5 Ways Cloud Communications Are Changing the Business World

No other technology has made such a sudden impact on telecommunications than VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol). In just a handful of years, VoIP has changed the way businesses and consumers alike think about their phone service, and, of course, the power of the internet.

One of the most successful technologies of the last decade, VoIP – also known as IP Telephony, Internet Telephony, and Internet Calling – introduced an alternative way of making phone calls that can be very cheap or even completely free.

Today, however, as technologies have advanced even further, more and more businesses are realizing the huge benefits of moving their phone systems to the cloud. More than just VoIP, cloud communications systems like Hosted PBX enable companies to build, deploy, and scale enterprise communications systems like never before.

A Hosted Private Branch Exchange (PBX) moves the functions of expensive onsite PBX hardware to the cloud, eliminating installation, operation and maintenance costs for businesses, as their VoIP service provider hosts their PBX for them offsite.

Let’s take a look at five ways cloud communications are changing the business world.

1. No More Reliance on Traditional Landline Phones

One of the greatest advantages that has come out of the proliferation of the internet is its ability to handle not only data traffic, but voice and video, too. As a result, legacy landline and onsite PBX systems are now on their way out. In their place comes cloud communications, which facilitate massive cost savings, and introduce a whole host of rich business features – including video conferencing, call routing, voicemail to email transcriptions, and many more besides – enabling smarter workflows, more effective internal and external communications, and greater productivity.

2. Freeing Customers from the Bonds of Big Telecommunications Companies

Cloud communications service providers are both better and cheaper than the traditional analog offerings of incumbent providers and their fast-outdating equipment. For far too long, these big telecom companies have essentially held their business customers hostage with long-term commitments at sky-high prices. Hosted PBX providers, by contrast, do the precise opposite by giving businesses the power to choose their own calling plans and removing the limitations that long-term contracts have historically placed on them.

3. Big Call Savings for Thousands of Businesses

Modern cloud communications services enable whole swathes of cost savings, including unlimited local, long distance and international calls, which all come at a fixed, low monthly rate. By switching to a Hosted PBX cloud communications solution from a traditional phone system, the average business saves up to 70% on their communications costs.

4. More Big Savings on Infrastructure and Maintenance Costs

Businesses that move their communications systems to the cloud save thousands of dollars on infrastructure and maintenance costs. Without having to worry about heavy phone installations, equipment, and punitive service arrangements, organizations of all sizes are able to release much-needed funds to develop their business in other, more profitable ways.

5. Enabling a Remote Workforce

Non-self-employed remote working has skyrocketed in recent years. According to recent data compiled by FlexJobs, 3.8 million US employees work from home at least half of the time – up from 1.8 million in 2005. In the past, employees who wanted to work remotely were forced to set up either a virtual private network (VPN), or have a completely separate phone line installed in their homes just for work. Cloud communications have torn down all of these barriers, and businesses all over the world are benefitting from a happier and more productive workforce as a direct result.