Why Move Your Business Phone System To The Cloud

Nowadays, organizations are interconnected. Therefore, they need much more of their corporate communication solutions, in addition to telephone access capabilities. To meet these demands, companies increasingly adopt collaborative communication solutions that bring together all the essential elements of business communications, including voice, messaging, videoconferencing and contact center, into a single easy-to-use solution.

The ultimate goal is to allow mobile and distributed teams to communicate and collaborate in the way they choose, from any device and from anywhere. Only the cloud can meet these expectations.

The implantation of the telephony in the cloud supposes great benefits in terms of savings and flexibility for all types of companies, allowing them also to attend in a more efficient and effective way the calls of their clients.

Why Move Your Business Phone System To The Cloud

1. Minimize Capital Expenditures

A traditional telephone system usually has a considerable initial cost. These capital expenditures include servers, telephones, network updates and implementation costs. Moving the telephone system to the cloud is not so demanding in terms of budget. In the majority of the installations of the telephone system in the cloud, the only capital expense is the purchase of IP telephones.

2. Use The Equipment You Want

A telephone system in the cloud is a basic product or based on standards. That means you can use equipment from different providers.

3. Use The Resources Of The Company

The current communications configuration in most offices requires two separate lines: one for voice and another for data. Moving your telephone system to the cloud allows you to consolidate those lines into a single network. Voice transmission through your data line increases traffic through that connection and uses the full capacity better.

4. Simplify The Budget

Traditional telephone systems have unpredictable costs. Costs change to adapt to organizational changes, usage patterns and obsolete or old components. A telephone system in the cloud allows to accurately predicting telecommunications expenses. Other variable costs do not come into play either, such as software updates, licensing and hardware maintenance.

5. Enjoy Transparent Prices

Most systems in the facilities charge for each feature. That’s because, in many cases, the features are not native to that system. To support the most recent features, you must modify your existing solution with hardware, software or additional licensing costs. With a telephone system in the cloud, all functions are integrated natively into the system. The main providers of cloud services can offer all the voice functions at a single and transparent price, without add-ons per function or hidden charges.

6. Eliminate The Risk Of Obsolescence

With a solution in the cloud, the responsibility to keep the infrastructure updated changes from the client to the service provider. Software updates are also under the provider’s responsibility, allowing you to enjoy up-to-date technology without spending budget and resources to maintain it.

7. Provide Greater System Reliability

A telephone system in the cloud hosts your service in secure data centers. When a data center service is interrupted, your provider can easily redirect calls through other data centers. Therefore, your voice service continues without interruption.

8. Access Options With Many Functions

In the cloud, you can access a wide range of business voice features. Leading providers offer unlimited features, such as voice mailboxes, automated operators (IVRs), dial plans, conference bridges and more, without any additional charge to your basic monthly price.

9. Facilitate The Remote Work

A business telephone system in the cloud eliminates technological limits. Because these systems are based on the cloud, they can route phone traffic to any device with an Internet connection. It’s as easy to route calls to your worker’s central office as to your office phone. In addition, voice features and functions associated with the office can be used remotely, including voicemail and call transfers to other business extensions.

10. Improve Employee Mobility Options

By moving your company’s telephone system to the cloud, mobility becomes an option for all employees, not just remote workers. Employees increasingly use their personal devices for commercial tasks, a trend called BYOD (“Bring Your Own Device”). With mobile applications, workers can control functions, permissions and voice mail using their personal mobile device.

11. Receive Automatic Updates Without Problems

A telephone system in the cloud transfers the responsibility of making the updates to the provider. And because voice service is software-based, it’s easier to implement new updates and features at a faster pace.

12. Implement The System With Ease

The implementation of a telephone system in the cloud is relatively simple compared to a local installation. Cloud-based systems require very few physical components and are often implemented in a matter of days. The implementation can be carried out once or incrementally depending on your needs. And once the system is in place, it is simple to add new users and offices.

13. Trust In The Best Security Practices

Suppliers of cloud telephone systems are free to specialize in cloud security, providing best practices such as encryption, security protocols and active supervision of the service.

14. Consolidate Your Communications In A Single Service

Most cloud services are part of a general set of Unified Communications (UC). In general, a set of UC will include voice, video, mobility, SMS or fax, among others, all under one roof. It’s easy to simplify and reduce costs when you receive all channels from a supplier on a single invoice. Consolidation also leads to better and more consistent communications with coworkers and clients by allowing them to use their preferred channels.

15. Integrate Telephony With Your Applications And Devices

A solution in the cloud offers functionality in the call center without the expenses and operational requirements of a call center. This functionality includes integrations designed to improve customer interaction and simplify the operations of the supervisor. Because cloud telephony systems are software-based, they are easier to integrate with leading customer relationship management (CRM) platforms such as Salesforce.

When a customer calls, integration can retrieve that customer’s account information on a screen. That way, your employees can refer to the key information in the account and better serve the caller. The information of the call can be collected and saved as well. This helps you to keep up with the preferences and decisions of the customers, thus improving future interactions with that client.

16. Use Multiple Locations

A telephone system in the cloud allows all your locations to connect to the same virtual service through the Internet. This allows the extension of calls, even between offices in different geographical locations. In addition, with a telephone system in the cloud, you can centrally manage all your communications, regardless of your location, through a single browser-based portal.

17. Control The System Of Your Phone Without Physically Being In The Office

Telephone systems in the cloud do not require physical presence in the office to change the system configuration. If you are not in the office, but you have to make an emergency change in the telephone system, you can do so through the online administrator portal. And it’s so simple that you can do it without the help of a technician or a third-party provider.

In conclusion, the cloud is the new standard for companies of all sizes. By the end of 2018, according to Jive, IT departments will maintain less than half of their platforms (40%) on the site, and the rest will reside in the cloud.