Cloud / Collaboration / Hosted Comms / Hybrid Work / IT Infrastructure / Office / Products
Decades ago, people imagined a world where phones were wireless. Years later, people imagined talking to each other over the Internet. Now, it is reality! Today business calls are no longer restricted by physical landline phone lines. Calls can be made and received from anywhere. This is the power of Cloud Telephony. It is transforming the way businesses communicate both with their customers and how they collaborate internally. In this article, we delve into the world of cloud telephony. We will explore its features, benefits, and its potential to reshape the future of communications.
Understanding Cloud Telephony or Cloud Phone Systems
What is it?
The easiest way to understand cloud telephony is by thinking of it as a superhero for your business calls. Instead of old-fashioned telephone systems, cloud telephony uses the Internet for your calls. It is like having a fast, smart assistant that can connect and route your calls anywhere.
Cloud telephony empowers organisations as it integrates with other business tools, such as CRM systems or Microsoft 365 applications. This means that the business communications process is unified, collaboration enhanced, and the customer experience improved.
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How Cloud Telephony works?
Imagine you are talking to a friend on a video call. Your voice travels over the Internet as tiny data packets. Cloud telephony does the same thing. It takes your voice, turns it into data, and sends it over the Internet. When you call someone using cloud telephony, you can choose what kind of device you use. You can use your computer, mobile phone, or even a digital desk phone, or any combination of all three. This is why, wherever you go, you can take your phone service with you.
Cloud Telephony falls under the umbrella term of Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS). This means that the service is managed and hosted by providers, and users take out a subscription, providing them with flexibility and scalability. There are many providers that offer a range of services. We partner with reputable providers who provide reliable platforms, so that you can make the most of this technology.
Contact us today here! Let us help you find the best communications platform to transform your business.
Key Features of Cloud Telephony
There are many, but here are three that clients find make a positive impact on their business.
1. Virtual Phone Numbers. In the past you had a landline phone number that indicated where you were located. In London for example, your telephone number would start with 0207 and everyone recognised this. With a cloud phone system you can have virtual numbers that are not tied to where you physically are. You can choose numbers from all over the country. In this way you appear to have local offices in many locations. However calls are actually being routed and answered in the same place. This gives companies a much broader reach and wider geographical coverage.
2. Call Analytics and Reporting. Today, everything is about data. Call data and analysis is the key to managing call queues, your employees performance and to understanding your customers experience when they call you. Call analytics reports on many metrics. For many organisations, some of the most important metrics are their ‘time to answer’ and hold times. Understanding how a client call is answered is essential to improving and managing company performance and customer experience.
3. Call Recording and Storage: Enables you to record and save your phone calls. This can be useful for training, handling disagreements, and essential for compliance in some industries, such as financial services. Call recording ensures a consistent level of service and enhances accountability.
Benefits of Cloud Telephony
Now, imagine you are the owner of a family business that supplies home entertainment systems. Every day, you get calls from customers needing site visits and equipment. This is the scenario for one of our clients, Horizon Sound & Vision. Cloud telephony and IT transformed the way they work. It also improved staff morale. Do you want to learn more? Click here.
So, how does a cloud phone system help you improve your business:
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Cost-efficiency:
Remember the ‘box in the corner,’ the old phone system, or PABX. Remember the capital outlay that was needed to invest in the equipment and then the on-going annual maintenance charges. All history. Do you have more than one location? In that case, you no longer need equipment at each site. With a cloud solution you only need an internet connection. Imagine how much money you can save. There are even service offerings that include call bundles, like you get on mobiles, so call charges could also be a thing of the past too!
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Scalability:
Cloud telephony adapts effortlessly to changing business needs. You can start small and add users as you go along. There is no need to build in ‘over capacity’ as you did with a PABX, just in case. You add a new user when you need one.
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Flexibility and Mobility:
The modern workplace is digital. Cloud telephony lets your employees stay connected wherever they are; be they working from home, travelling, or even overseas. Cloud telephony brings everyone together, ensuring productivity and simplified communications.
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Enhanced Customer Experience:
Cloud telephony enables you to create a positive interaction with your customers. You can use personalised greetings and messages and integrate your phone system with your CRM system to create a professional customer experience.
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Business Continuity
: Cloud telephony systems are built with redundancy to ensure the maximum uptime. They also provide a business with resilience in a disaster recovery situation, particularly where a specific location has suffered, be it from flood or other ‘Act of God.’ Operations can be quickly restarted elsewhere; all you need is an internet connection.
Challenges and Solutions
Every innovative technology has its benefits as well as its challenges. Now we will explore some of them so you can make an informed decision.
- Data Security and Privacy. We are all increasingly aware of cyber threats. So, this is a crucial concern for hosted telephony providers. To ensure your privacy, the providers we work with, have implemented encryption and security measures to protect your communications and sensitive information. It is important to choose a provider with a strong security policy. And if you want an extra layer of cyber protection, you can choose a reliable MSP to do that, like us!
- Connectivity and Reliability. Cloud Telephony relies on Internet connectivity. So, your business will need a reliable connection. We recommend Fibre Broadband. This is a high-speed Internet service that uses fibre optic cables to send data. Soon it will be the only service you will find in the UK. You can read more about it here.
- Training and Adoption. Introducing any innovative technology requires effective user training to ensure user adoption. In our experience, if you show your people how they, and the business will benefit from the technology, you are more likely to succeed in getting them to use it.
Remember that we support you at every stage. From an initial audit of your systems to developing a complete strategy for your IT transformation. We are here to help you.
Ready to adopt the Cloud?
In the dynamic world of communication, cloud telephony is creating a phone revolution. Cloud telephony is not only scalable, but it is flexible and cost-effective. There is no major capital investment, and you only pay for user subscriptions when you need them.
Cloud telephony streamlines and simplifies the communication process. It enables you to manage the system centrally, but at the same time have a dispersed workforce, or a flexible, hybrid work force, who can work where they want to,
With the power of analytics and reporting, you can manage your company performance and focus on improving your Customer Experience (CX). Cloud telephony is truly poised to reshape the way we connect, collaborate, and succeed.
Now that you know about the amazing world of cloud telephony, why not join the revolution. Imagine what cloud telephony could do for your business. Contact us for more information and to discuss how cloud telephony and we can help you.
GET IN TOUCH!
We want to hear about your challenges. Talk to us! Our consultants can audit your systems, plan changes, implement improvements and support your people.
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