Should you keep your SIP trunk carrier when migrating to UCaaS?

When moving to a new cloud unified communications provider, IT decision-makers should consider bringing Session Initiation Protocol trunks along if the new provider will allow it.

One of the benefits to bringing your own SIP trunk carrier is negotiating your own fees and contract terms. Your company may be able to secure better rates with a SIP trunk provider than a cloud unified communications (UC) vendor. For instance, a company with multiple trunks could negotiate a multiyear term with a SIP trunk provider.

Moving to a cloud provider that doesn't allow you to bring your own SIP trunks may mean paying higher fees or getting stuck with duplicate fees for both providers. Bringing your own SIP trunk carrier can be the difference between moving to a cloud offering today and waiting until your contract runs out. This is particularly true in cases of multisite rollouts where multiple SIP trunk providers are used.

Not all companies have a singular service, especially in multinational companies where different sites have ramped up UC over time. Capital depreciation also may be a factor as older systems reach the end of life depending on their implementation date.

In some cases, SIP trunk carriers offer management services that offer valuable features such as intrusion protection and priority routing. Keeping your SIP trunk carrier may be the deciding factor for your firewall, as well. If you keep your SIP trunks, you need only reconfigure the firewall to pass traffic along to new endpoints with your new cloud UC provider.

In addition to firewall reconfigurations, trading out your current SIP trunks may require phone number changes.

SIP trunks are sometimes bundled with other services and provide a discount on the overall package, much like when home and auto insurance are bundled to get a lower rate. Service package discounts may go away if the SIP trunks are dropped.

The key here is flexibility and minimizing pain when implementing a cloud UC service. You should examine all options and see what your cloud provider can do to eliminate the issues associated with a wholesale change. This is particularly true in multisite rollouts where your SIP trunk contracts have staggered expiration dates. It's rare for a multisite company to have all of its circuits and trunks expire on the same day since they were likely implemented over time.

Not all options and providers are available in all areas. Just because something is in the cloud doesn't mean that it has ubiquitous coverage. Some countries severely limit and restrict services. It's worth exploring each site as part of the discovery process to avoid being hit with a surprise after you've signed on the dotted line. The more options you have, the more flexibility you have.