Business phone systems have undergone massive transformations since their early days of using manual switchboards and a complex web of exchanges and lines to present-day infrastructure that predominantly operates via internet-based VOIP mechanisms.
Talking about the present, VOIP also is in a phase of transition as businesses seek to leverage more flexibility and ease of use in their telephone infrastructure. Networks have improved and so has SaaS technology. This has given rise to cloud telephony services taking the market by storm. Virtual exchanges set up on the cloud enable businesses to leverage a global platform for operating their business phone number from literally anywhere on the planet. Studies estimate that by 2027, the cloud telephony market will be worth over USD 40 billion globally.
The COVID 19 pandemic of 2020 was an eye-opener for corporations across the world as millions of employees worldwide had to quickly move into a remote working mode as offices and establishments remained shut. Even though the world is slowly limping back to normalcy, the corporate work culture may never be the same again. Surveys by McKinsey pointed out that nearly 80% of respondents were happier and enjoyed remote working. With minimal instances of productivity loss, companies too may not be too inflexible with their work location policies in the future.
In short, we are looking at a blended workplace model in the future where the focus is on getting the job done irrespective of where the employee chooses to work from.
But then comes the tougher challenge of empowering and equipping staff with the necessary tools and resources to help them work remotely without disruption. A key item in the minds of enterprise CIOs in this regard would be business communication systems and cloud telephony make for an optimal case here.
Now coming to what CIOs must take note of while looking to implement a business phone system based on cloud telephony in their organization. Let us explore the 5 essentials that enterprise CIOs need to factor in while transitioning into cloud telephony for their business phone system:
Unlimited Extensions
As an organization extends its geographical bases of operation, more departments may end up distributed across locations, geographies, and countries. For end customers, their need is simple. They want a quick connection and minimal extensions dialed to reach the desired department or personnel. While setting up the cloud telephone network for a business, CIO’s must ensure that the platform or service provider they choose offers unlimited extension dialing globally for the configured business phone numbers. This is a powerful communication feature that is in high demand for enterprise phone systems worldwide today.
Targeted Localization
When businesses run marketing campaigns targeting specific geographies or localities within countries they operate, it is imperative to provide a contact number that local residents can identify as being localized to their region. That will improve the trust and credibility of the business and can drive more ROI from marketing campaigns. The cloud telephony system that the business selects should be able to offer dedicated phone numbers that can be localized to regions where new promotions or campaigns are being exclusively pursued by sales and marketing teams.
Collaborative Conferencing
In the age of remote work, the seamless collaboration of peers is a key factor that determines impact and productivity. Also, there may be instances where a set of customers or potential customers may have to be engaged through a joint meeting or audio-conferencing session. The cloud business phone system that an organization selects should be able to provide a seamless audio-conferencing framework for organizing quick meetings. It should facilitate easy on-boarding for diallers, have unlimited capacity, and offer high-end reliability.
Device Flexibility
Employees who need to use the business phone system will require access to the system from a wide range of devices like their laptops, office computers, or even their smartphones and Tablet PCs. Given that we are in the digital age, these devices could again be diversified into Android or iOS devices. CIOs need to ensure that the business phone system deployed at the organization offers a global mobile dialing system via VOIP that empowers employees to make or receive calls from the business phone network through dedicated apps on devices of their choice. This flexibility will be a key requirement in the future where more employees worldwide are likely to remain working from home with the accompanying device complexity.
Easy Deployment and Resilience
A business phone system is a crucial communication tool that is likely to become the backbone of the collaborative infrastructure of any organization. Once implemented it should be able to support a wide range of desired communication features and policies as expected by any modern-day enterprise. With cloud telephony in the picture, CIOs need to ensure that they drive investments on a platform that has been proven for resilience, flexibility, and easy deployment.
Every business requires seamless communication infrastructure to nurture relationships between customers as well as among its employees. Enabling a highly functional business phone system via cloud telephony can put a business on the right track to achieve this kind of communication excellence. CIO’s, while making the decision to switch to cloud telephony, must ensure that they select the right platform for setting up a guaranteed and disruption-free telecommunication ecosystem that can truly power their organization.