Do you have an office phone system with Panasonic? Panasonic’s December announcement affects you!
Panasonic has announced their departure from the telephony business. While this news was unexpected, we here at Office Interiors have created an action plan for dealing with the transition.
Office Interiors has been a long time dealer of Panasonic phone systems, with thousands of customers using their systems. We’ve written this article to answer any major questions you have about the future and provide contact information if you have any further questions.
What Exactly Is Happening With Panasonic?
Panasonic has decided to stop producing and selling office phone systems worldwide. While the phone division in Canada was doing well, other larger markets in the world weren’t seeing the same results. The decision for Panasonic to exit the telephony business did come as a surprise, but we’re prepared for the future.
What is the Timeline of This Change?
This is not an immediate change, and if you have a Panasonic system, there will be support for the foreseeable future.
- From now until March 2021, everything will be business as usual. That means that products, services, and equipment are still readily available.
- March 2021, until the end of 2023, we will order additional equipment for customers with existing systems on a special order basis.
- 2023 until 2030, Panasonic will continue to provide the parts and pieces needed to support your existing systems.
These long lead times mean that there will still be support for existing systems for 10 years. This provides existing customers plenty of time to use and upkeep their existing systems while preparing for the next steps.
How is Office Interiors Addressing This Change?
Our priority is that any of our customers are looked after and have the support that they need. We have a large base of Panasonic customers, and we commit to continuing supporting our customers’ current systems right up until we can no longer source parts.
We’ve prepared by ordering some additional products and worked with Panasonic to find out how support going forward will work.
With all of these changes, we are happy to announce that we are also becoming an Avaya office phone system dealer. As we advance, it will be Avaya phones that we sell to our customers. We’ll be providing both cloud-based and on-premise systems.
How Will This Impact You as a Customer?
First and foremost, we will support you during this period. Office Interiors has the expertise, the parts and the ability to obtain more parts over the next period. If you already have a phone system with us, you shouldn’t notice any changes in the short term.
When it’s time to replace your existing phone system, we will be providing Avaya systems rather than Panasonic. This includes Avaya Cloud and Avaya On-premise phone systems. We feel that Avaya has a strong offering that in many ways will integrate seamlessly into your office to create a productive environment.
We’ve also become a provider of Cloudli Communications SIP trunks.
While this transition will happen over 10 years, we still want to be prepared if that changes. If you are currently looking at buying a new Panasonic system, we will be offering you the chance to change your quote to an Avaya system.
Whom Should You Contact With Questions?
If you’re an existing Office Interiors customer with a Panasonic phone system, your best bet is to contact your Account Manager.
You can also feel free to give us a call at our nearest office, and we would be happy to connect you with the right person.
Emily Adams
Digital Content Specialist
Office Interiors
