“I tend to see everything as a pendulum, said Blair Pleasant, president and principal analyst of Com- mFusion, and co-founder of BC Strategies, independent market research firms specializing in unified communications. “Right now, everything is moving towards the cloud, but I think some companies like the sense of having more control. So some companies might continue to use [PBXs], but the on- prem systems have been on the way out for quite a while. I’m never going to say that 100% are going to cloud-based solutions. There will always be some companies who continue to use on-prem.” As the industry continues its shift toward the cloud, however, the ability to use on-prem equipment may become hampered by a shortage of options and available features. “If you’re buying spare parts for your current on-premises solution from eBay, it’s a good time to make a change because you’re already engineering risk into the business,” noted Eclipse Telecom’s Dave Dyson. “Similarly, if you’ve got one guy who’s been in charge of your telephony for 20 years, and he’s the only one who knows the ins-and-outs of your system, you have a business risk. You can stay with what you have right now, and you’re going to be fine – but only until something happens.” “If you’re buying spare parts for your current on-premises solution from eBay, it’s a good time to make a change...” Copyright © 2020 AVANT Communications, Inc. 15