Quite simply, 20th-century telephony infrastructure can’t keep up with the way we work today. If you’re still using a clunky on-premise communications products, you’re missing out (and you’re probably paying way too much!).
Here are the five biggest benefits of modern cloud telephony (a.k.a. hosted VoIP or cloud phone systems). Which of these is most important to you?
1. Simplicity
Cloud telephony requires no on-site equipment. That means you don’t have a PBX (private branch exchange) box taking up space in a closet, or thousands of feet of copper wiring in your walls or cable ducts.
Plus, the lack of physical hardware frees you from ongoing maintenance and upgrades. With a hosted voice product like RingCentral Office, all back-end changes are handled invisibly.
2. Mobility
Cloud telephony grants you full phone-system functionality wherever there’s an internet connection. You can change answering rules, access voicemail and fax messages and view call activity, regardless of your location.
RingCentral’s mobile apps make staying connected to your business especially easy. The latest version of RingCentral’s app for iOS and Android devices lets you place calls over VoIP, send and receive text messages, create faxes and arrange conference calls, in addition to managing all of your phone settings.
3. Cost Efficiency
With hosted VoIP solutions like RingCentral, there’s no lock-in to long-term contracts or expensive hardware. You can sign up on a pay-as-you-go – i.e., month-to-month – basis to keep your cost structure manageable.
Cloud telephony products are typically less expensive than on-premise business phone systems over the long term, as well. Because there’s no hardware to manage (other than desk phones, when applicable), you can wave goodbye to pricey technical contractors.
4. Flexibility
A cloud phone system can grow or shrink as business conditions warrant. Adding extensions or direct numbers requires only a few mouse clicks, and new extensions can be provisioned in just a few minutes’ time.
Whether your colleagues are located in a single building or scattered across the country, hosted VoIP makes it possible for everyone in your organization to operate on a single communication system. You can have one business number with multiple extensions and departments – all configurable from a computer or mobile device.
5. Focus
Cloud telephony products’ simple, flexible design greatly streamline phone system management. And the less time spent managing your phones, the more time you have to do value-adding work.
Cloud phone service enables you to focus on what really matters: satisfying customers and increasing sales. By empowering you to adjust your phone system quickly and easily, without being tied down to outmoded systems or processes, cloud phone systems can make your business work better.
Greater flexibility, greater control and a lower total cost of operation: Sounds pretty good!
Featured photo courtesy of Per Olof Forsberg via photopin cc.
Originally published Jul 16, 2013, updated Apr 18, 2021
