What Is Cloud Communications?

Communication is one of the most important aspects of any company’s operations. Often, communication tools are not fully integrated, creating challenges for your team. By leveraging cloud communications, you can assure greater mobility and accessibility. In this post, we’ll be discussing what cloud communications is and how it can provide your business opportunities and benefits.

Cloud Communications Basics

Cloud communications is the delivery of enterprise-level functionality to streamline and manage all channels. It includes the basics of communication:

VoIP (voice over IP) Hosted PBX

For telephony, you’ll have access to VoIP, which uses the internet to make and receive calls. This cloud-based phone system allows employees to use their desktop or mobile app to make outbound and receive inbound calls. Voicemails also live in the cloud, and transcriptions are immediately sent to email addresses.

Team Chat and Business SMS

Chat has become an excellent resource for teams to initiate quick conversations that need urgent answers. Your staff can use this communication platform to discuss projects and tasks. This feature also provides users with status updates, so availability is known.

Screen Sharing

Collaborate better, no matter where you are with screen sharing. You can use this tool in real time to make the most of your meetings.

Video Conferencing

Whether your team has always been remote or has shifted to this temporarily due to COVID-19, video conferencing allows you to have more meaningful interactions. Seeing a face behind the voice can be a competitive advantage for sales and other customer-facing roles.

File Backup and Sharing

Work together seamlessly by using file backup and sharing with a cloud communications platform. The process is secure and enables collaboration without having to email back and forth. It’s an efficient approach to ensure that multiple stakeholders can quickly work with one another on one document.

Why Trust the Cloud for Your Communications?

Cloud computing has become a constant for many businesses, with high adoption across many different industries. According to a 2019 State of the Cloud Report, 94 percent of respondents indicated they use the cloud in some manner. The same report found that the biggest challenges revolve around costs and management.

With such broad deployment of the cloud in business, it seems obvious this is where communications should live. The increasing demand to be mobile is a driver of such adoption, and there is urgency for migration. However, some still have concerns about security.

In general, the cloud is more secure than on-premise servers. This security is attributed to:

• Systems are always being updated, so any patches to applications are automatic.
• Multi-layered security protocols that include threat scanning and anti-virus and -malware.
• Lower risk of human error, as most employees can’t “touch” the cloud, which isn’t the case with on-site systems.
• Cloud providers undergo rigorous audits to prevent breaches.
• All these components work together to provide you with the most secure and reliable solution for communications in the cloud.

More Benefits of Migrating to the Cloud

Your data and communications will not only be much safer in the cloud; there are also additional benefits you can realize when making the switch.

Drive Productivity

Your employees can’t be productive if communication is piecemeal. It requires extra steps and doesn’t provide an ideal user experience. By offering the cloud to your team, they’ll be able to do much more, no matter where. You could see a considerable spike in productivity!

Enable Scalability

How hard is it to scale your current system? If it’s time-consuming and problematic, it will only become more so. The cloud lets you scale with ease. All you need to do is add a new user and assign applications and permissions. Get new employees onboarded so much faster.

Foster Flexibility

If the pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that a company’s infrastructure must be flexible to account for the unknown. Flexibility is critical for a business’ growth trajectory and adaptability. This flexibility is also attractive to employees that value the ability to work in any environment.

Reduce Costs

With cloud communications, you’ll have one provider and one bill. Consolidation saves money. You’ll see even more savings with the cloud because you’ll no longer have to worry about updating or expanding physical servers.

Cloud Communications Are Right for Your Business

Adopting the cloud for all your communication needs is a smart move for any business, no matter the size or requirements. You’ll find everything you need with Intermedia Unite. Explore its functionality and features today.

Kirsten Barta

Kirsten Barta is Sr Marketing Communications Manager at Intermedia