7 Reasons Why Business Telecoms Has Changed Forever - 08/09/10
Posted by Cloud Net on Wed, Sep 08, 2010 @ 04:18 AM
1) The Old Fashioned PBX is Dead
The idea of having a dedicated box of electronics hidden away in a broom cupboard to direct all phone traffic in and out of a building will soon seem as quaint as the penny farthing bike. All telecommunications traffic is going to be transmitted via a computer network. If you are a large organisation then the servers that control everything may well be in your building – if not they will be in the cloud. The choice is now only between on-site VoIP and hosted VoIP such as Cloud Net hosted VoIP.
2) Telephony Costs are Falling
There used to be a time when the capital cost of phone systems was significant. The systems needed repairing, replacing and maintaining. If you changed your mind or needed more phones it cost a fortune. The new generation of hosted VoIP systems cost nothing and are always up to date and calls between sites and handsets on the network are free.
Telephone companies such as BT are trying to charge more for line rentals and coming up with ever more complex calling plans – but it is a forlorn hope - hosted VoIP with its inherent efficiencies is driving costs and prices ever downward.
Hosted VoIP is now also driving down mobile communication costs with mobile enabled PBX applications connecting anywhere over data lines. The model of charging a premium for landline to mobile and mobile to landline calls is nearly over.
3) Location Doesn’t Matter
Now with hosted VoIP anyone can have any dialling code anywhere. Call centres are already buying minutes anywhere in the world and buying connectivity solutions everywhere. Companies such as Cloud Net are making this flexibility available to every company, everywhere simply.
4) Nothing is Forgotten
Recording telephone conversations used to be only for big corporates. Hosted VoIP brings the ability to record all conversations or some conversations within the grasp of all organisations.
5) True Flexibility to Respond
With follow me services where the call follows you around as you move and mobile pbx services you can take any call on your mobile or on your landline.
But maybe you don’t want to take the call and then live answering services with real live people can save a fortune. We recently organised an event where all the bookings were taken by the answering service for less than £60 – compared to the usual cost of hiring a receptionist for 2 weeks.
However you want to organise your world you are no longer tied to any one way of answering calls or responding in any other way you choose. Everything is affordable, flexible and on demand. No more waiting for anything – and if you don’t like it, you can change it.
6) Advertising No Longer Cuts It
BT spend upwards of £50m a year in advertising and Vodafone are not far behind. In the Olympics year, BT will be spending close to £200m on advertising and related activities. It is all part of a concerted effort to persuade everyone that paying enormous sums for telecoms is OK. Customers want value for money they don’t want corny commercials or adverts with introductory rates that double after the first three months.
7) Customers are fed up of complex business phone websites and customer support lines
Companies that want new telephone systems seek out their knowledge on the web. Cloud Net keeps it simple: all our information is online and is all based on our hosted PBX. We provide telephone systems for small companies and have a standard fixed rate online switchboard with multiple features and users pay for calls only. Our promotion doesn’t drive you to a website with hundreds of options and a support number that requires you to choose from 8 options before reaching a real person.
Written by David Hill, Chairman, Cloud Net