Every part of our lives relies on accurate communication. It is essential to create and maintain relationships, express opinions, and do business. For business, because of the growing trend of globalization, communication is more important than ever nowadays.

A company may have offices all over the world or seek to do business around the world. How can such a company manage such extensive communications? And how will it manage internal communication in one office? What is needed is a unified system that simplifies creating, managing, and maintaining voice communications?

It used to be that traditional phone systems were the only option. Small and medium-sized companies had no choice but to use landlines at a reasonably high cost. And features such as long-distance, three-way calling, and voicemail will add additional fees to every bill.

Now we have cloud-based phone systems.

Instead of the standard analog phone line, cloud-based phone systems use a broadband internet connection. Known as VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol), the analog voice signal is converted into a digital signal so it can travel over the Internet. VoIP is a low-cost and powerful way to make and receive phone calls from an assortment of devices.

On top of that, the technology has advanced tremendously and become the pillar of business communications, helping users with better voice quality and service and advanced analytics and insights.

What is the “Cloud”?

The term “cloud” comes from the idea that it’s not a physical entity. It’s more than just using the Internet, where you visit one particular website from your computer. Instead, you are connecting to a vast network of remote servers that are hooked together, operating as a single system. These servers can be in many places around the world or in on-premises data centers.

In short, you can easily make changes to your system (without worrying about physical hardware) and are free to communicate from anywhere.

Cloud phone system benefits

There are significant benefits when you transition from traditional phone systems to cloud-based phone systems:

Cost Savings – For many businesses, the main attraction of cloud phone systems is the affordable price. Anyone who has ever had to make international calls (before Skype and similar services existed) can fully appreciate the new era of inexpensive calls to any country across the world.

International calls made through the Internet cost a fraction of the cost from major landline providers.

For businesses, the cost savings are evident from day one. New customers aren’t hit with the same sticker shock as traditional business phone systems, which require substantial upfront capital expense for the physical system to be stored and managed on-site. Not to mention ongoing maintenance and upgrade fees as the system becomes outdated.

When users switch to the cloud, there are no major startup expenses. And each user can easily access and customize the system from their computer or mobile device. With that, companies immediately benefit every month from the inexpensive rates and low to no cost automated system updates.

Optimum Flexibility – As cloud phone technology has evolved, its features have progressed to meet companies’ growing and diverse needs in every industry.

Here are just a few examples:

• Executives can manage their teams in remote locations throughout the world.
• Call center agents can offer live support 24/7 to U.S. customers or customers worldwide.
• Employees can telecommute from home.
• Businesses can typically choose their own phone numbers. If they intend to demonstrate their presence in a specific region, they can easily select the appropriate area code.

Increased Productivity – For the many tasks needed to run a business, cloud-based unified communication simplifies the business process by making it easier than ever to collaborate between employees and reach customers. While also helping save time and money in the long run.

Many businesses who modernize their phone system and upgrade to the cloud benefit from an easier, more transparent system with access to constantly evolving communication features, all in one place. Which, in turn, helps streamline all other areas of their business and improve customer satisfaction.

Constant Innovation – Inevitably, traditional business phone systems become outdated when newer models enter the marketplace. These upgrades alone can cost businesses thousands of dollars for each upgrade.

With cloud phone providers, they are continually developing new software applications, which are updated automatically in the system.  It’s common for unified communication system providers to add new features monthly, or even weekly, -such as iPhone or Android integration, CRM integration, or social plug-ins.

Built-In Management – Traditional business phone systems need to be managed hands-on. Typically, companies rely on their on-site IT staff to troubleshoot problems or make periodic adjustments, such as adding or deleting users (which equates to adding or removing hardware). Small businesses that usually don’t have an IT staff have no choice but to contact their phone providers to send their technicians.

The process typically requires opening a customer service ticket, scheduling the tech to come on-site, and an open-ended appointment time. Cloud phone systems don’t require any of that hassle. The system comes with an online management portal easy enough for anyone to use from their desktop or even mobile device.

Adaptability during emergencies – In difficult emergencies, any physical hardware stored on-site could be rendered useless. A simple power outage or an event as catastrophic as a hurricane or fire could quickly put a company out of reach for an extended amount of time. The cloud phone system allows business communication to continue uninterrupted thanks to built-in features like call forwarding to mobile or off-site phones.

Scalability – While an on-premises data center can scale up to meet business growth demands, it can’t compare to the scale a cloud-based environment offers. With a cloud service subscription, a company can quickly scale resources up and down fluidly as needed. Plus access to ever-changing, more advanced communications features, and analytical information.

In Summary – You Get a Unified Communications System

A cloud-based Unified Communications system replaces your local phone company and gives your business the competitive advantage of managing, tracking, and improving all your communications through one system:

A unified cloud platform streamlines your company’s communications making your employees more productive and efficient while reducing your telecom costs. With all that efficiency, you’ll be able to focus on growing, and we will do all of the legwork to make sure your system is built to scale with you.

Contact Crexendo to upgrade today!

Crexendo’s patented cloud-based phone systems are engineered and custom-developed in-house. We offer 100% U.S. based customer support. Get the power of a world-class solution with the personalized cost-saving service your business deserves. Call 602-714-8500 now!