Key takeaways
- Cross River Tech handles computers, the office network and business phones for Dallas businesses; I work with Cleod 9 Voice for cloud phone systems.
- Modern business phones are VoIP: they run over your internet and network, which is why the person who manages the network should also manage the phones.
- Porting your existing number to a new system is routine, needs a signed authorization and a recent bill, and typically takes a couple of weeks during which the old line keeps working.
- Microsoft Teams can also serve as a phone system for businesses already on Microsoft 365, and I will tell you honestly when that fits and when a dedicated system is better.
- The payoff of one vendor is simple: when a call drops, there is one number to call, and the person who answers can see the phone, the switch and the firewall at the same time.
Which Dallas IT company can handle both computers and phones?
I can. I am Anthony Omini, owner of Cross River Tech, a small, owner-led managed IT company in Dallas, and the person you deal with directly. I look after computers, servers, the office network, Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, printers, and business phones for small businesses across the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. For phones I work with Cleod 9 Voice, a cloud phone provider whose systems I set up, port numbers to, and support day to day alongside everything else in your office.
The reason business owners ask this question is almost always the same story. The phone company says the problem is the network. The IT company says the problem is the phones. The internet provider says everything looks fine on their end. Meanwhile the front desk cannot hear callers and nobody owns the fix. When one company, with me as the person responsible, owns the phone, the switch it plugs into, the firewall the calls pass through and the internet line behind it, that story ends. There is one number to call, and the person who answers can see the whole path.
This article explains how a cloud phone system works, what I actually do to set one up, how porting your number goes, where Microsoft Teams fits, and what the network needs so calls sound right. The phone side is part of managed IT for my clients; it can also be a one-time project for a new office or a move.
Why do phones and computers from separate vendors go wrong?
Because they are not separate anymore. A modern business phone is a small computer on your network. It gets power from the switch, an address from the router, its configuration from a server on the internet, and its audio travels through your firewall and your internet line as data. Every one of those pieces is something an IT company already manages. When a phone vendor sells the phones and a different IT company runs the network, the boundary between them runs right through the middle of every call.
Here is what that looks like in a Dallas office:
- Choppy audio on some calls. Usually the firewall or switch is not prioritizing voice traffic, or the internet upload is saturated by a backup or a big file sync. The phone vendor cannot see either.
- Phones that reboot or drop offline. Often a switch without enough Power over Ethernet budget, or a network change nobody told the phone vendor about.
- A new employee with a computer but no extension, or an extension but no computer, because two vendors each needed a separate request.
- A move or a new suite where the phones arrive before the cabling is tested, and the first day is spent on hold with three companies.
- Security gaps, such as phone web interfaces with default passwords sitting on the same network as your client files.
Each of these is easy when the same company owns the whole stack and I can look at the phone's status, the switch port and the firewall log in the same minute. Each is a multi-day argument when three companies are involved.
What is a cloud (VoIP) business phone system?
VoIP stands for voice over internet protocol. In plain terms, your calls travel over your internet connection instead of over a dedicated phone line, and the "phone system" (the part that answers the main number, plays the menu, rings the right people and takes voicemail) lives in the provider's cloud instead of in a box in your closet. Cleod 9 Voice is the provider I work with for this.
What you get with a cloud phone system, in general terms:
- Desk phones, softphones, or both. A physical phone on the desk, an app on the computer with a headset, and an app on the mobile phone, all ringing the same extension. Staff who work from home have their office extension at the kitchen table.
- A main number with an auto-attendant. "Press 1 for scheduling, 2 for billing," with ring groups so the front desk phones ring together and calls roll to the back office when nobody picks up.
- Voicemail to email, call recording where appropriate, business-hours rules, holiday greetings, and a hold message that is not a dial tone.
- Texting from the business number, which dental and medical practices in particular use for appointment reminders.
- Multiple locations on one system, so a second office in Plano transfers calls to Dallas by extension.
Pricing for the phone service itself is set by the provider, usually per user or per line per month, and I quote it with the rest of your setup. My part is the design, the setup, the network and the ongoing support. The phone system and IT support for a dental clinic article walks through a specific example of the call flow a practice needs.
How does porting your existing phone number work?
Your business number belongs to you, not to your current carrier, and moving it to a new system is a routine process called porting. It is the part of a phone change that worries people most, and it is the part that goes smoothly when it is prepared properly. Here is the sequence.
- Gather the details. A recent bill from the current carrier, the exact business name and service address on the account, and the account number. The new carrier's port request must match these exactly, and a mismatch is the number-one cause of a rejected port.
- Sign a letter of authorization. This is the form that tells the old carrier you have authorized the move.
- Submit the port and wait. The old and new carriers agree a date. In general terms this takes a couple of weeks for ordinary business numbers; some carriers and some number types take longer. Your old service keeps working the whole time.
- Build the new system in parallel. While the port is pending, I set up the extensions, auto-attendant, ring groups and voicemail on temporary numbers and test everything.
- Port day. The number switches over, usually during business hours in a matter of minutes. I am on hand to confirm inbound calls arrive and outbound caller ID shows your number.
- Cancel the old service afterward, never before. Cancelling the old account before the port completes can release the number, and getting it back is painful.
Fax numbers, toll-free numbers and lines bundled with an alarm system or elevator need special handling, and I check for them before submitting anything. If you are opening a new office and need a new number, that skips the port entirely and is live the same day. The rest of that process is in starting a business in Dallas: the IT checklist.
Should you use Microsoft Teams as your phone system?
If your business already lives in Microsoft 365, you have probably noticed that Teams can make and receive ordinary phone calls with the right add-on licensing. It is a real option, and I will tell you honestly when it fits and when it does not.
| Teams calling | Dedicated cloud phone system (Cleod 9 Voice) | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Offices where everyone already works in Teams all day, mostly on laptops with headsets | Front desks, clinics, law firms and agencies with desk phones, call flows and reception duties |
| Desk phones | Possible, with Teams-compatible handsets; fewer choices | Wide choice, including cordless and conference phones |
| Auto-attendant and call queues | Available, configured inside Microsoft 365 | Available, typically easier to build and change |
| Fax, paging, door phones, analog devices | Awkward | Straightforward |
| Licensing | Add-on per user on top of Microsoft 365 | Per user or per line from the phone provider |
| Who supports it | Me, as part of Microsoft 365 administration | Me, with the provider behind it |
My general guidance: a consulting firm or a design studio where nobody sits at a front desk and everyone uses a headset can be very happy on Teams calling, and it keeps everything under one Microsoft bill. A dental practice, a law office with a receptionist, or an insurance agency that lives on the phone is better served by a dedicated system with proper desk phones and call handling. Either way it runs on the same accounts and network I already manage, described on the Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace page.
What does the network need for phones to sound right?
A cloud phone system is only as good as the network it runs on, which is the practical reason the same company should own both. Here is what I check and set up before the first phone is plugged in.
- Internet with enough upload. Each call uses a small amount of bandwidth, but it must be steady in both directions. Cable internet with fast download and slow upload is the most common cause of one-way audio complaints in Dallas offices. Fiber or a plan with adequate upload solves it.
- A firewall that prioritizes voice. Quality of service (QoS) rules make sure a phone call is not waiting behind a cloud backup or someone's video download. Consumer routers cannot do this reliably.
- A switch with Power over Ethernet. Desk phones draw power through the network cable, so the switch needs enough PoE budget for every phone and every wireless access point. Running out of budget is why phones reboot at random.
- A separate network segment for phones, so a problem on a computer does not affect the phones, and phone traffic is easier to prioritize and secure.
- A wired drop at every phone location. Desk phones should not be on Wi-Fi. If the suite is being built out, this is part of the cabling plan; if it is finished, I test the existing jacks first. See the data cabling service for what a proper install involves.
- A backup internet path for any business that cannot lose its phones, such as a clinic or a firm with after-hours obligations. A cellular failover in the firewall keeps the phones ringing when the main line drops.
Most of this is equipment you need anyway for computers and cloud applications. Configuring it with phones in mind from the start costs nothing extra and prevents the most common complaints.
What does setting up phones and computers together look like?
Whether it is a new office, a move or a replacement of a tired phone system, the work runs like this when I handle both sides.
Design. I ask how calls actually flow: who answers the main line, what happens when they are busy, which people need a desk phone versus an app, whether you need texting, recording, or a separate line for a second location. I also list every computer, printer and network device, because they share the cabling, the switch and the firewall.
Order and stage. Phones, computers and network equipment arrive at once. I configure the phones, set up the computers, and build the call flow on the provider's platform before anything goes on a desk. Numbers are ported or created in parallel.
Install. On a scheduled day, usually an evening or a weekend for a working office, the network goes live, phones and computers are placed and tested, and every extension gets a test call inbound and outbound. Staff get a short walk-through: transfer, hold, voicemail, the mobile app, and where to reach me.
Support afterward. New hire? One message to me creates the email account, sets up the computer and adds the extension. Someone leaves? Same message, same day, all three closed. Call quality drops? I look at the phone, the switch port and the firewall together and fix the cause instead of forwarding a ticket.
For managed clients this is all inside the monthly fee, quoted per user or per device. As a standalone project it is hourly at my published rates plus the provider's per-user phone pricing. Either way, tell me how many people, how many phones and whether you are keeping your number, and I will send back a design and a quote.
Questions people ask
Can you support a phone system from a different VoIP provider?
Usually yes. Most cloud phone systems expose the same kinds of settings, and the network side is identical regardless of provider. I will support what you have, fix the network causes of poor call quality, and tell you honestly if the current provider is the problem. If it is, I can move you to Cleod 9 Voice and port your numbers with no change to what callers dial.
Will the business lose its phone number when switching systems?
No, provided it is done in the right order. Your number is ported from the old carrier to the new system using a signed authorization and a recent bill; the old service keeps working until the port completes, typically a couple of weeks. The one way to lose a number is to cancel the old account before the port finishes, which is why I handle the cancellation last.
Can employees answer the office phone from home?
Yes. A cloud phone system gives each person an app on their computer and on their mobile phone that rings with their office extension, so a receptionist in Garland or an agent in Houston answers the main Dallas number as if they were at their desk. Outbound calls show the business number, not their personal cell. This is one of the main reasons offices move off older phone systems.
Is Microsoft Teams good enough as a business phone system?
For an office where everyone already works in Teams with a headset and nobody sits at a front desk, Teams calling with the right add-on licensing is a sensible choice and keeps everything on one Microsoft bill. For a practice or firm with a receptionist, desk phones, call queues, fax or paging, a dedicated cloud phone system is easier to run and more flexible. I set up and support both.
Why do calls sound choppy when the internet seems fine?
Almost always one of four things: the internet upload is too slow or saturated by backups and file syncing, the firewall is not prioritizing voice traffic, the switch does not have enough Power over Ethernet budget so phones reset, or phones are on Wi-Fi instead of a wired drop. Because I manage the network as well as the phones, I can check all four in one visit and fix the actual cause.
Sources and further reading
Market price ranges in this article are my own observation of quotes in the Dallas market, not a published survey. Where I state a rule or a standard, the source is linked above.
