Phones
Choosing a business phone system in Cayman: Teams Phone, VoIP or keep your PBX?
Your old phone system may still work, but support is ending, parts are scarce and your staff want to take calls anywhere. Here’s how the main options compare for Cayman businesses.
By the CNS team · · 4 min read
Key takeaways
- Cloud phone systems let staff take calls on a computer, mobile app or desk phone, from anywhere.
- Microsoft Teams Phone makes sense if your business already lives in Microsoft 365 and Teams.
- You can usually keep your existing Cayman phone numbers.
- A good internet connection, ideally with a backup line, matters more than ever.
The three main options
- On-premises PBX, such as a traditional Avaya system: a phone system in your comms room, connected to phone lines from your carrier.
- Hosted VoIP: the phone system runs in the cloud and desk phones or apps connect over the internet.
- Microsoft Teams Phone: calling built into Teams, so staff make and receive calls in the same app they already use for chat and meetings.
When Teams Phone makes sense
If your staff already use Microsoft 365 and Teams every day, adding Teams Phone puts calls, voicemail, chat and meetings in one place. Calls follow people between their laptop, mobile and desk phone, and you manage everything from one admin portal.
Microsoft’s own calling plans aren’t sold in every country, so in Cayman Teams Phone is usually connected to local phone numbers through a certified provider. Your IT partner should handle that for you.
Should you keep your existing PBX?
An existing system that works and is still supported may not need replacing today. But many older systems are approaching end of support, replacement parts are harder to find, and they don’t support remote working well. If yours needs a costly upgrade, that’s usually the right moment to move to the cloud.
What to check before you switch
- Internet capacity and resilience. A second connection keeps phones working if one line fails.
- Number porting. Confirm you can keep your main numbers and direct dials.
- Call flows: auto-attendants, hunt groups, after-hours routing and voicemail.
- Handsets and headsets for people who want a physical phone.
- Emergency calling and how calls are handled during an internet outage.
How CNS can help
We’ve supported business phone systems in Cayman for decades, including as an Avaya business partner since 2003, and now help clients move to Teams Phone and VoIP. We plan the move, port your numbers, set up call flows and train your team, with cut-over outside business hours.
Sources
More insights
Questions about your own setup?
Talk to a Cayman IT expert. No obligation, no jargon.