by: John Shepler

For decades, enterprise VoIP has been taking the place of traditional analog business phone systems. While PBX systems evolved into IP PBX, they remained hardware and software bound to a physical location. Now, those telecom rooms are becoming vacant as business VoIP transitions to the cloud and evolves into Unified Communications.

What’s Cloud Got To Do With It? Initially, businesses set up their own phone switching systems when the limited buttons on desk phones became insufficient. PBX, which stands for Private Branch Exchange, essentially replicates a phone company’s central office but on a company-specific scale. Even then, this can involve managing hundreds or even thousands of individuals and their corresponding phones. PBX systems designed for this capacity often necessitate a dedicated support team.

The shift towards cloud-based solutions is primarily driven by the desire to eliminate the need for physical equipment and the staff required to maintain and update it. However, it’s important to remember that cloud solutions are not magical solutions. A common quip about the cloud is that it doesn’t really exist; it’s just someone else’s computer. And that’s essentially accurate. However, cloud providers operate massive facilities with extensive staff, benefiting from economies of scale. Consequently, businesses not only eliminate the complexities of managing a phone system but also have the potential to reduce costs.

New Capability and No Investment Required One inherent problem with in-house technology is its tendency to quickly become inadequate and outdated. Cloud services effectively address both of these concerns. A sufficiently robust cloud platform can effortlessly accommodate substantial growth. Software updates are routinely managed by the provider. Given that the majority of PBX functionalities are now software-based, adding or modifying features no longer entails discarding racks of perfectly operational hardware. Instead, updates are implemented through a straightforward download to a likely virtual server.

Telephone calls are evolving into just one of many functionalities that businesses expect from their “phone” system. Traditional desk phones need seamless integration with mobile smartphones, which are increasingly becoming central to communication. Additionally, there’s text messaging, email, and video conferencing to consider. These tools represent the modern business communication landscape, where voice calls are merely one option among many. With IP telephony, the idea of voice as an application has become a reality. Furthermore, the need often arises to manage multiple communication modes concurrently. This is where Unified Communications comes into play, offered by cloud providers as Unified Communications as a Service, or UCaaS.

Special Needs of Call Centers
Many businesses see the value in having their own call centers instead of outsourcing. Managed cloud services make this setup straightforward. They allow for features like automated receptionists, call recording, automatic call distribution, interactive voice responses, call queues, skills-based routing, dedicated phone numbers, integration with CRM systems, and reporting & metrics.

The beauty of cloud-based call centers is that the physical location of employees doesn’t matter. Since no one is actually working from within the cloud data center, remote workers and contractors can easily be integrated into the team. They simply update their availability status in the system and receive assignments accordingly.

What It Takes to Connect To the Cloud To get the best performance from a cloud-based system, connecting your business and employees requires careful consideration. Internet reliability can be unpredictable, so aiming for the most robust connections is key. For home offices and remote locations, dedicated lines or SIP Trunks are ideal when feasible, bypassing the public internet altogether. While this might not be possible for all home-based workers due to cost or availability, opting for the most dependable high-speed broadband is crucial. Modern SDN, or Software Defined Networks, provide a way to combine multiple broadband connections for a faster and more reliable internet connection overall. This can mean the difference between choppy calls and seamless, high-quality connections.

If your phone system is causing frustration due to poor performance, or you feel you’re losing out on productivity due to the lack of up-to-date UCaaS functionalities, numerous choices and complimentary expert advice are at your disposal. Discover the Enterprise VoIP, Call Center and UCaaS services that perfectly cater to your organization’s needs, swiftly and conveniently.