Migrating from Skype for Business to Teams Calling is on the to-do list of many universities. The University of the Sunshine Coast (UniSC) has completed this transition and is ready for the next stage of its digital transformation journey.
To support the growth of its campuses across South-East Queensland, UniSC upgraded its communication infrastructure from legacy ISDN phone lines and on‑premises Session Border Controllers (SBCs) to cloud‑based telephony, migrating from on‑premises Skype for Business to Microsoft Teams Phone (Teams Calling).
Rapid Circle supported UniSC across infrastructure, software and change management. The project was completed in June 2023, delivering positive end‑user impact and significant cost savings. Every staff member now has Teams Phone capabilities, enabling the University to pursue further digital transformation with Microsoft 365.
Andrei Clewett, Associate CIO, UniSC
“Rapid Circle not only helped us manage the risk during a critical transformation, but they also helped us keep an eye on our broader technology strategy and the vision and ensuring that we were thinking about how Microsoft Teams would fit into our digital workplace.”
University of the Sunshine Coast (UniSC)
Higher education
Legacy communication infrastructure based on ISDN phone lines, on‑premises Session Border Controllers and Skype for Business, creating risk and limiting future readiness
Migration from Skype for Business to Microsoft Teams Phone using cloud‑based telephony and Azure‑hosted infrastructure
Modern, cloud‑based communication platform with improved reliability, simplified management and cost savings
Communication is paramount for any organisation, especially for one as geographically dispersed as UniSC. The University’s communication journey began with traditional on‑premises telephony through a PABX platform. Once this reached end of life, UniSC transitioned to Skype for Business, supported by infrastructure deployed and managed in‑house in the University’s data centres.
UniSC’s communication infrastructure relied on multiple legacy systems, including outdated ISDN trunks, on‑premises Session Border Controllers and Skype for Business server infrastructure that was approaching end of support. This introduced significant risk to core communications across the University and could potentially disrupt both Academic and Professional staff.
“We were using legacy connectivity technology to bridge into the Skype for Business environment and high speed E2 connections and session border controllers which were doing the translation.”
— Andrei Clewett, Associate CIO, UniSC
The ICT department aimed to empower staff to focus on research and teaching rather than be constrained by outdated technology. Following investment in Microsoft E5 licensing, UniSC wanted to fully utilise Microsoft Teams and Teams Phone, replacing Skype for Business for all communications. In addition, the University planned to decommission its existing telephone provider and move services to the cloud, requiring careful planning and execution.
This highly technical project also required significant people change management, as staff and IT teams needed to learn a new platform after years of using Skype for Business.
“We’re invested in Microsoft. We’re looking to provide a toolset to the staff and students that’s very comprehensive and the voice product is included in that. So, it was a natural progression to be able to use that advanced licensing and move to the voice platform in the cloud.”
Starting in December 2022, UniSC and Rapid Circle adopted a staged and agile approach to migrate from the legacy telephony environment — including ISDN lines, 2,800 direct‑in‑dial numbers and on‑premises SBCs — to Microsoft Teams Phone.
The solution included deploying Azure‑hosted SBCs to support the migration, cloud‑hosted SIP trunks for PSTN connectivity and bespoke SIP configurations required in a university environment.
“The initial engagement that we had with Rapid Circle at the outset was seminal given all the different moving components that we had to migrate… We then decommissioned those on‑Prem systems one by one, eventually leading to a nice clean state.”
— Brett Ferguson, Tech Lead, UniSC
The next phase involved decommissioning Skype for Business and migrating 3,500 staff and devices to Microsoft Teams Phone. This was carried out in stages, including a white‑glove approach for Executives and their Executive Assistants. The final migration was completed in early July 2023, when 1,500 employees and over 1,000 phones were transferred to Teams Phone.
“Due to the strategic design of the migration process, we were able to minimise the impact on end‑users…”
— Andrew Fix, Global Solutions Director, Rapid Circle
Rapid Circle supported UniSC with comprehensive change management, including train‑the‑trainer workshops and internal communications through the University’s intranet.
“Rapid Circle helped in running workshops… helped us train the trainer, train the executive and undertake change.”
The implementation of Teams Phone delivered strong results. Strategic architecture and a phased migration approach minimised end‑user impact and reduced disruption. Simplified infrastructure resulted in lower support requirements.
Every staff member now has Teams Phone capabilities, and UniSC achieved significant cost savings by discontinuing its telephone provider. Decommissioning on‑premises servers enabled a full transition to the cloud.
User adoption exceeded expectations.
“The user adoption has been exceptionally good. Lightyears ahead of what we had with Skype for Business.”
— Neil Harrison, Project Manager, Microsoft Teams for Staff, UniSC
UniSC is now extending Microsoft Teams across collaboration, intranet and information management, and transitioning meeting rooms and teaching spaces from Zoom to Microsoft Teams.
Get in touch to explore how a staged, cloud‑based approach can support your organisation’s digital transformation.
To replace end‑of‑life communication infrastructure and enable a cloud‑based, future‑ready telephony platform.
Approximately 3,500 staff members and their associated devices.
Through a staged migration approach and targeted support for key stakeholders.
A modern cloud telephony platform, reduced infrastructure complexity, cost savings and strong user adoption.
