Voice and Collaboration Services

There may be a day in the future when businesses are not as reliant on verbal communication, but that time has not come. Voice communication is still the go-to medium to relay messages effectively, resolve confusion, and build relationships. Fortunately, the speed and efficiency of cloud-based voice and collaboration services. By partnering with an experienced managed service provider like Flagler Technologies, you can ensure the same quality telephone and video conferencing that you receive in other parts of your operations.

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What is Cloud Calling?

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Cloud calling is the natural progression of telephonic services. If you own a cellphone, you engage in cloud calling. Many businesses, and workforces still have a landline phone system. Telephones sitting on desks are wired into the phone network. If you’re not near that desk, you can’t utilize that particular handset. Cloud calling allows you to connect using the cloud, so you’re free from wired phone devices. Employees can connect to the system via any authorized device, including a desktop computer, a laptop, a tablet, or a cellphone. You can also provide in-house equipment, like wireless headsets that integrate with your cloud management services.

With cloud calling, you can connect from virtually any location with any wireless device anytime you want.

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Cloud Hosted Services

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With cloud-hosted services, you can avoid the need for in-house servers by migrating various systems to the cloud. Many businesses use cloud-hosted services for their computer software needs but use landlines for telephonic communications. This may still work for your business if your staff is mostly in-office and has designated workstations, but what if your employees travel for work or work from home? And even if your staff is mostly in-office, a landline system keeps them chained to their desks, reducing their ability to respond to internal and external calls when they’re up and moving about the building.

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Benefits of Voice and Collaboration Services

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The advantages of moving toward cloud-based telephony are numerous.

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Simplified Approach

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If you switched to work-from-home operations as a result of the pandemic or as a recruitment incentive, you might have found using landlines a bit challenging. Many companies simply had their employees enter their cellphone numbers in the signature line of their emails and hoped that external parties would find their way to them.

With cloud calling, your employees’ phone numbers and extensions could be forwarded to their cell phones. Or better yet, you can add a dedicated line to their phones. When an employee has to occasionally stay at home to quarantine or to take care of a sick child, they can still make and receive calls from the designated device.

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Cost Effectiveness

 

A landline system means that each employee has to have a designated workstation, telephone, and possibly a desktop computer. All of this equipment and the operating space cost money. With a cloud-based system, you can save space by using a “hot desk” system where any employee can use any space. Additionally, employees who would prefer to work from home instead of using PTO can still answer calls.

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Work From Anywhere

 

Sales staff and other remote workers can take calls and attend virtual meetings from anywhere they can get a signal or wifi through apps.

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Easy and Seamless Integration

 

When you contract through a managed service provider like Flagler Tech, migrating your communications to the cloud is easy. You will not notice any degradation of service, and you will not experience downtime in your communications.

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Scalability

 

Without having to rely on physical equipment, you can expand and contract your services as you need to. This is a tremendous advantage for businesses that are expanding or face seasonal ebbs and flows.

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VOIP vs. PBX

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Many people hear the terms VOIP and PBX and wonder what the differences are. Tech companies love to find new collaborative solutions to describe terms, and these abbreviations are certainly much easier to remember than Voice over Internet Protocol or Private Branch Exchange, but what are the differences between these two telecommunication mediums?

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Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP)

 

This is the basis for an automated cloud-based telecom system. The voice or sound is converted to data and transported through the cloud to the receiver, where it is converted back into the original sound.

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Private Branch Exchange (PBX)

 

This somewhat dated technology involves connecting units via hardware. In other words, this is a traditional phone system that is hardwired into a network. The term time duplex multiplexer is also used to describe the same type of system.

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Voice and Collaboration Uses

 

Cloud phone services is a communications solution that provides a greater deal of flexibility than a PBX. Here are some examples of what’s possible with a cloud-based service:

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• Cloud-hosted third party voice services allow users to make and receive phone calls with the same clarity as a land-based system; only these calls can take place from anywhere with a wireless connection.
   

• Video-Conferencing allows users to join meetings from anywhere in the world through internet connectivity. Cloud communications can accommodate Zoom, Microsoft Teams, WebEx calling, and more.
   

• Flexible usage means that your employees can make and receive calls over the same computer or tablet that they work on.
   

• Tracking capabilities allow managers to gather statistics and other data about employee phone usage, helping to maximize efficiency.
   

• Scaling allows companies to only utilize the number of services and amount of data that they require.
   

• Allows a wide range of remote working features like unified communication. Many cloud calling service providers now offer full-use unified communications (UCAAS) as service subscription options.

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Frequently Asked Questions About Cloud-based Phone Services

 

At Flagler Tech, we help companies benefit from the latest advances in cloud-based solutions. The following are some of the most commonly asked questions by our voice and collaboration services clients.

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Is Cloud-based Telephony Safe?

 

Many business managers have concerns about allowing their communications to be placed “into the cloud.” Cloud-based communications are encrypted, meaning only the sender and the receiver can access the data without the encryption key. In a sense, this is safer than wired communications, which can be tapped.

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How Long Will I Lose Access to My Phones if I Migrate to a Cloud-based Solution?

 

You should not experience significant downtime. The migration is fairly seamless, and you should be able to use your telecom system during the initialization and testing phase.

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Can I Use a VOIP System With My Existing PBX?

 

Yes. If you like your PBX but need to take advantage of VOIP, we can develop a hybrid solution that will give you the best of both worlds. This will allow some employees to continue to work from their physical stations and others to connect via the cloud. It can also be helpful to allow employee absence without losing productivity.

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How Will My Customers Respond to the Change?

 

Chances are excellent that they won’t notice the difference unless you point it out to them. They will still be able to contact your business through the same phone number, and the quality of the call should match or improve on your current landline.

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Flagler Tech for Voice and Collaboration

 

Flagler Technologies is a managed service provider that offers professional services and develops IT solutions for small and medium-sized businesses. If you are considering an updated communication platform or VOIP phone system, give us a call for a free consultation. Our information technology experts are happy to answer any questions you have.