You ever fall in love with a car you’ve gotten really comfortable with? You probably know that better models are out there with features you’ll really like, but it’s still hard to say goodbye. For many, Mitel MiOffice Business 250 is kind of like that. 

When its end of life was announced, you could almost hear users around the world say… 

Why, Mitel? Whyyyyy?

Perhaps there are some technology manufacturers out there that truly want to CTRL + ALT + DELETE human happiness. At Marco, we have strategic partnerships with many of the top technology manufacturers in the world, and from what we’ve seen, that’s never the case.

Rather, as technology keeps evolving, manufacturers need to adapt their offerings and allocate their time and resources to support those offerings. 

In the case of Mitel, more and more small to midsize businesses have been opting for cloud voice and UCaaS solutions, and Mitel correctly observed that this trend will only accelerate. They must adapt their offerings to what more clients need, and that means supporting MiOffice is no longer sustainable for them. 

Mitel MiVoice Office 250 End of Life Dates

You might have seen these dates before, but in case you need a reminder, here’s your timeline.

• January 31, 2022: No further sales of New MiVoice Office 250 systems.
• June 30th, 2022: No further sales of add-ons of 85xx digital phones, System cards, Expansion Bays and Optional Licenses.
• January 31st, 2023: No further scheduled software releases and patches.
• January 31st, 2024: No further sale of IP phone licenses and updates to MiVoice Office Application Suite.
• June 30th, 2026: Mitel will no longer offer technical support apart from their Software Assurance offering.

3 Options for Mitel MiVoice Office 250 Replacement

Upgrading your phone system might not be what you want to tackle in 2023, but it’s always better to think about these things when they’re not an emergency. I’ve narrowed down some options to make your research phase just a bit easier. 

Here are my top 3 picks: 

1. Mitel MiVoice Business 

Mitel MiVoice Office 250 was an excellent value for Small to Midsize Businesses (SMBs), but MiVoice Business is much better. Mitel promises a smooth transition for MiVoice Office 250 users, who will also benefit from more enterprise-level features and robust collaboration tools. There’s also more flexibility in deployment — for example, you can choose an on-premises or a public or private cloud solution. It’s a better all-around solution for hybrid or remote work models, and the Small Medium Business Controller (SMBC) can support up to 150 users. 

2. Voice as a Service (VaaS) 

If you just made a large investment and want to preserve some liquidity for 2023, Voice as a Service (VaaS) is an ideal solution for many SMBs. You’ll get the call quality you need, advanced features, security, portability, and scalability, all with no large upfront investment. Plus, the hard work’s done for you — your system will be managed and monitored 24/7.  

3. Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS)

VaaS is an excellent choice for enabling voice calling from anywhere. But if your staff is constantly toggling between video conferencing, chat, and other collaboration tools, they’re probably getting frustrated, your onboarding process is unnecessarily complicated, and your productivity will ultimately suffer. As the name implies, Unified Communications as a Service, or UCaaS for short, includes all the tools you need (including voice calling) in one tidy platform.

Pressing the Easy Button 

Of the phrases no one has ever said, “I’m so excited about replacing my business phone system,” is right up there. But the biggest hurdle is usually the research, and if you’ve worked with us at Marco, then you probably already know we take pride in making that part pretty darn easy. 

If you’d like to talk to one of our collaboration specialists, we’ll get to know your business and how your staff communicates, and then give you our very best recommendation. 

So go right ahead! Push that easy button…