As we start to come to the close of 2020, we thought it would be fitting reminder for all Toshiba clients of the pending wind down with regards to Toshiba hardware and licensing support options and what that means for the Toshiba phone systems out there as well as clients with active DataComm Partnership Plans.
As a summary reminder, Mitel (another phone system manufacturer) purchased the entire branch of phone systems from the Toshiba brand. Mitel then released the following timelines for the “phase out” or “wind down” of the Toshiba product.
- End of new system sales was on October 31, 2018.
- End of add on sales (licensing, SUS i.e. software upgrades and anything else) was on October 31, 2019.
- The future date of importance is “end of life” is set for October 31, 2021.
The term “end of life” means the following things for Toshiba phone systems:
- DataComm cannot receive any technical support other than the knowledge we have between our certified Toshiba technicians on our staff.
- If a Toshiba phone system cabinet processor or voicemail becomes inoperable after the end of life date, there will be nothing DataComm technicians will be able to do to save your system. We (in the past) used to be able to do a license transfer, but with Mitel no longer offering technical support, if you have an emergency situation with the cabinet/voicemail, we will not have the resources we need to help you.
That would result in no other choice but to completely replace of your phone system at emergency labor rates, and new VOIP systems take time and precision to install. This would also mean, in many instances, you would not be able to receive calls from your main phone number other than emergency call forwarding your number from the provider to a cell phone.
This is why your sales representatives from DataComm have been actively discussing with you the wind down for the last few years. It’s given many of our nonprofits and small-to-medium sized businesses a chance to get quotes to financially plan for the future replacement of the Toshiba phone system so they have the time and wherewithal to plan accordingly.
This also means that as of October 2020 it will be the last full 12 months we can offer our Partnership Plan in its entirety. For those Toshiba clients or ours that are on the plan, please note any plans falling past the Oct. 31, 2021 range, will be seeing changes and alterations in coverage after that time.
The big items of note:
- GUARANTEED REPLACEMENT PARTS: DataComm Plus will maintain replacement parts in stock in the event of client equipment failure. Cost of replacement parts & labor charges for repair are covered for all equipment listed with DataComm Plus. (This does not extend to parts replacement due to misuse/abuse & theft nor parts & labor for on-site moves, additions or changes.) This is still warranted in terms of digital phones and some circuit cards, however, we cannot provide replacement parts or necessary license transfers for the process/cabinet or the voicemail systems.)
- GUARANTEED PRIORITY EMERGENCY SERVICE: In the event of multiple clients requiring “Emergency Service”, the client with PP coverage will receive priority over those clients without PP coverage. This is still warranted, however, we cannot provide labor coverage of issues that we confirm are specifically to do with a down processor or voicemail after Oct, 31, 2021. (This means that would be billed at our standard emergency labor rates would apply.)
Whether you are having issues with your Toshiba phone system today or not we would like to start the conversation about replacing your phone system with new hosted VOIP phone system to ensure a smooth transition.
For more information on a range of different VOIP solutions, email sales@datacommplus.com or call our sales team at 262.207.1100.
