Networking
SWITCHING OVER, POWERING AHEAD
As the all-IP switch-over looms, Gavin Jones, Director of Wholesale Partners at BT Wholesale, explains how the channel can navigate the switch off with confidence, and seize the opportunities waiting on the other side.
T
Gavin Jones, Director of Wholesale Partners at BT Wholesale
he UK channel is operating in a period of change. Te all-IP switch-over remains the most visible driver, with the January 2027
deadline continuing to shape customer behaviour. But it sits alongside broader economic pressures: increased competition, changing buying patterns and growing expectations around automation, AI and service quality. For partners, this combination is stretching
technology capability as much as capacity. Customers know they must evolve to meet future demands, but are still unsure what that should look like, how far it should reach across their IT estate, or what risk sits beneath the surface. In that environment, the role partners play – and the support they receive from vendors – feels more important than ever. Upskilling is central to that response, not
as a one-off exercise, but as a way of helping partners navigate complexity and make informed commercial decisions fast.
Migration remains the immediate test All-IP migration remains the most pressing challenge for many partners and their customers. By January 2027, organisations still relying on PSTN, ISDN, ADSL and related analogue services will need to transition to digital alternatives. Progress has been made, but what remains is
oſten the more complicated end of the market. Many of these estates have deeper operational dependencies and less tolerance for disruption,
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particularly where legacy lines still support services such as alarms, payment terminals or access systems. Tis places a premium on discovery skills.
Mapping estates accurately, identifying hidden dependencies and understanding how a change in connectivity could affect the wider environment are now essential capabilities. For partners, this is where migration stops being a technical exercise and becomes a consultative one. Effective upskilling helps partners ask better
questions, understand where risk might sit and plan transitions in a more structured way. Migration workshops, estate reviews and focused technical sessions all play a role in helping teams approach complex migrations with greater discipline and consistency.
Migration is only the starting point While the switch-over creates urgency, it is far from being the end of the conversation. Over the next five years, cloud voice, collaboration adoption and demand for cyber security are expected to continue growing across the UK, creating a broader opportunity for partners who can support customers beyond the immediate transition. By 2030, connectivity investments could unlock £179bn in additional economic value (2025–2030) and support 243,000 jobs each year. Tis requires a different set of skills. Moving
a customer off legacy infrastructure solves a compliance issue. Helping them think about
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