Inlayer Helps Cisco Partners Move Legacy Phone Customers to Webex Without Rip and Replace, Podcast

By Doug Green “You no longer need to rip and replace those devices. Bring them with you to Webex.” In this Technology Reseller News podcast recorded at WebexOne in Austin, James Lee of Inlayer explains how Phonism by Inlayer helps Cisco partners migrate customers from legacy phone systems to Webex while preserving existing handsets, reducing disruption and lowering the cost of the move. Phonism is Inlayer’s flagship unified device management and compliance automation platform. Lee says the platform is designed to help service providers manage devices from multiple manufacturers through a single interface and API, while also automating configuration, provisioning and compliance. For Cisco partners, the opportunity is especially significant in accounts still running legacy Avaya, Mitel and other on-premises systems. Lee says many customers are not staying on older platforms because they prefer them. They are staying because replacing thousands of phones can be expensive, disruptive and time-consuming. Phonism removes much of that barrier. As a Cisco SolutionsPlus partner, Phonism can be included with Webex quotes and renewals, allowing existing SIP devices to be brought onto Webex rather than immediately replaced. Lee describes the strategy as “land, expand and flip.” Partners can land the customer on Webex while keeping existing handsets, expand the relationship by selling other Cisco services, and later replace those devices with Cisco endpoints as they age, break or reach the end of their depreciation cycle. That can also pull revenue forward. Instead of waiting months for a full hardware migration, partners can move the backend platform first and preserve a familiar experience for users. Inlayer is also expanding into presence-based provisioning. Using a small NFC-enabled sticker, an end user can tap the device with a smartphone, authenticate, share location with consent and automatically activate a preconfigured compliant device. That process can also capture identity and E911 location information, while creating cryptographic proof that a person was physically present during deployment. Lee says the approach can simplify self-installation, hoteling and shared workspace environments. The potential savings can be substantial. Lee points to a recent deployment involving a retailer with 700 locations and 7,000 endpoints. He says the migration was completed across four weekends and saved approximately $2 million compared with a traditional replacement approach. For Cisco partners, Lee’s message is simple: legacy hardware no longer has to block a cloud migration. Visit Phonism.com or Inlayer.com to learn more. The post Inlayer Helps Cisco Partners Move Legacy Phone Customers to Webex Without Rip and Replace, Podcast appeared first on Telecom Reseller / Technology Reseller News.