It’s never easy to get ahead in business if it feels like you’re always playing catch-up. It can feel like the technology you use is obsolete as soon as you’ve got used to it. This can leave you with either increasingly out of date tools, or struggling to make use of the latest systems.
Thanks to cloud technology, there is a third option. Hosted, or cloud, phone systems, use VoIP to deliver voice communications to you over the internet. That may not sound like a huge advancement in itself, but it enables new ways of working that can truly prepare your business for the future. What’s more, a cloud phone system could be the last piece of new technology you adopt for years to come. Upgrades and new features are released all the time, using the same interface and helping you to streamline processes without the need to adapt to unfamiliar systems.
We’ve put together this quick guide to explain how VoIP and the cloud can help future-proof your business.
Introduce remote and flexible working practices
Unlike older on-site systems, cloud VoIP services promote remote work by default. There’s no need to set up complex and potentially insecure VPNs for your staff to connect to your office network from home. We host all the equipment in our data centres, making it just as easy and secure to connect from home as from the office.
This provides an instant upgrade to business flexibility and agility. Work remotely without compromising productivity. Enable secure BYOD policies. Roll out flexible working across your business and introduce hot-desking to save office space. Cloud phone systems can be your first step to unlocking all of these, letting you work remotely without feeling remote.
Communicate free of hardware
A welcome by-product of modern web-based phone systems like ours is that they can be used from any device. Gone are the days when you’d rely on a desk phone to connect to your customers and colleagues. Cloud VoIP systems make all their features available through softphones or web apps, allowing you to sign in to your business phone system from your PC, laptop, smartphone or tablet.
This has been an enormous benefit to businesses over the last year. If you use an older ISDN phone system you may have found that making use of it from home is complex, expensive and often frustrating. With a cloud system running your communications infrastructure, there’s no need to configure expensive call forwards or even take your desk phone home with you. Simply sign in to your extension from home and all calls will be routed straight to you.
Lock in your budget and reduce costs
Traditional PSTN or ISDN systems are incredibly costly to run when compared to VoIP systems. Often requiring specialist knowledge to maintain. For most businesses, this means paying for a costly support contract from your supplier or a third party. It’s far, far cheaper to support a cloud VoIP system. Without any complex hardware hosted on your site, all of our support work can be carried out remotely. This means there’s no need to pay for a separate support contract; it’s all included in the monthly cost.
Perhaps even more important than this is the vastly reduced cost of VoIP calls over ISDN. Many VoIP systems include a bundle of unlimited calls to UK numbers as part of the monthly rental. This can save you hundreds each month, particularly if you rely on your phones. Fixed costs allow you to plan your spending even better, freeing up your budget for more exciting
Beat the ISDN switch off
The ISDN network is due to be shut down in 2025, when the UK will transition to an all-IP infrastructure. So, it’s clear that any ISDN system you’re currently using has a fixed end of life; why not take the opportunity to start replacing it now?
Cloud phone systems like ours are very cost-effective to get up and running. Signing up ahead of the ISDN switch off will give you the best chance to acclimatise to the many features VoIP unlocks, letting you gain a crucial head start.
Best of all, there are no fees or complex processes to go through when new features become available. Advanced features are being developed and rolled out all the time. These include integrations with third party CRMs, new call control features and even better accessibility. VoIP already beats ISDN for features, reliability and cost, and it’s only going to get better.
The cloud systems we use in our office have really come into their own over the last year. While working from home was a lot to get used to, it was made far easier by the availability and usability of our tools.
While we’re not sure it’s time to move out of the office entirely, we have introduced flexible working across the business. Thanks to our cloud tools it’s been much easier to maintain our team cohesion and communication while working away from the office.
Do you want to find out more? Get in touch with the team on 03333 212 707.
Alternatively, get a free quote for a cloud phone system on our website
