Zebra Workforce Connect ends Oct 1, now what?

45 seconds from our team to yours on what's actually happening, and where most of your peers are landing.

Need more than 45 seconds? Schedule a 30-minute call with a Zello expert to discuss the same playbook Sam's Club, Marriott, and thousands of others have used.

Talk to an expert

A sunset is supposed to be peaceful.

Zebra's transition to Workcloud Sync asks for 120 days. 23 checkpoints. 9 internal teams. A SIP trunk standup, an MDM redeploy, and new training material at every tier. 

All that to get back what your frontline already has. That's not a transition. That's a project, and the cost isn’t just hours or money. It’s the momentum your frontlines loses while you’re rebuilding what they already have.

Same outcome. A quarter of the work.

Both timelines below come from the source documents. Zebra's pulls from the Workcloud Sync Transition Guide. Ours is the standard plan we've run for Sam's Club, Marriott, and hundreds of other enterprise rollouts. Hover over any points for more context.

Zebra Workforce Connect migration 23 checkpoints · 120 days · 9 internal teams
Hover any milestone for what it takes Tap any step to expand
T-120Contract renewal. Decision-makers finalize contract terms with Zebra to begin the migration window.
T-113Project kickoff. PM convenes IT, training, ops, comms, field leadership, HR, payroll.
T-108Profile alignment (1). System Admin compares old + new profiles, identifies gaps.
T-108Profile alignment (2). Second sync. Escalate unresolved gaps.
T-99Stakeholder review. Decision-makers sign off on the alignment plan.
T-90Comms drafting (1). HR + Comms begin internal change-management messaging.
T-90Network review. IT audits bandwidth, Wi-Fi coverage, SIP trunk capacity.
T-85Training plan (1). Training team builds new admin curriculum.
T-85Training plan (2). Training team builds new end-user curriculum.
T-78Field leadership brief. Regional managers prepped on rollout cadence.
T-71Pilot site selection. Operations chooses 2-3 sites for staged rollout.
T-64SIP trunk standup. IT provisions new voice infrastructure.
T-60Mid-program review. All teams sync; decision-makers review timeline risk.
T-53Comms drafting (2). Final-mile employee messaging finalized.
T-46Admin training. System Admin training delivered.
T-39End-user training (1). Pilot-site associates trained.
T-39End-user training (2). Train-the-trainer for remaining sites.
T-28Pilot go-live. Pilot sites cut over.
T-14Final readiness check. All teams confirm cutover readiness.
T-0Switch over. Full enterprise cutover.
T+7Feedback loop. Operations + Comms collect first-week issues.
T+14Ongoing training. HR + Training run remediation cohorts.
T-120 T-90 T-60 T-30 T-0
T-120 Kickoff and alignment

Pre-T-90: Lock the contract, convene 9 internal teams, reconcile old vs new device profiles, secure decision-maker sign-off.

  • T-120Contract renewal
  • T-113Project kickoff
  • T-108Profile alignment, sync 1
  • T-108Profile alignment, sync 2
  • T-99Stakeholder review
T-90 Plan and prepare

Pre-T-60: Draft change-management comms, audit bandwidth and SIP capacity, build admin and end-user training, brief field leadership, pick pilot sites.

  • T-90Comms drafting (1 of 2)
  • T-90Network review
  • T-85Training plan, admin curriculum
  • T-85Training plan, end-user curriculum
  • T-78Field leadership brief
  • T-71Pilot site selection
T-60 Build and train

Pre-T-30: Stand up SIP trunks, run mid-program review, finalize final-mile messaging, deliver admin training, run pilot end-user training.

  • T-64SIP trunk standup
  • T-60Mid-program review
  • T-53Comms drafting (2 of 2)
  • T-46Admin training delivered
  • T-39End-user training, pilot sites
  • T-39Train-the-trainer for remaining sites
T-30 Pilot and cutover

Pre-T-0: Cut over pilot sites, complete a final all-team readiness check, then full enterprise switch over.

  • T-28Pilot go-live
  • T-14Final readiness check
  • T-0Enterprise switch over
T+0 Post-cutover stabilization

Operations and Comms collect first-week issues. HR and Training run remediation cohorts before the program closes.

  • T+7Feedback loop
  • T+14Ongoing training
Zello Implementation 4 phases · 28 days · 1 dedicated sales engineer
Hover any week for what's included Tap any week to expand
Week 1
Readiness
Week 1 · Readiness Kickoff with your dedicated sales engineer. Confirm network parameters, audit devices, lock the rollout plan. We bring the project office.
Week 2
Activation
Week 2 · Activation Workspace provisioned. SCIM sync to your IDP. Channels structured to your real org. App pushes through your existing MDM. First users go live.
Week 3
Training
Week 3 · Training Train-the-trainer for your supervisors. Co-branded end-user collateral. We sit in your training sessions, not just write the deck.
Week 4
Optimization
Week 4 · Optimization Go-live. Then four weeks of standing office hours with your SE and CSM. Hand off to a named Customer Success owner who stays with you.
Day 1 Day 14 Day 28
Week 1 Readiness

Kickoff with your dedicated sales engineer. Confirm network parameters, audit devices, lock the rollout plan. We bring the project office.

Week 2 Activation

Workspace provisioned. SCIM sync to your IDP. Channels structured to your real org. App pushes through your existing MDM. First users go live.

Week 3 Training

Train-the-trainer for your supervisors. Co-branded end-user collateral. We sit in your training sessions, not just write the deck.

Week 4 Optimization

Go-live. Then four weeks of standing office hours with your SE and CSM. Hand off to a named Customer Success owner who stays with you.

How they stack up, capability by capability.

Every row below is verifiable. Click any category to expand.

Capability Zebra Workcloud Sync Zello
After Oct 1, 2026 Migrate to Workcloud Sync. Different product. Zebra Android only. Same Zello. No announced sunset.

What real users say on G2

G2 rating

Zebra Workcloud Communication 3.5★
Zello 4.4★

Verified reviews

Zebra Workcloud Communication 1
Zello 98

G2 category recognition

Zebra Workcloud Communication Not categorized
Zello Leader · Easiest to Use · Top Trending

Source: G2 head-to-head comparison · data as of April 2026

Don't just take it from us

Amrize
Sam's Club
Ryanair
PepsiCo
Marriott
Read their stories

Zello isn't a replacement. It's an upgrade.

Beyond PTT, Zello is the communication layer your frontline was missing.

Less recap. More Action

Auto-summaries, real-time translation in 50+ languages, and instant answers to key supervisor questions.

All comms. On record.

Voice, text, alerts, and location in one searchable system, with optional anonymization. Find what matters, verify what happened.

Clear comms, every zone.

Sub-second voice on any network. If a worker loses signal, messages queue and send automatically the moment they reconnect.

No rip. No replace.

Zello runs on your Zebra Android devices. Keep your hardware, your MDM, your deployment. Just add what WFC never had.

The four questions we hear right away. Asked and answered.

Does Zello really work alongside our PBX?

Yes, Zello detects an active phone call and pauses. When the call ends, Zello resumes. Push-to-talk and voice in one platform, on one device.

We're already a Zebra shop. Can we keep our hardware?

Yes, Zello runs on Zebra devices the same way it runs on any smart device. You're not retiring what's in the field, you're giving it a longer life.

Will this scale to a multi-site enterprise?

Absolutely, we’ve done it with Sam’s Club, Marriott, Restoration Hardware, and PepsiCo, they’re all multi-site, and your rollout would get its own SE & strategy, same way theirs did.

We’re mid-evaluation with another vendor. Is it too late?

It's almost never too late. Bring whatever you have to the first meeting, RFP, vendor scorecard, screenshot of your spreadsheet, and we'll work backwards from your decision date.

October 1, 2026 is closer than it looks.

30 minutes. Just your questions and a Zello expert.

Talk to an expert