Over the years, enterprise communication tools have constantly evolved in both form and technology. During the COVID-19 pandemic, organizations quickly embraced the cloud platform for their communication and collaboration needs. In fact, in the year 2020, 61% of businesses migrated to the cloud and have since not looked back.
As it stands, the global market for cloud communication tools will grow to $22.4 billion by 2028, up from $4.63 billion in 2021.
But what’s driving the growing adoption of cloud communication today?
Notably, after reaching 1 billion subscriptions in 2022, 5G technology is expected to boost cloud communication. Also, Gartner predicts that AI-powered chatbots will emerge as the primary channel for customer service by 2027.
At the same time, it’s noteworthy that organizations face various challenges with their existing communication infrastructure. Let’s discuss them and outline the benefits of an enterprise communication system on the cloud.
Current Challenges in Enterprise Communication
Effective enterprise communication can either make or break the business. It can improve work-related productivity among employees, increasing efficiency and profitability.
Here are some existing challenges that are currently hindering enterprise communication:
1. Non-Standardised Communication Strategy
Companies without a standardized communication strategy are unable to address questions such as:
- How should communication flow between employees at the same level?
- How should company updates be delivered to employees – internal calls or official emails?
Large enterprises require a strategic approach to communication between the leadership team and employees.
2. Outdated Technology
Businesses often adapt slowly to the latest technologies in their communication strategy. This, again, poses numerous challenges, such as low employee engagement and inefficient sharing of real-time business information.
As enterprises switch to the remote working model, they cannot sustain their business using outdated communication tools and technologies. For instance, companies use email tools as the primary mode of enterprise communication. While they work great for external customer communication, they’re not so effective for internal communication.
3. Overload of Information
Information overload is among the leading challenges facing enterprise communication. To improve employee engagement, organisations must regularly inform their workforce about important business decisions and policies. However, this can also lead to unnecessary information overload in the form of unread emails and information that is not relevant to their work.
Additionally, constant team meetings or emails can impact the workforce’s time and productivity.
4. Organisational Silos
Organisational silos (or poor cross-functional collaboration) are another communication-related challenge for most enterprises. Effectively, this means organisations have multiple functions that fail to share information with other departments. Lack of cross-functional communication can ultimately lead to customer complaints and loss of revenue.
How does cloud communication address these challenges? Let’s discuss.
Benefits of Cloud Communication Systems
A cloud-based communication system is the best solution for enterprises looking for business agility and cost-effective communication with customers and employees.
Here are some of the cloud communication capabilities that can benefit enterprises of all sizes:
1. Designed for Remote Working
The future of the workplace is no longer restrained to any location. For organizations adopting the “work-from-home” model, work doesn’t take place within any office or cubicle. With cloud communication tools like internet phones, instant chats, and video conferencing, the geographical location of users does not matter anymore. For example, a cloud-powered VoIP system can facilitate communication with its plugin functionality.
2. Centralised Communication System
Organizations waste both time and productivity working with disparate communication tools that are not easy to learn. On cloud platforms, organizations can build a single centralized system that can reduce wasted time and efficiency. Safe to say, employees have a streamlined experience with a single communication platform, which can also boost their engagement and productivity.
3. Unified Communication Across Platforms
Enterprise-level companies need to communicate using more than voice. For example, communication platforms can include video-calling, voice connectivity, and text messaging. Cloud communication enables unified communication by integrating all these capabilities as a single service.
4. Streamlined Communication Between Departments
Using cloud-based tools, organizations can now streamline collaboration between departments or business functions. This effectively eliminates silos and encourages information sharing. For example, the cloud-powered UCaaS application serves all communication needs by tracking conversations and collaboration among bigger teams.
The Way Forward with Cloud Connect
Effective communication is the cornerstone of realising business success in any industry domain. To this effect, outdated communication tools are among the leading challenges facing business enterprises.
As a telecom solution provider, Globe Teleservices (or GTS) has developed Cloud Connect — a smart communication tool for enterprise customers. With this solution, organizations can set up a “virtual” office space in any remote location across the globe. Some of our cloud-powered products include local number service, mobile-based local number service, and unified communication.
Looking to implement the next-generation enterprise communication system on the cloud? Get in touch with our experts today!