Mitel is a Canadian telecommunications company that has supplied business phone systems since 1972. Once a major player in cloud UCaaS, Mitel sold its cloud business to RingCentral in 2021-2024 and now focuses on hybrid and on-premise phone systems for mid-market and enterprise customers.
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If you are a UK business considering Mitel, the landscape has changed significantly. This review covers what Mitel offers in 2026, the RingCentral transition, what happened to MiCloud, and whether Mitel’s remaining products are worth considering alongside fully cloud alternatives like RingCentral, Dialpad, and bOnline.
- Mitel sold its UCaaS business to RingCentral in 2022 - now focusing on on-premise systems rather than cloud solutions
- Legacy on-premise systems cost 50-70% more to maintain - compared to modern cloud-first alternatives over 5 years
- Best for businesses with existing Mitel investments over £100,000 - where migration costs outweigh cloud benefits short-term
- RingCentral and Microsoft Teams capture 60% market share - leaving Mitel’s cloud presence significantly diminished since acquisition
What Happened to Mitel?
Mitel sold its cloud UCaaS business to RingCentral for $650 million in IP and patents (2021), then sold remaining cloud assets in 2024. Mitel now focuses exclusively on hybrid and on-premise phone systems.
The timeline of Mitel’s transformation:
- 2021 – Mitel sold intellectual property and patents to RingCentral for $650 million. RingCentral became Mitel’s exclusive cloud UCaaS partner, migrating MiCloud customers to the RingCentral platform
- 2022 – Mitel underwent financial restructuring under its private equity owners (Searchlight Capital)
- 2024 – Mitel sold the remainder of its cloud business to RingCentral and ended the exclusive partnership. Secured approximately $30 million in additional liquidity
- 2025 – Mitel announced a new partnership with Zoom, offering Zoom Workplace and Zoom AI Companion alongside Mitel’s on-premise platform for a hybrid approach
If you were previously a MiCloud customer, your service has been migrated (or is being migrated) to RingCentral. New UK businesses looking for cloud phone systems should go directly to RingCentral rather than through Mitel.
Mitel Products in 2026
Mitel now sells two main product lines: MiVoice Business (on-premise PBX for mid-market) and MiVoice MX-ONE (large enterprise platform). Both focus on hybrid deployments combining on-site hardware with select cloud features.
| Product | Type | Target Market | Key Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| MiVoice Business | On-premise / hybrid PBX | Mid-market (50-2,000 users) | UC, contact centre, mobility, SIP trunking, Zoom integration |
| MiVoice MX-ONE | Enterprise on-premise PBX | Large enterprise (2,000+ users) | Multi-site, hospitality features, high availability |
| MiVoice Office 400 | SME on-premise PBX | Small business (10-150 users) | Basic UC, voicemail, auto-attendant |
| Mitel IP Phones | Desk phones | All Mitel platform users | 6900 series (SIP), conference phones, DECT handsets |
Mitel no longer offers a standalone cloud phone system. If you want cloud capabilities, Mitel’s current strategy pairs its on-premise platforms with Zoom’s cloud services through their 2025 partnership.
Best Mitel Phones: 6900 Series Comparison
Mitel’s current desk phone line is the 6900 series – SIP phones designed to work with MiVoice Business, MiVoice MX-ONE, and most third-party SIP-compatible platforms. The four current models scale from a basic agent phone to an executive touchscreen unit. There is no separate “Mitel digital phones” line in 2026; the older proprietary digital handsets have been phased out, and even on-premise MiVoice Business deployments now ship with 6900-series SIP phones connected via the IP network.
| Model | Display | Programmable Keys | Best For | Notable Features |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mitel 6920 | 3.5-inch colour LCD | 18 | Office workers, agents, basic business users | Dual GigE, USB and analogue headset support, mobile device integration via USB dongle |
| Mitel 6930 | 4.3-inch colour LCD | 72 (with key expansion) | Power users, sales, multi-line workers | Bluetooth 4.1 with MobileLink, mobile phone USB charging, optional expansion modules |
| Mitel 6940 | 7-inch colour touchscreen | 96 | Executives, supervisors, busy reception | Bluetooth 4.1, MobileLink integration, enhanced full-duplex speakerphone |
| Mitel 6970 | 7-inch colour touchscreen | n/a (conference unit) | Conference rooms, board rooms | 360-degree microphone pickup, room-grade audio |
The default UK deployment for most 6900-series rollouts is the 6920 for general office workers and the 6930 for sales, supervisors, or anyone needing busy-lamp-field keys. The 6940’s touchscreen and Bluetooth MobileLink make it a sensible upgrade for executive desks. The 6970 is purpose-built for shared spaces and shouldn’t be deployed on individual desks.
For UK pricing, expect £150-£250 for the 6920, £250-£400 for the 6930, £400-£600 for the 6940, and £550-£800 for the 6970 conference unit. All prices + VAT.
Mitel Hosted / Cloud Options in 2026
The Mitel cloud story has changed materially in the past two years and it’s worth being clear about what’s actually available to UK customers. MiCloud Connect (Mitel’s cloud-first UCaaS) is no longer sold to new UK customers – it was repositioned through a strategic partnership where RingCentral became the recommended cloud-first replacement for new MiCloud-Connect-style deployments. Existing MiCloud Connect customers continue to receive support but the product is in run-off mode for new sales.
What Mitel does still actively sell into the UK in 2026:
- MiVoice Business – the primary active platform for 10-1,000 user UK deployments. Available on-premise, private cloud, or hybrid. The new-customer default.
- MiVoice MX-ONE – enterprise on-premise PBX for 2,000+ user deployments. Multi-site, hospitality, high-availability scenarios.
- Mitel CX – contact-centre platform (formerly MiContact Center Business / Enterprise lines, now consolidated under the Mitel CX brand).
- OpenScape – inherited from the Unify acquisition; still sold to enterprise and public-sector customers in the UK.
If you’re specifically looking for a fully cloud-first UCaaS Mitel product comparable to RingCentral or Vonage, that product no longer exists for new UK buyers. The honest direction in 2026 is either: deploy Mitel on-premise / hybrid with MiVoice Business, or move to a true cloud platform from a different vendor. For cloud-first alternatives, our best UK VoIP providers guide covers the modern options.
Mitel for Hotels and Hospitality
Hospitality is one of the few verticals where Mitel maintains a strong purpose-built proposition. Mitel Hospitality (running on MiVoice Business or MiVoice MX-ONE) integrates with major property-management systems (PMS) including Opera, Mews, Protel, Infor HMS, and around 100 others. The features hotels actually need – guest check-in / check-out triggers, room-status changes, voicemail-by-room-number, wake-up calls, minibar charging, do-not-disturb routing – are all handled natively rather than bolted on.
This is the main UK use case where buying Mitel in 2026 still makes sense over a cloud-first competitor: most modern UCaaS providers (RingCentral, Vonage, 8×8) don’t have direct PMS integration depth at the level UK hotels need, and bolt-on workarounds add friction at the front desk. Cruise-line operators, large multi-site hotel groups, and serviced-apartment operators are still the most common Mitel buyers in this segment.
For a 50-room independent hotel, Mitel hospitality is overkill – a cloud system with manual check-in routing usually suffices. For 200+ rooms, multi-property, or any operation already running Opera or Mews PMS, Mitel hospitality is genuinely the right tool and the right pick.
UCaaS with Desk Phone + Mobile App: How Mitel Compares
A common UK question is whether Mitel offers the same desk-phone-plus-mobile-app dual-device experience as RingCentral, 8×8, and Vonage Business. The answer: yes, but with caveats. The 6930 and 6940 both pair to a mobile via Bluetooth MobileLink, and Mitel’s mobile app (MiCollab Mobile) extends voice and presence to iOS and Android.
| Provider | Desk Phone Support | Mobile App | Same Number on All Devices | UK New-Customer Cloud Plan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mitel | Yes – 6900 series SIP | MiCollab Mobile | Yes (via MobileLink + MiCollab) | No (on-premise / hybrid only for new buyers) |
| RingCentral | Yes – rented + bring-your-own | iOS + Android (full agent app) | Yes | Yes (true cloud-first) |
| 8×8 | Yes – Poly + Yealink certified | iOS + Android | Yes | Yes |
| Vonage Business | Yes – Polycom, Yealink, Cisco | iOS + Android | Yes | Yes |
The differentiator now isn’t desk-phone-vs-mobile capability – all four handle that competently. It’s deployment model. Mitel’s strongest play in 2026 is on-premise or hybrid for organisations with security, compliance, or data-residency reasons to keep telephony in-house. For a true cloud-first UCaaS purchase by a UK SME today, the case for Mitel is weaker than it was three years ago, and most new buyers should evaluate RingCentral, 8×8, or Vonage first.
Mitel vs Cloud-First Alternatives
For most UK SMEs, cloud-first providers like RingCentral, bOnline, and Dialpad offer more features at lower cost than Mitel’s on-premise systems. Mitel remains relevant for enterprises with hybrid deployment requirements.
| Factor | Mitel (On-Premise/Hybrid) | Cloud VoIP (RingCentral, etc.) |
|---|---|---|
| Upfront cost | £5,000-£50,000+ (hardware + licences) | £0 hardware |
| Monthly cost | Maintenance contract + SIP trunks | £7-£25 per user |
| Pricing transparency | Quote-based only – must contact reseller | Published pricing on website |
| Deployment | Weeks to months (engineer installation) | Same-day self-setup |
| Remote working | Possible but requires additional configuration | Built-in – works from any device, anywhere |
| AI features | Via Zoom partnership (additional cost) | Included: transcription, summaries, coaching |
| UK support | Via authorised resellers | Direct from provider |
| Best for | Enterprises needing on-site hardware control | Any business wanting simplicity and low cost |
Who Should Still Consider Mitel?
Mitel is worth considering if you are a mid-to-large enterprise with existing Mitel hardware, specific on-premise requirements, or regulated industries that mandate local call processing.
Mitel still makes sense in these specific scenarios:
- Existing Mitel customers – if you already own MiVoice hardware and it is working well, upgrading within the Mitel ecosystem may be simpler than a full platform migration
- Regulated environments – healthcare, government, and financial services organisations that require on-premise call processing for compliance reasons
- Sites with unreliable broadband – on-premise PBX provides consistent call quality regardless of internet performance
- Large multi-site enterprises – organisations with 500+ users across multiple locations where Mitel’s MX-ONE provides proven scalability
For everyone else – particularly UK SMEs under 200 employees – cloud VoIP providers offer more features, lower costs, faster deployment, and better remote working support.
Our Verdict on Mitel in 2026
Mitel review 2026: sold cloud UCaaS to RingCentral, now focuses on hybrid/on-premise PBX. MiVoice Business, Zoom partnership, pricing, and who should still consider Mitel.
Mitel is no longer a cloud phone system provider. UK SMEs should look at RingCentral (which now owns Mitel’s cloud technology) or other cloud-first alternatives. Mitel remains viable for enterprises with specific on-premise requirements.
Rating: 5/10. Mitel’s hardware is solid and its enterprise platform is proven, but the company’s strategic pivot away from cloud makes it increasingly niche. For UK businesses evaluating phone systems in 2026, the cloud providers that Mitel itself chose to partner with (RingCentral for UCaaS, Zoom for collaboration) are likely better options.
Compare cloud alternatives: RingCentral (from £12.99/user, now owns Mitel’s cloud tech), bOnline (from £7/user for small teams), Dialpad (from £12/user with AI), Vonage (from £10/user), GoTo Connect (international calling). See our full business phone systems comparison or UK VoIP providers guide.
