Not much in life can be as ‘solid as a rock’ and when it comes to telephone systems, there are so many overlapping reasons that could cause reliability issues. Moving a telephone system into the cloud can be one of the ways that support enhanced reliability.
A business cloud phone system is commonly known as VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol), SiP (Session Initiation Protocol) or internet calling. This has now become the standard for all phone systems being chosen by businesses due to the following reasons:
- ISDN digital services are now ‘end of life’ and will be switched off in 2025;
- Cloud telephony is often far less expensive than current telephony;
- Cloud phone systems often offer more technology for no extra cost (for example call recording);
- Cloud telephony is now seen as more reliable, especially as older, legacy copper cabling deteriorates.
Cloud-based calls (which are often free of any charge) are managed over the internet rather than the traditional copper telephone wires that traffic calls into and out of your business.
Increasingly popular and reliable
The prominence, popularity and reliability of cloud-based call management have increased dramatically alongside the rise of cloud-based data systems, through which businesses can manage their data in a virtual space rather than by on-site servers.
Cloud calls are hosted in offsite secure data centres.
So, instead of maintaining telephony software on an in-house server or private brand exchange (PBX), all telephone information and data is stored in the cloud.
This improves operating reliability and updates can be made automatically, in the cloud, without the need for costly maintenance outages and on-site telephony engineers.
Hardware
Cloud-based systems can be used with a range of hardware, including standard phones with adapters, the use of a smartphone app, specific software or VoIP specific phones.
You can make and receive cloud calls through a range of devices, which means that this platform is a versatile and reliable form of business communication.
The key requirement is the availability of an internet connection.
Cloud calls can be managed on a standard desk phone using a VoIP adapter. A computer, using an appropriate program, can also be used.
Or your smartphone can make and receive cloud calls. Finally, you could choose a VoIP phone, which connects to your computer rather than a fixed phone line.
Call reliability
The key reason why cloud phone calls are reliable is because they are hosted across a number of different locations.
So, if a server in a particular region has technical issues, there is a back-up server in a separate location which ensures reliability.
Multiple server locations means that downtime is significantly reduced for business users.
Cloud phones can also be a reliable component of your growth and development plan.
Their technical flexibility means that you can take and make calls from any location, providing you have an internet connection.
This makes it easy to manage multiple location working for you and your teams.
And as your business grows, cloud phones enable you to quickly scale your operation because you don’t need to add hard-wired lines to new desks in your business premises.
Call quality across VoIP is excellent, and when combined with video facilities, it means that calls can be more productive.
Face-to-face meetings do not necessarily need to be in person, so using video conferencing for contact with key clients can also save valuable travel time and costs.
Disaster recovery
And if your business, or services in the vicinity, suffer a disaster, such as a flood, a police incident or a road closure, it means that your employees can quickly resume business communications from another business location, or their homes, without the complexity of trying to re-route landline calls to them.
Remember, when your people are out of reach to your customers, your business is also out of reach. VoIP can overcome this risk and improve your business reliability.
If you would like to learn more about how a cloud phone system could save your organisation time and money, Time Communications would be happy to talk you through the options available to you. Contact Time Communications’ expert team on 0113 2059640, you can request a callback on our home page, email at [email protected] or message us here.
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