Get Toshiba Phones Support in Houston, San Antonio or Austin

In 2017, Toshiba announced it was shutting down its business phone division as part of a larger corporate restructuring. The maker of IP business telephones was focused on providing services primarily to small- and medium-sized businesses.

For businesses using Toshiba products, the shutdown (and subsequent acquisition) continues to cause a great deal of confusion and risk. For companies looking for support of existing Toshiba business phone systems or are considering an upgrade, now is the right time to engage an expert partner to deliver business phone needs.

What Happened to Toshiba Phones?

Several weeks after Toshiba announced the shutdown, Mitel acquired certain components of the Toshiba unified communications product line. Those products included:

• The IPedge platform, including on-premise IP and IP PBX phones
• The Strata CIX communications platform, a digital hybrid solution
• The VIPedge platform, which is a cloud version of IPedge

These solutions were among the most common components of Toshiba’s business phone product line.

However, Mitel has since announced a planned phase-out of the IPedge and Strata CIX systems. In October 2018, it stopped selling the systems and as of October 31, 2019, will cease add-on sales of cards and phones. Technical support ends on October 31, 2021.

For existing Toshiba phone users, this means a new reality.

What Kinds of Support Services for Toshiba Phones Is Available?

ICS can provide support for your existing phone systems. Our business telephony experts can help assess the current state of your Toshiba phones and what is realistic and cost-effective to try and replace or salvage.

Among the services ICS offers for your existing Toshiba phones are:

• Maintenance. Our business phone technicians have decades of experience supporting and maintaining Toshiba phones and other business phone systems. We continue to offer these services to companies with legacy Toshiba systems.
• Replacement Parts. Where possible, ICS can supply replacement hardware for Toshiba business phone systems.
• Upgrades. Now is the time to talk with an ICS business phone expert about possible upgrades to your business phones.

At this point, business owners have to consider when to switch from Toshiba to a different unified business communications solution. While the systems and components may continue working for a few years, there will be no opportunity to add new Toshiba features or equipment.

For businesses that have been using Toshiba phones, there can be significant advantages to considering a different solution.

What Options Other Than Toshiba Phones Are There?

One of the reasons Toshiba was unable to sustain its business phone product line was the company’s slow response to emerging technologies. Today, organizations can leverage Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology that offers significant advantages, especially in today’s mobile-driven business climate. Among the key benefits are:

• Lower Costs. PBX systems are notoriously expensive, while VoIP systems eliminate per-call costs while eliminating the need for expensive onsite data center costs for power, cooling and labor.
• More Mobile Features. Have your calls forwarded automatically from an office phone to your smartphone, allowing you to never miss a call or message while out of the office. Other features convert voicemail to email messages and sync your desktop and mobile phone functions.
• Support for Remote Workers. Today’s businesses need a solution that connects at-home employees, mobile sales staff, freelancers and partners seamlessly.
• Scalability. When your business expands, adding new locations or employees, you need a phone system that can scale easily. With today’s phone systems, you can add and remove users as needed, whether due to an acquisition or seasonal variances in employment.
• Advanced Communication. With VoIP solutions, all of your communications needs can be integrated into one platform. That means a single source for instant messaging, web conferencing, call recording, chat and integration with CRM solutions.

Businesses with Toshiba phones can leverage short- and long-term opportunities working with the trusted business telephone provider for companies in Houston, San Antonio and Austin. To schedule an initial consultation about your business phone needs, contact us today.

Jason Simons

ICS is a Texas-based 40-year-old technology company specializing in Managed IT, VoIP, Video Conferencing and Video Surveillance solutions for US and International businesses. ICS has over 4000 regional installations and specializes in multi-site businesses between 25 and 2500 employees. ICS’s customers enjoy the experience of ICS’s Total Care program which provides clients flat fee services with obsolescence and growth protection. Whether a customer elects to deploy their IT, Video Conferencing or VoIP in the cloud or on the customer’s premise, ICS can provide a full turn-key solution for our clients under one flat monthly fee.