Cloud Phone System Benefits and Considerations for Businesses

Cloud phone systems refer to a network that uses Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) where an external service provider uses a private data centre to facilitate communication for a business. Hosted telephony takes care of almost every aspect of business communication need, including remote working without making any substantial investments. When talking about complex business communication systems, cloud computing services have changed the way businesses communicate nowadays.

Here are some benefits of cloud communication services along with certain considerations that businesses should make when opting for one.

Cloud Phone System Benefits:

1. Reduced Dependence on Traditional Phone-line Systems and Big Telecom Companies

   Cloud communication is rapidly changing the way businesses communicate. Even the legacy landline and IP PBX are slowly getting out of the system as cloud communication supports data traffic along with voice and video. Could communication is exceptionally rich in features as it offers video conferencing solutions, voicemail to email transcriptions, call routing, etc. All of this results in improved internal and external communications, productivity and workflow.

   Similarly, telecom companies that rely on traditional equipment, often impose long-term contracts that businesses often have to unwillingly opt for at sky-high prices, are also being replaced by cloud systems. Cloud communication systems bring a paradigm shift as businesses can choose their calling plans along with the infrastructure and equipment without having to worry about excessively long contract tenure.

2. Cloud-based Communication Systems are Cost-effective

   Another reason for businesses to prefer cloud communication service providers is that cloud communication services come with a range of cost benefits. Features such as unlimited local and long-distance calls, and international calls have become a standard and these can save up to 70% of total internal and external communication costs. All of these are available on a fixed, low monthly fee.

   On the other hand, since the infrastructure and equipment requirement become minimal with cloud communications, businesses save costs on phone-system installations and service agreements- all in all, a cost-saver for the years to come.

3. Remote Working

   All thanks to cloud communication, remote working is the trend of the century where employees don’t have to worry about being physically present in the office. Successful remote working has become a norm due to the versatility and flexibility offered by cloud communication systems. If we talk about a situation that existed ten years ago, remote working was not a widespread practice and it was only limited to specific professions such as content writers, marketers and salespersons. The reasons were quite simple; first, not everyone had a high-speed internet connection at their place, and second, employees who needed to communicate at regular intervals had to set up either a Virtual Private Network (VPN) and/or a separate phone line.

   With such barriers out of the way, businesses and employees from all across the globe are benefitting from remote working. And not to mention, cloud offsite backup solutions that allow companies to store data and applications on remote servers, so in the case of need, one can access them from almost any part of the world.

Considerations While Opting for a Cloud Communication Solution

1. Employee Training – Although cloud-based platforms are generally more secure than traditional phone solutions, human interference and human error still remain the biggest risks. Businesses may have to invest some time and money in the initial phase in employee training and determining processes and authority. No matter how unnecessary they seem, such small investments will go a long way as they make everyone on the premise familiar with the new systems and the precautions they will have to take.
2. Data Transfer and Update – Either a business is opting for a cloud communication service for the first time or they are switching from a traditional service to a new one, they need to think about the data transfer and upgrade in advance. They need to move the historical data over to the new system to ensure that their marketing, operations and management teams can put it to fair use.
3. Changing Priorities and Workflows – Companies also have to plan ahead for their changing priorities and updating their inward and outward processes to be in-line with their new system. However, they also have to communicate such changes with their partners, so they get familiar with their workflow and make the overall process even smoother.

While moving towards a new and more tech-friendly solution such as cloud communication service, businesses should also keep in mind the ROI they’ve targeted for. This is specifically true for small businesses that often have limitations on initial investments. Although cloud communications are relatively cost-effective when compared to traditional services, businesses still need to keep their ROI into consideration.

When talking about small business VoIP providers in Australia, Empower ICT is one of the leading business telecommunications service providers in Australia. The company offers tailor-made hosted VoIP services solutions for unique business requirements along with a fair possibility of scaling those up and/or down as per the dynamic business needs. Empower ICT is also one of the few fibrenet providers with long experience in facilitating smart business communications.

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