Why Cloud Phone Systems Are the Future

The modernization and digitization of communications accelerated in the last year. As companies had to shift to a remote workforce, they found that critical tools and platforms needed to be accessible from anywhere. That meant adopting cloud technology for business systems, including phone systems. Cloud phone systems deliver many benefits to companies, ensuring flexibility and agility. And these traits are imperative for the future.

Phone Communications Options: On-Premises vs. Cloud-Based

In discussing why cloud phone systems are the future, it’s essential to look at their predecessors. For phone communications, you either have an on-premises system or a cloud-based.

As many organizations discovered during the beginning of the pandemic, an on-premises phone option didn’t serve them well. It’s only usable at the location. While they may use VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol), they still depend on linking phone extensions to the public phone network. Cloud-based platforms use the internet. Thus, users have the same access, quality, and features from anywhere.

The Cloud Enables Mobility

Even if you’re reopening your offices, that doesn’t mean employees will no longer work remotely. Flexibility is key to ensuring employees can work from wherever. That’s only possible with cloud communication systems.

Your employees can use the app on their desktop or mobile phone. They can access all the features necessary to receive, make, and transfer calls. Enabling this mobility is the future of work, and employees that have these options will be more productive and engaged.

Cost-Effectiveness Aligns with Future-Proofing Telephony

Your phone system shouldn’t be breaking your budget. It’s not sustainable for your company and could be taking money away from other key investments. On-premises phones have many costs. An on-premises system requires on-site servers, maintenance, and support, all of which continue to add up.

Reducing cost drivers is an objective of any business. Moving to the cloud can decrease these expenses. There are no hardware or installation costs. It’s a static subscription type of payment, which makes budgeting easy.

Cloud Phone Systems Make It Easy to Scale

If you plan to add more team members, cloud-based phones make more sense. Scaling these types of setups is easy and controllable from an admin panel. You can add a new user in a few clicks. There’s no need to call support for these tasks any longer. Software update installation is automatic, as well, so there’s no manual work that could be a time drain.

Expand Your Talent Pool

One silver lining to the pandemic is that many companies embraced remote workers, including those located outside of their metro area. Some industries had to ramp up on employees, adding agents to contact centers or filling more operations positions. They were able to hire and onboard these new employees virtually, in part because of cloud phones.

This trend is likely to continue for many organizations. They understand the value of being able to recruit outside of their bubble. Talent is talent, and if you can add superstars to your team, you shouldn’t have concerns about location.

Additionally, most employees are demanding at least part-time remote work. A PwC survey revealed that 92 percent of employees want to work remotely at least a few days a month, with 29 percent saying they want to be remote full-time.

To keep up with a changing workforce and their expectations, you’ll need to embrace the cloud for your phone, communications, collaboration, and more.

Cloud Phone Platforms Have More Features

On-premises and cloud phone solutions have a lot of the same functionality, but the cloud includes some extras. One of the most valuable features is transcribing voicemails that alert users via phone or text. The painful process of retrieving voicemails is no more! Now virtual voicemails are available.

Call analytics is another useful feature for cloud-based systems. You can track usage and performance for sales and support staff. With various configurable reports, you’ll soon gain insights that you can transform into actionable steps.

Additionally, spam caller protection is another option. You’ll be able to identify this classification of callers and either block them or send them to voicemail, ensuring they don’t interrupt your employees.

Smarter IVR Lives in the Cloud

The future of business communications will also enable smarter IVR (interactive voice response). Cloud phone platforms offer a way to customize the IVR process so that call routing is smoother and workflows for your contact center are optimized.

IVR was once complex to set up. When it lives in the cloud, the technology is much simpler, and it’s easier to change as needed. Advanced IVRs improve customer experiences since the system routes them to the appropriate agent.

Maximize Quality and Reliability in the Cloud

Finally, possibly the most critical reason why cloud phone systems are the future is their level of quality and reliability. The cloud wins here over on-premises solutions, which work on analog technology.

Not all cloud solutions are equal, so it’s important to look for a vendor with high uptime averages. Ultimately, if your phone system doesn’t work, then nothing else matters. Move these needs to the top of your list when choosing a provider and your future will sound clear.

Ready to Empower Your Business with a Cloud Phone System?

Future-proofing your business depends a lot on the technology you choose. Cloud phone systems deliver benefits and advantages that will see you through for years to come. See what the cloud can do for you by viewing Intermedia Unite and all its features.

Kirsten Barta

Kirsten Barta is Sr Marketing Communications Manager at Intermedia