Telephony of the offices of the future: more services, less costs

How the offices of the future will be is an issue that many companies are facing, mainly due to the countless trends that come with the digital transformation such as mobility (BYOD and CYOD) and telecommuting, artificial intelligence, cloud communications, collaborative work tools or Big Data. 

Nowadays, we are used to arriving at our place of work and find table phones that accompany us throughout our working day. But is possible a future in which offices do not have phones as we know them today? This day-to-day image can change a lot sooner than we think thanks to cloud telephony systems like virtual PBXs.

In fact, virtual PBXs are already changing the architecture of many offices in countries around the world. In Spain, for example, 91% of companies opt to implement such solutions, as indicated in the report “The Current Situation of PBXs Software” developed by SoftDoit. Thanks to them, in the near future, virtualization will be imposed and communications equipment in companies will be reduced to web applications (a control panel) from which the PBXs can be managed, and smartphone integrated webphone or softphone terminals or browsers of the devices that the professionals are using at any moment.

It is the evolution of the traditional communications based on expensive equipment and rigid commercial models, towards a communications-as-a-service model, based on the simplicity, flexibility and efficiency of the cloud.

Services, efficiency and cost reduction

Cloud telephony services such as virtual PBXs generate significant cost savings across multiple channels.

First, cloud applications do not require investments in telephone equipment or terminals, or software licenses. They are simply hired, activated and configured comfortably from an online interface. In addition, only the extensions that are used at any moment are paid, being able to add or remove new extensions in real time and with total freedom.

Second, there is no need for maintenance or repair costs, as cloud applications are never obsolete or spoiled. It is a service available 24/7 always updated to the latest version.

Finally, the simplicity in the online management of all the functionalities allows to save time of management, and to be freed of the necessity to hire specialized technicians.

Optimization of resources with virtual receptionists

The implantation of a virtual PBX also allows optimizing the resources, since one of its multiple advanced functionalities is the service of IVR (Interactive Voice Response), or what is the same, a virtual receptionist for the company.

The IVR streamlines the reception and management of calls, avoiding bottlenecks in incoming calls. For organizations, being able to logically distribute calls in their different departments without having a dedicated person and who can handle value-added tasks is of great value, not only in terms of efficiency, but also in savings costs.

Savings on mobility, terminals and international calls

Mobility of workers in business is now an unstoppable and inevitable reality. That is why it is important that they can always be connected to their extension wherever they are, at any time and without added costs. Either from your computer, laptop, tablet or mobile device.

Applications such as BizPhone or Webphone allow employees to connect to their extension of the company’s virtual PBX from the device they have the most at hand at any given time. These tools mean a great cost savings in calls, depending on the type of data connection contracted, using traditional telephony or IP telephony.

In the case of smartphones, workers can install a softphone like BizPhone to carry their corporate extension on their mobile. In the case of computers, laptops or tablets, employees can receive and issue calls from a browser thanks to WebRTC technology, via Webphone. Both solutions allow you to call anywhere on the planet using the PBX extension from any device, from anywhere, and taking advantage of the Internet connection. No roaming worries or international rates.

Offices with no desktops, virtual PBXs and cloud communications systems, with extensions embedded in the browsers of each mobile device, and flexible pay-per-use business models are not science fiction. The future of cloud communications is today, and thousands of companies around the world have already migrated to the savings, simplicity and flexibility of communications as a service.