UCaaS the solution for your small business for the PSTN Switch Off and beyond?

The Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) Switch Off is heading your way fast. There is already a national stop sell on PSTN products in place, which means that new activations or changes to analogue phone lines are not available, and in December 2025 the system will be switched off completely.

But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. For small businesses like yours, PSTN Switch Off could present a significant opportunity.

With the right approach, you’ll be able to move your business into its next growth phase with relatively little disruption. This is all possible if you develop a long-term strategy that takes advantage of the new technologies available to you.

Let’s take a look at the ways you can use technology to build a lasting advantage.

What exactly is going to happen?

Come December 2025, anything that relies on old copper networks that have been around since the 1800s will simply stop working.

It’s time to take a look at your business and evaluate what’s going to change for you. To get you started, we’ve put together a checklist that walks small businesses through the systems and services that are likely to be impacted.

How can I turn the PSTN Switch Off to my advantage?

Any strategy you put together is going to involve using Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), sometimes referred to as digital calling. VoIP is a communications technology that enables you to make phone calls through your broadband connection.

You can still use a handset or business phone system, but it won’t rely on the copper telephone wires any more. As a result, the sound quality of your calls is likely to be better, and everything gets managed off-premises, in the cloud. That means there’s no need for ongoing on-site maintenance or management. When you need to add, remove or replace users it’s a software change, rather than requiring you to call out an engineer.

However, there’s plenty more to the new digital opportunity than VoIP.

Welcome to the world of UCaaS

Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) is a way to combine a range of communication and collaboration applications and services into one package. It is becoming increasingly popular with businesses as they upgrade their legacy communications systems.

UCaaS combines six communications functions together, namely:

• Enterprise telephony, which takes care of all your traditional telephone-based activity.
• Remote meetings, which enables your employees, contacts and customers to connect using audio or video-based conferencing.
• Instant messaging, allowing real-time online chat over an internet connection.
• Mobility, letting employees register on any telephone in the organisation, or a mobile phone, and load that device with their extension number, data and settings.
• Unified messaging, which gathers communications from different platforms, such as emails and voice messages, and integrates them into a single interface where they can be read and prioritised.
• Communications-enabled business processes, to automate some of your communications, such as outbound calls and SMS messaging.

The UCaaS infrastructure is operated, maintained and delivered by your provider, so everything is taken care of for you for a monthly subscription charge.

The benefits of UCaaS to small businesses

Some of the key benefits for any small business considering making the switch to UCaaS include:

• Improved efficiencies: Bypass disjointed legacy systems that slow down workflows and require unnecessary administrative interventions. Your employees will also have access to the communications platform from any device, wherever they may be working. And, if your business is hit by a power outage, the system can still run on mobile devices.
• More productivity: A collaborative approach to working, which allows projects to be worked on in real time from separate locations. Employees can share information, make changes to files, and access centralised data, without creating duplicates and introducing errors.
• An enhanced customer experience: You’ll benefit from a self-service element that puts your customers in control. They can access information about payments, invoices, delivery schedules and more. You can also set up outbound notifications to improve communications, provide delivery alerts and act as reminders to increase repeat sales.
• System scalability: Easily change user privileges and add or remove members of your team whenever needed. No specialist technical knowledge or intervention from your provider needed.

Will you move your business forward with UCaaS?

It’s time to move forward. If you make a start now, the PSTN Switch Off could give you the momentum you need to transform your business, improve performance and capture more customers. It could even save you money.

As a smaller business, you’ll be able to make decisions faster and with less complications. Whatever route you ultimately take, you need to be making those decisions now. Do your research, explore the opportunity and make sure you get independent advice. It’s time to change your business for the better.