The cloud-hosted VoIP phone system is often touted as a fantastic way to save your business money and benefit in other ways as well. It is not always clear, however, what exactly these are and how exactly they help your business.
Here are some ways that cloud-hosted phone systems can improve productivity and profitability for your business.
Cost-Effective Business Phone Services
Because of the nature of a cloud phone system service, you will not have to worry about hosting and maintaining equipment at your business location. In addition to the equipment’s upfront cost, maintenance costs may be associated as well.
As an added bonus, cloud phone systems like business VoIP usually offer lower call costs and monthly fees than traditional phone systems and are less expensive to maintain than traditional systems. A good VoIP provider will also provide you with high-quality VoIP apps instead of desk phones if you prefer. Business calls can be made and taken using your personal desktop or mobile device, so you do not need to purchase hardware phones for your employees.
Cloud telephony can result in substantial savings across all of these facets.
The Virtualization (Numbers, Users, Lines)
An entirely programmatic platform is available with a cloud-hosted PBX service. Thus, the essentials of a phone system like user accounts, phone lines and phone numbers are virtualized. This makes a cloud phone system scalable in ways that a traditional phone system could never be.
In place of having to hire an engineer to come on-site to install additional phone lines, or to link new business phone numbers to these lines, you can simply log into your online management portal and make the changes yourself. You will not even need any training since these portals come with intuitive controls and user interfaces designed with end users in mind.
With such virtualization, you, the user, are empowered to design the phone system that suits your business needs, as well as to change and grow it as you see fit.
Apps and Advanced Features (Development Teams)
A development team is needed to maintain cloud-hosted platforms like VoIP phone systems. These development teams are used by most VoIP providers not only to maintain the platform but also to develop it. With VoIP, you now have new features not available with traditional phone systems.
With out the power of computing, features like automatic cloud synchronization of call recordings and scheduled report generation on call statistics would not be possible. In addition, VoIP apps are now available, allowing you to place and receive business calls on your desktop or mobile devices. CRM integrations also simplify data management for consumers.
Online Management
Cloud-based business phone systems can be managed and changed anywhere since they are hosted in the cloud. VoIP represents a distinct advantage over traditional telephone systems since VoIP providers virtually manage everything through an online interface.
Modifications such as adding new phone lines would require an engineer to come on-site to make the changes. Compared to VoIP, where you can make such changes from your browser, these changes are more time consuming and costly than they should be, both financially and in terms of time.
Remote Working is Possible
You and your team are also free to work anywhere with a cloud phone system, as well as managing your service from anywhere. You can access and use your phone system from wherever you have an internet connection since the system is not reliant on any hardware in a specific location.
Using VoIP apps, you can make and receive business calls using cellular data (and therefore from anywhere there is a signal) or WiFi, while VoIP desk phones let you access your phone system directly and with maximum stability over the Internet. No matter where you work, a cloud-based phone system will not let you miss business calls. Unlike traditional phone systems, which are inherently location-dependent, VoIP systems are independent of the location of their hardware.
The primary purpose of your VoIP phone system is to make and receive phone calls? Excellent! Providing a professional experience for your inbound callers is already saving you money, but are you maximizing the value of your service?
There’s nothing wrong with taking advantage of low call costs for your business, but if that’s all you’re doing with your Cloud PBX, you may very well be missing out on some very important additional and alternative uses.
Email your Fax using your own Fax number
Yes, you can make phone calls, but you can also receive and send faxes by email. The fax machine does not have to take-up room on your desk. Is faxing still used by anyone? Yes, that is right. Fax is used by certain professionals, such as those in the legal, real estate, and medical fields, to send documents to other offices. However, with the efax feature, it is possible to save space, time, and money simultaneously. In addition, you receive free faxes online and you get a dedicated number for receiving them.
Cloud PBX Opens Doors
VoIP is used for much more than just making calls and sending faxes. Besides the VoIP door entry system, you can also operate the intercom system. Using your business phone system, you can remotely grant a person entry to your office from the second floor of your building using a phone keypad press or key code combination. Your VoIP phone is not just for the office; you can also hook it up to your home entry system so you will never miss a delivery again!
Customized Audio and Music for On-Hold
Hosted VoIP systems include audio features such as playlist creation and the ability to record custom on-hold audio. You can create unique playlists and on-phone audio that completely represent your organization or brand. Additionally, if you wish, you can even record yourself singing a company ditty! You want to ensure your customer-facing messages stay current and topical by creating an audio playlist for the season.
Meetings via a Hosted VoIP Service
Your co-workers are all spread out in different offices – how can you arrange for a meeting room? Using VoIP, you can create a virtual office via our conference bridge function, and have your users dial into the dedicated number or choose a touchtone number. A Cloud VoIP PBX makes this possible. Combine it with your company’s audio greeting and you get a virtual meeting room that reflects your business. If you need to communicate with multiple suppliers or clients over a long distance, this is useful.
Email Voicemail in an Instant
Additionally, your phone system can record voicemails that you miss. Your Dashboard will provide them to you on demand, or you can get them through your email. You can also receive a transcription of your voicemail message with the latest voice-to-email technology, saving you from having to listen to those extra-long messages just to get that one little piece of information you need!
These are just a few examples of alternative VoIP features you might not have thought were available. Hopefully, we have been able to illustrate the potential of VoIP to enhance any business, no matter how large or small. It is common to find new and experimental uses for VoIP phone systems, such as the ability to turn lights on and off via voice commands. It will certainly be exciting to see how things turn out.
Concluding Thoughts
Cloud telephony provides several benefits for businesses. Business VoIP offers a variety of benefits including lower business phone costs, the ability for your staff to manage their phones from any location, and comprehensive phone features that could not be achieved with a traditional business phone system.
