What are Cloud Communication Services?

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Cloud communication illustration

Cloud communications enable data and voice calls, chats, faxes, and more on an internet-based telecommunications application. A third-party company commonly hosts this outside of a small business, and it can be accessed with the help of the internet.

Most of the cloud services vary and are tailored according to the needs of a specific company. This is a broad term that primarily refers to the data-center hosted service that can be accessed and run with the help of internet infrastructure.

In the past, the providers may offer cloud data services like storage and accessibility. However, with the improvements in the VoIP or voice over internet protocol technology, one of the cloud offerings today is a phone call. There are hosted telephones that have voice services with the goal of replacing the traditional wired telephone lines. Most businesses don’t need to get telephone equipment like the private branch equipment, but they can get another provider’s VoIP offerings.

Most of the providers may deliver data and voice communications and services. They are hosted on servers where they are maintained by their providers like G12 and ensure that everything is safe and secure. As a result, conversations are put into one place, and the call center facilities don’t have to purchase physical telephones to do their work daily.

A More Efficient Way of Operating

Many businesses have found out to their delight that they can cut costs with a cloud communication service. They can reach customers across the globe regardless of their location, and they don’t have to deal with landlines. The features are all beneficial to the business, and the overall expenses of running the cloud are significantly lower than getting in-house hardware.

Many companies have succeeded in delivering cloud-based services to business owners. Some had demonstrations operating inside the platform, which is more effective than using a software-based subscription program.

Many voice services delivered under the cloud have significantly increased their values when it comes to hosted telephones. As a result, users can turn to other offerings instead of going with the facilities-based service providers for VoIP. Today, the internet has a broad reach, and it may not be a good idea to rely on brick-and-mortar companies to provide you with your communication needs.

You can all set this up on your computers, and everyone can have access to voice calls, video conferences, and chat logs regardless of their location. An expanded system encompassing more than the regional carriers is one sign that a business is ready to develop into an international reach.

Cloud and Telecommunications

In the past decades, many businesses utilized the cloud for many IT services but not particularly for telecommunications. This limits them in their activities, and they may not be able to connect with their customers outside of their local codes. Also, it’s very expensive to make international calls or answer one with the traditional phone lines.

You can expect to have a hosted service built upon voice, and the cloud communications will be the environment that will act as a platform where you can work with all of the available modes seamlessly. You can also integrate some of the applications into your workflow to make your processes more manageable.

Nowadays, three trends in enterprises are attracting users to try the cloud and allowing them to do this on any device they use. First, they may have smartphones, laptops, and computers inside the company, and all of these can be utilized to bring communication together. This is an expansive development, and a traditional communications infrastructure is generally not designed to handle this.

The first trend is the distribution of work and company operations in satellite home offices and other branches. This is where a wide area network becomes more inefficient, cumbersome, and costly. WANs are only for a single building or areas that are next to each other. The second trend is the devices that are being accessed in many enterprises like printers, iPhones, Androids, and VoIP handsets. The third is that the providers and those who manage the applications and other IT assets are often controlled remotely.

Applications to Know About

Cloud computing illustration

Telephony services, including the cloud, are predominant today in many business applications like payment processing, human resources, e-commerce, and advertising. This is prevalent in economical teleworking and call centers that distribute incoming and outgoing communications on the internet. Read more about call centers on this page.

Instead of getting phone lines installed, many call centers today prefer VoIP to make it easier for the clients and representatives to talk to each other.

The features, functionality, and scale of the services are expected to develop further in the next few years. Others are hoping that they can embrace mobilization, streamline all their communications, and make way for more collaboration with the help of cloud communication services.

Potential Benefits to the Users

For many medium-sized businesses or enterprises, the initial investment in purchasing and setting up an in-house VoIP infrastructure can be more expensive. The potential returns may not be met in the space of a year, but this is a different case with cloud telephony.

First, the companies can get the same service with the help of a subscription to the cloud communications provider without setting up hundreds of computers. Second, the subscription basis is very affordable, and a business can decide to stop the subscription when it no longer needs it.

Many providers have worked in the industry for decades, and it’s no surprise that they are experts at what they do. On the contrary, some employees in a small business don’t have any experience with IT infrastructures and some are not too techy. It’s improbable that a full-time employee has the same level of expertise as the professionals in this field who are full-time techs in telecommunications infrastructure.

There’s also the question of who is going to do the maintenance of the servers. A great deal of wiring is needed in the main distribution frame, and the pros should be the ones doing them. In addition, on-premises maintenance is required from time to time to make sure that everything goes smoothly. Overall, cloud communication is helping businesses scale up and collaborate with other companies so that the services can be used in multiple devices and locations.

Risks to Know

The technology of the cloud is still present in various physical servers. Therefore, it’s essential to get a provider with a secure physical location of the servers, and they must follow their country’s Data Privacy Act. There can be risks of fire, theft, or floods and this can make a negative impact to a company’s operations. More about the risks in this link: https://insights.sei.cmu.edu/blog/12-risks-threats-vulnerabilities-in-moving-to-the-cloud/.

Product Offerings

Many companies may provide hosted software to their clients, and the products don’t have to be inside the office. This will allow the users to have access to information and communicate even if they are in different locations. The voice-over traffic is moving on the internet, and some examples are the following:

  • Fax handling and services
  • Call trackers and software
  • Call center telephones
  • SIP trunking
  • Private branch exchanges
  • Text messaging
  • IVR or interactive voice responses
  • Voice broadcasting

Other Benefits to Know About

The numerous benefits of the cloud should not be overlooked. Some of them are the following:

  • Boost the productivity of the workers in the office
  • Reduced costs and there’s no need for business travel
  • Handy in a time of pandemic where everyone is working from home
  • No need to invest in an expensive computer, landlines, cables, and other hardware
  • Refocusing the other resources on new innovations in the workplace instead of maintaining hardware
  • Faster communication because of the internet
  • There’s overall agility in answering messages and phone calls
  • Reduced barriers related to geography
  • Teams can work on every project simultaneously without delays
  • Works well with specific business processes like BPO
  • Can be expansive
  • Engage other external constituents, customers, investors, and other business partners
  • Roll out virtual training in various locations at the same time so all employees can attend.

Overcoming Possible Frustrations with Workplace Communication

Many companies need their people to connect to get work done. Today’s environment has changed, and there’s a mix of on-site and off-site personnel dealing with all kinds of campaigns and projects. There are also the complications presented by contract workers and full-time employees not knowing what each other is working on.

When you combine these, it makes communication challenging, whether externally to the customers or internally with the other employees. With this realization, even small businesses have decided to try the cloud and hinge their success on a more modernized approach in business communication. Overall, cloud communications are designed to work and be more flexible to all organizations. The platform offers high-quality audio and video output, always consistent, and the messaging can reach out across any device. Interaction is possible anywhere. It essentially unified messaging, video, and voice, and it dramatically enhanced the efficiency of everyone. The workforce will be more productive by serving various customers in many locations simultaneously, which will bring more success to the company.