Imagine being able to run a large company with no big office space, no complicated tech room and a staff scattered about the entire country. Until just recently, such a company would have been virtually impossible to manage. Today, however, it’s all possible thanks to cloud-based communication systems.
Traditionally, to run a company, you needed to have a large tech room full of computers, peripherals and wires as well as a staff of IT technicians to maintain each component and the system software. Now, thanks to mobile cloud-based communication solutions, a third-party can handle the management and maintenance of this kind of technology.
No matter what type of company you run, cloud communication systems could transform the way that you manage your business. Thousands of firms that have already adopted cloud-based communication systems have enjoyed greater efficiency and heightened productivity with far less overhead costs and management stress.
What is Cloud-Based Communication?
Cloud-based communication is a form of voice and data communication in which a third party hosts the transmission and storage. When businesses sign up with cloud communication systems, members of staff can use the company’s communications technology from any location with Internet access.
The term cloud-based has come to represent any data–hosting service that users can access remotely from a PC or mobile device and rely on for instant backup. Until recently, businesses used cloud servers primarily for data backup, but the technology has expanded to incorporate vocal communication through voice over Internet protocol (VoIP).
The term “cloud telephony” has come to represent the influx of cloud-based services that enable voice functions and relieve companies of traditional telephone equipment. Cloud-based communication services are hosted and maintained by the providers, which frees users of the often crippling costs and time-consuming upkeep associated with self-run web servers and complex computer arsenals.
What Are the Benefits of Cloud-Based Communications?
The benefits of cloud-based communication solutions are numerous. For starters, they don’t require any on-site equipment, because everything is hosted and run by an off-site entity — the cloud service. This simplifies the communications setup as compared to a private branch exchange.
Other benefits of cloud-based communication systems include mobility, affordability and reliability. With cloud telephony, you get all the functions of a phone system, but without the large, expensive and hard-to-manage arsenal that an in-house phone system would entail. As long as you and your colleagues have mobile devices, you can conduct calls, receive voicemails and send fax messages from the palm of your hand.
Cloud-based systems are also an affordable option that allows you to save on the overhead associated with running companies the old-fashioned way.
Mobility
With mobile cloud-based communication solutions, you and your team can get work accomplished from any location under the sun with mobile access. Whether your team is locally grouped or scattered about across the planet, you can all convene at any time via cloud-based interfaces. Even if some of your colleagues are on the other side of the world, you can send and receive messages and real-time updates when everyone connects to mobile cloud communication solutions.
Most cloud-based services have also incorporated phone technology into their framework, which allows users to connect to cloud systems via handheld mobile devices. This way, team colleagues can upload and download documents, send and receive messages, and hold voice and video chat sessions from anywhere across the globe via smartphones and tablets.
Best of all, the cloud service hosts the necessary technology, which means that you don’t have to buy expensive equipment, download complicated software or hire in-house tech people to install and maintain the technology.
Scalability
Cloud-based communication systems allow you to expand and contract your business operations at any time without any loss or headaches. Therefore, whenever you need to grow or shrink the size of your company due to the winds of the market, it can all be handled via digital communication. You won’t need to move offices or buy and sell vast amounts of computer equipment.
Depending on your needs during a particular month or season, you might feel as though you need to increase the number of people on your team. For example, a business that books flights and accommodations for summer destinations will likely need more staff between May and September. On the other hand, a company that booms during the holidays will need to hire more people to process orders and handle customer inquiries during November and December.
On a cloud system, you can add seasonal hires to the network to handle the extra workload without needing to purchase additional equipment. As long as they have personal computers or mobile devices, you can hire new staff locally or abroad and link them up within your cloud-based work system.
Security
The security benefits of cloud-based communication systems far surpass those of traditional computerized business setups. With all of your company documents stored on an encrypted cloud server, thieves and hackers won’t be able to steal your sensitive information.
Before the introduction of cloud technology, it was relatively easy for hackers to steal customer info from businesses. In some cases, all a hacker had to do was run some password hacking software into a hosting website for business accounts and voila — they had access to thousands of customer credit card numbers. Simply put, old-fashioned online interfaces were relatively easy for advanced hackers to crack, regardless of whether such interfaces were encrypted or password-protected.
When you store your sensitive data on an encrypted cloud system, you won’t have to worry about security breaches. This is crucial to the sustainability of your business and your relationship with customers. Furthermore, file transfers are faster and safer via cloud communication systems than through web-based portals.
Cost Efficiency
Another one of the key benefits of cloud-based communication solutions is its cost efficiency. When businesses operate via cloud communication systems, they don’t need to sign long-term contracts. You can use the service for as long as you need and pay on a monthly basis.
This is a significant difference from many other online services, which will require you sign a contract for several years or pay a several-hundred-dollar fee for early termination. With a cloud-based service, you can sign up and conduct business via the cloud on the same day. If the needs of your business change or you want to down-size for a period, you can suspend your account, no questions asked. If a year down the line you need the service again, you sign back up and start again.
The overall cost of infrastructure is also a lot more cost efficient with a cloud-based service because everything is digital. You don’t have to have gigantic computer rooms full of coiled wires and machines that go out of date every few years. Furthermore, you don’t have to hire an IT staff just to maintain such equipment. With cloud technology, your service provider handles the technical stuff. You and your colleagues can just relax and work from the office, home, coffee shops or wherever you want via your laptops and smartphones.
Ease of Team Collaboration
Cloud technology offers business teams unified communication solutions that make it easier than ever to collaborate on projects. Gone are the days when you needed to have a large, expensive office space to accommodate everyone on your team with desks, chairs, computers and meeting tables. Gone, too, are the days when you could only collaborate if when everyone meets in the same physical place. With cloud technology, each collaborator can participate from home via PCs and mobile devices.
Multimedia cloud-based communication solutions offer an array of software for all types of collaborative projects. As long as you’re in Wi-Fi range, you can access the software with any digital handheld device to view and contribute updates. Best of all, the service provider maintains these software programs, so you don’t have to worry about bugs or compatibility issues with your local hardware.
Reliability
Cloud communication systems are mirrored to the point where you will never lose information. Even if there’s a power failure across an entire area and systems are fried locally, your info remains safe and available for later access and retrieval. Every document that you upload to a cloud server stays there until you remove the item or close your account. The things that you store in the cloud — be it information, images or documents — remain private between you and authorized viewers.
As a form of digital backup, cloud technology is far superior to hard media and computer peripherals such as CDRs, thumb drives and external drives, all of which are vulnerable to failure or theft. Even if you were to back things up on several redundant externals, they could all be wiped out by a power surge or fire. With a business cloud account, no flood, fire or natural disaster will wipe your company’s data.
Ease of System Maintenance
One of the best things about cloud communication solutions is that they relieve you from having to run your own in-house tech system. This can save you tons of time and money as well as spare you a whole lot of stress when you consider everything that can go wrong with communications systems.
For one thing, you don’t have to worry about software and computer compatibility, because everything that runs on the cloud gets supports at the server end. That way, you don’t have to upgrade half your arsenal just to accommodate a sudden change in software.
Unlike conventional web servers, downtime is virtually nonexistent with cloud servers. As you and your team complete important tasks, you won’t have to worry about sudden interruptions in your service. Whether you’re in the midst of typing up a report or fulfilling customer orders, the cloud remains fast and efficient 24/7.
Multimedia Communication
Multimedia cloud-based communication solutions accommodate all corners of the social media omnichannel, from video conferencing and photo sharing to live streams and news feeds. Whichever type of solutions is best suited for your business, they can all be hosted on cloud-based servers with far greater efficiency and reliability than with traditional web hosts.
For example, if you run a collaborative business with staff across the country, staff can upload imagery and send updates to the server from their smartphones and tablets. When it comes to sharing information and imputing data, each document can be viewed by all parties involved the second it gets uploaded to the company’s cloud-based system. There’s no need to scan photos, format–convert video footage or log into web-based portals the old fashioned way with multimedia cloud-based communication systems.
CRM Integration
Some cloud-based communication solutions offer integration capabilities with customer relationship management (CRM) programs like Salesforce. One such example is OfficeConnect CRM Connector for Salesforce by UniVoIP, which makes it simpler than ever before to manage a customer service department.
OfficeConnect CRM Connector for Salesforce makes it easier to keep track of when your staff called each customer. Furthermore, the technology brings all the necessary information about each client right to the caller’s fingertips the second a call comes on the screen. This makes the process of customer fulfillment a whole lot more manageable for businesses of all sizes that deal with service calls to and from the public.
Chose UniVoip for Your Cloud-Based Communication Needs
As more companies smart-size in response to the changing needs of customers, it’s crucial to eliminate extraneous and costly factors to zero in on the things that drive revenue. When you adopt multimedia cloud-based communication solutions for your business, you spend less on communications. As such, cloud solutions allow you to focus more on your core goal of running a successful company.
In today’s online commercial sector, companies are hiring employees from everywhere to handle a worldwide market of customers. To fulfill the demands of a global market, a company must communicate with its clients and be able to satisfy orders in a timely manner. With cloud-based services, such needs are a whole lot easier to meet.
Cloud technology has grown in leaps and bounds over the past several years, to the point where all forms of communication can be coordinated worldwide in real time. To learn more about the solution options from UniVoIP and to request free estimates, contact UniVoIP today.
