• Business
  • 19/07/2021
Cloud Telephony: The Future of Calling?

Lockdown restrictions have eased in England with ‘Freedom Day’ meaning that, amongst other things, the working from home guidance has lifted, and workers are free to return to offices once more.

In a recent briefing, government guidance called for a "gradual return to work", which may be welcome news for some. Although, with findings showing that 92% of people would want to continue working from home at least once a week post-pandemic, we may be about to enter a new, hybrid age of working – one where the traditional office concept is no longer fit for purpose. With this in mind, what other long-established concepts could be in line for a change?

Staying connected from home

These days, businesses face an array of decisions to just maintain daily operations – especially considering the pandemic. And, when government guidance required us to pack up our desks and work from home in March 2020, we took our laptops, spare screens, and keyboards – but, one item left behind by many of us was the phone.

For many of us, staying connected with our colleagues was done via software such as Teams, Zoom and Slack, and quickly became second nature. It’s fair to say connectivity went through a period of rapid growth during the pandemic, sparking what has been called the ‘Zoom Boom’. But, for those who still do business by picking up a landline every day, a challenge arose as to how they could continue operating.

One stop-gap solution some organisations deployed was detailed in this piece by Business News Wales, as ‘many businesses diverted calls from their traditional landline-based phone systems to employees’ mobile phones. Few businesses had time to order and buy work mobiles for their staff when the lockdown was ordered, so in some cases, these calls were diverting to the staff member’s personal mobile’.

Whilst this may have worked in the very short term, it’s not sustainable – or cost-efficient – to do so permanently. Least of all as ISDN lines – the method in which traditional phone systems operate - are being phased out by 2025. So, what is the solution?

 

The end of the phone system as we know it?

In a recent blog post, we outlined how the pandemic has ‘accelerated companies' digital communications strategy by an average of six years, whilst 97% of enterprise decision-makers believe that the pandemic sped up their company's digital transformation’.

For many, this has been in the form of Cloud migrations, data backups and collaboration tools aimed at enabling remote working. Now, one solution that has grown in popularity has been Cloud-based calling or Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).

As a solution, VoIP is on the rise and is estimated to have a market valuation of over $93.2bn by 2024, but above that, findings from Statista show that less than 40% of American households now have a traditional landline phone.

The benefits of VoIP

Making the jump from a traditional phone system to a cloud-based solution offers several benefits to a business that a landline cannot match. This, coupled with the fact that we’ve always been a long-term believer in the Cloud, means that we’re well placed to help with your move.

Below we’ve listed out some of the most prominent benefits of a Cloud-based calling system:

  • Calls are conducted entirely via the internet, which means you are only being charged a lower cost overall.
  • On-premise systems can often be a single point of failure for a business, this lowers the threat of downtime.
  • Offers flexibility, which is vital in the new working way of being available anytime, anywhere.
  • A cloud-based phone system offers an excellent choice for easy and efficient scaling of businesses.
  • Access to robust call features which contribute towards improved customer service.

The last word

We’ve been a vocal believer in the power of collaboration and maximising your infrastructure to enable staff productivity, which is why we’ve partnered with Microsoft and 3CX to offer two different solutions.

If you’re interested, contact us, or get in touch with your account manager if you’re an existing partner, and get a free evaluation with a no obligation demonstration to see how you could benefit.

Recent Post

The Cloud Question

Business

Are IT preconceptions holding the business back?

Business

How secure is the Cloud?

Business

The Six R's of Cloud Migration

Business

Cloud Computing and the Property Sector

Business

Related Posts

  • Business
  • Jan

Fifosys Offer Free Office 365 Training

Office 365 is more than just email. It offers a powerful set of applications to improve both product

Read More
  • Business
  • Jan

How prepared Is Your Business For GDPR?

How prepared Is Your Business For GDPR?

Read More
  • Business
  • Jan

Proud: Innovations in Business

For businesses in the UK, 2020 has been a year unlike any other and the COVID-19 pandemic brought wi

Read More
  • Business
  • Jan

6 Benefits of Leasing Your IT Equipment

Most businesses have a lot of different expenses to contend with, but one of the biggest will usuall

Read More