High Country Workplace Technologies helped El Paso County School District 49 replace its legacy Mitel phone system with RingCentral, providing the district with a modern cloud communications platform for calling, messaging, video and collaboration.
District 49 Mitel-to-RingCentral migration at a glance
Customer: El Paso County School District 49
Industry: K-12 public education
Location: El Paso County, Colorado
Previous phone system: Mitel
New communications platform: RingCentral
Implementation partner: High Country Workplace Technologies
Migration approach: Planned, phased implementation
Primary goals: Modernize communications, simplify administration, improve mobility and collaboration, reduce dependence on aging equipment, and minimize disruption
What communications challenge did District 49 face?
District 49 needed to replace an aging Mitel phone system that had become difficult to maintain and no longer provided the flexibility and modern collaboration capabilities required by a multi-campus school district.
The district needed a communications platform capable of supporting employees across its educational environment while reducing dependence on outdated telephone-system hardware and infrastructure.
This was more than a telephone replacement. District 49 needed a reliable communications foundation that could improve mobility, collaboration and operational efficiency while supporting communication among district employees and the broader school community.
Why did District 49 select RingCentral?
District 49 selected RingCentral to bring calling, messaging, video meetings and collaboration together within a unified cloud communications platform.
Moving to RingCentral gave the district a more scalable and flexible alternative to its legacy premises-based Mitel system. The platform allows employees to communicate from supported desk phones, computers and mobile devices, helping staff remain connected when working from different schools, offices or locations.
RingCentral also reduces the district’s reliance on aging phone-system hardware and provides a foundation that can adapt as its communications requirements change.
How did HCWT help District 49 migrate from Mitel to RingCentral?
HCWT planned and supported a phased migration from District 49’s legacy Mitel environment to RingCentral, helping the district modernize its communications while minimizing operational disruption.
Because HCWT has experience with both Mitel phone systems and RingCentral cloud communications, its team could evaluate the existing environment from the perspective of both the old and new platforms.
HCWT’s work included migration planning, technical coordination, RingCentral implementation assistance and ongoing support. The phased approach helped preserve continuity of service while the district transitioned to the new platform.
Understanding the legacy system was particularly important. A successful school phone-system migration must account for more than user extensions. Existing numbers, call routing, auto attendants, hunt groups, voicemail, devices, network requirements and campus workflows must all be reviewed before cutover.
What were the results of the migration?
The Mitel-to-RingCentral migration gave District 49 a more modern, scalable and flexible communications environment.
The district gained several important benefits:
Improved collaboration
RingCentral provides district employees with integrated calling, messaging, video and collaboration capabilities instead of requiring separate communication tools and systems.
Greater employee mobility
Authorized employees can use RingCentral from supported computers and mobile devices, helping them communicate when moving between district facilities or working away from their regular desk.
Reduced legacy-system costs
District 49 reduced costs associated with maintaining outdated telephone-system hardware and supporting its legacy communications environment.
Simplified communications
Bringing multiple communication functions together within RingCentral gives employees a more consistent experience and reduces dependence on disconnected applications and infrastructure.
Improved scalability
The cloud platform provides a more flexible foundation for changing employee, campus and operational requirements.
Security and reliability
RingCentral provides cloud-based security and service-continuity capabilities designed to support communications across the district’s environment.
Why was HCWT’s Mitel experience important?
HCWT’s experience with both Mitel and RingCentral helped District 49 avoid the knowledge gap that can occur when a cloud provider understands the new platform but not the legacy phone system being replaced.
A Mitel-to-RingCentral migration requires an accurate understanding of how the existing system operates. Important features and dependencies may include:
- Extension and telephone-number assignments
- Auto attendants and time-of-day routing
- Hunt groups and call queues
- Voicemail boxes and distribution groups
- Main office and departmental call flows
- Analog devices and fax services
- Paging and notification systems
- Emergency calling and location information
- Network readiness and quality of service
- Number porting and carrier coordination
- User and administrator training
- Cutover testing and post-migration support
HCWT’s knowledge of legacy Mitel systems and RingCentral deployments helped the district plan the transition, address technical issues and minimize disruption.
A modern communications foundation for District 49
District 49 now has a communications platform better suited to the needs of a modern educational institution.
RingCentral gives the district a scalable environment for connecting employees across its campuses and administrative operations. HCWT’s planning, technical knowledge and ongoing support helped create a smooth transition from the legacy Mitel system.
The completed migration positions District 49 to support the evolving communication needs of its staff, students, families and community while reducing its dependence on outdated premises-based telephone infrastructure.
Can HCWT migrate other school districts from Mitel to RingCentral?
Yes. HCWT helps school districts and universities evaluate, plan and implement migrations from Mitel and other legacy PBX systems to RingCentral.
HCWT can assist with the complete migration process, including:
- Existing-system discovery
- Extension and number inventories
- Call-flow documentation
- Network-readiness assessments
- RingCentral licensing and configuration
- Telephone-number porting
- Desk-phone and device planning
- Paging, fax and analog endpoint planning
- E911 and dispatchable-location requirements
- User and administrator training
- Phased deployment
- Cutover support
- Ongoing technical support
HCWT supports school communications projects in Colorado and across the United States.
Frequently asked questions
Can a school district migrate from Mitel to RingCentral?
Yes. A school district can migrate from a Mitel phone system to RingCentral after documenting its users, telephone numbers, call flows, devices, paging systems, analog endpoints, emergency-calling requirements and network environment.
Can a Mitel-to-RingCentral migration be completed in phases?
Yes. A phased migration allows a school district to move selected departments, campuses or user groups while testing call routing, devices and workflows before completing the entire deployment.
Can existing Mitel phones be reused with RingCentral?
Some Mitel phone models may be compatible with RingCentral, but compatibility depends on the exact model, hardware revision, firmware and provisioning requirements. Each device should be verified during the discovery process.
What must a school district evaluate before replacing its PBX?
A district should evaluate user extensions, direct numbers, main numbers, call queues, auto attendants, paging, fax, emergency phones, elevator phones, alarms, E911 locations, network capacity, internet redundancy, number porting and staff training.
Does moving to RingCentral eliminate every analog line?
Not necessarily. Fax machines, emergency phones, alarms, paging interfaces and other analog endpoints must be inventoried individually. Some may use adapters or managed analog services, while others may need to remain on purpose-built lines.
Who supports the system after migration?
HCWT provides implementation assistance, training, cutover support and ongoing support options for organizations moving from legacy Mitel systems to RingCentral.
Plan your school phone-system migration
Is your school district or university considering replacing a Mitel, Avaya, ShoreTel, Cisco or other legacy phone system?
High Country Workplace Technologies can help your organization evaluate its existing environment, compare cloud and on-premises options, plan a phased migration and implement RingCentral with minimal disruption.
Contact HCWT to schedule a school district or university review.