Cloud communications have been enjoying a huge boost in popularity in recent years. In a world of increasingly agile business models, traditional on-premise PBX systems simply won’t cut it anymore. Cloud communications, on the other hand, are flexible enough to offer, fast responsive change to meet evolving communications demands.
What are cloud communications?
You’ve probably heard that there are many benefits of switching to the cloud but be unsure of what cloud communications actually are.
Cloud communications is a process whereby you can deliver data, voice and video communications over the internet instead of via an on-premise phone system. It is essentially an all-in-one communications solution hosted digitally. Because the cloud is, by its very nature, dynamic. For this reason, cloud communications offer huge potential for scalability.
Can’t decide if cloud communications are for you? Ask yourself these 5 questions.
1. Do you have a mobile workforce?
Mobile workforces are going from being the exception to becoming the rule. In the last 5 years, the number of remote workers has increased by 44%. Factors such as the current Coronavirus epidemic have also increased the number of people working from home. For example, Sony has closed its offices across London, Paris and Gdynia. Twitter has also been strongly encouraging its 5,000 global workforce to work remotely. Even Google’s European headquarters in Dublin are empty, with its 8,000 staff working from home.
With this in mind, a traditional on-premise PBX simply cannot meet your needs. A cloud-based communications system allows your team to work from anywhere.
2. How easy is it for your customers to reach you?
How many avenues do your customers have for reaching you? 51% companies today use at least 8 different channels to communicate with their customers. This aligns with customer demands, since a growing number of customers seek multiple communication mediums to get customer service and other forms of support:
- 62% of customers would rather get customer service questions answered through email
- 48% of customers use the phone to contact companies
- 42% of customers sometimes solve issues with live chat
- 36% of customers use website contact forms for customer service issues
A cloud-based Unified Communications (UC) service can allow you to seamlessly offer customers an array of contact methods with endless feature integrations.
3. What do we do during an IT outage?
Do you know how revenue IT downtimes cost you each year? If you’ve suffered through a costly IT outage in the past year, you aren’t alone: 97% UK companies have had their profits hit by tech downtime. But these failures are avoidable using advanced cloud communications services, such as 3CX’s Enterprise edition. 3CX Enterprise will guarantees your communications are diverted to a standby – meaning maximum telephony uptime if the data center or server fails.
4. How easy is it for you to measure your performance?
Communications are a crucial process in any business and, as such, it’s important to measure the success of your performance in this area. At PBX Hosting, we offer an advanced 3CX system with an automated, fully customisable UC reporting feature. See how well your cloud communications are performing with all the metrics you need at your fingertips.
Is your current system a drain on organizational resources?
Who is in charge of maintaining and updating your current phone system? Is it an additional responsibility for your IT manager? With cloud communications, an external provider takes care of all the hard work such as installation, maintenance and updates. This allows you to reduce the cost of maintenance, repair and installation. If your team is spending too much time on phone system maintenance, then a cloud-based system will help them save a lot of time that could be better spent on more important tasks.
To find out how PBX Hosting could transform your business telecoms, get in touch with their expert team.