The on-premises business phone system has had its heyday, but the virtues that once defined it have now become liabilities in today’s fast-paced business climate. Moving around physical private branch exchange (PBX) hardware can be a non-starter for many businesses and adding new lines of service to newly-opened office locations can be an outright hassle.
When it comes to transitioning to a new business phone system, a growing number of companies are relying on cloud communications to get the job done. Cloud-based phone systems allow businesses to quickly set up phones, contact centers, and even virtual meetings without the inconvenience of setting up physical systems. Here are five ways that cloud phone systems stand out from traditional business phone solutions.
Fewer Obstacles When Moving to a New Location
Moving physical PBX equipment around can be a hassle given the amount of planning and man hours needed for the task. With cloud communications, businesses can leave their physical equipment behind. The phone provider maintains the service data and information needed by the business, further simplifying the process. All that’s needed is for IT personnel to plug in the phones.
More Room for Growth
A physical business phone system can slow down a company’s rapid growth, especially since each location may require a phone system deployment before anything else can be done. Today’s cloud-based resources facilitate faster growth since all that’s often needed at a new location is a softphone and a reliable network connection.
Easier Unification of Global Offices
In a typical on-premises environment, IT personnel may be tasked with managing several different phone systems at multiple locations in an attempt to unify communications. It’s a complicated task that’s often made simpler with global cloud communications. A single cloud-based phone system can connect every location in a unified manner, eliminating the costs and inconvenience of juggling multiple PBX systems.
Accommodation of Tight Deadlines
When meeting a tight deadline means the difference between a substantial profit and a substantial loss, the last thing a company needs is a PBX phone system that is time-consuming and expensive to configure. A cloud-based Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone solution can be deployed and configured in much shorter time than a typical on-premises solution.
Greater Resilience Against Disasters
When a severe storm or major natural disaster happens, a premises-based PBX system is vulnerable to outages, system disruptions, and equipment damage. Cloud-based PBX systems don’t face the same limitations that affect physical PBX equipment during a disaster scenario. Businesses have greater peace of mind about their services avoiding disruption in the aftermath of a disaster.
A cloud-based phone solution also frees personnel to work from home or a satellite office, ensuring that employees don’t miss a beat due to an emergency. Businesses can even add after-hours emergency ring groups and other features that help enhance customer responsiveness during a disaster.
Making the switch to a cloud-based business phone solution offers a broad range of tangible benefits to any company currently using an old-fashioned PBX system. To speak to one of our Cloud Strategy Consultants about eXemplify’s cloud communications solutions, contact us here.