When the first public telephone networks were rolled out, there was a physical connection that meant two telephone receivers were truly linked with one another. Of course, this often meant that a telephone operator would need to patch a caller through to establish the link - before the invention of the automated telephone exchange, at any rate.
These days, you can still establish a link between two handsets in order for voice communications to run in just the same manner as before – but with one crucial difference. The direct connection between the parties does not need to exist any longer. Why? Because the internet doesn't rely on the same method of connecting devices even though it makes use of the same infrastructure.
What Is Cloud Telephony?
A cloud based application is simply a software platform hosted on a remote server (usually owned by a third party), rather than installed locally on your own servers or computers. Access is gained through an internet connection and a secure web interface.
Cloud-based telephony should not seem intimidating– it’s just a means of harnessing the internet to allow for telecommunications to occur in the same manner that data communications do. Put simply, cloud telephony is no different technologically than accessing an email account on a third-party server.
Why should business managers be looking at its commercial possibilities?
1. Efficiency
Firstly, cloud telephony offers greater efficiency and profitability because you don't need to invest so much in a physical telephone infrastructure as you might have done in the past. You can obtain many of the same sorts of advanced features that you would have with a business telephone system, for example, without needing to buy one. A hosted telephony service can manage inbound calls for you, deal with overflows at peak hours, set up hunt groups and place individual numbers on do-not-disturb, all via a web portal. Essentially, you can think of the cloud as one large telephone system which operates just like a conventional business telephone exchange.
2. Flexibility
Hosted web-based telephony means being able to set up in one location temporarily and then to move on to another one with all of the same functionality no matter where you are going to be. If you needed to relocate and take a phone system to a new location with you, it could take weeks to set up your new lines and set up call diverts even before you got your system installed and ready for you. This is just not the case with a cloud-based approach, especially when the telephony services are managed for you by an expert hosting company, like GPS Telecoms.
Voice Over The Internet…
Business owners shouldn't be put off by terms like VOIP, either - all it means is the ability to handle voice communications using internet protocols.
VOIP means callers get exceptionally high call quality even if three, four or more people are connected to the call in a single session. When you bear in mind that cloud telephony takes advantage of VOIP as well as many other digital services like instant messaging, automated attendants and PIN protected outbound dialling, it is little wonder so many forward-thinking organisations are choosing to adopt it.
Find Out More
At GPS Telecoms we make the latest cloud-based technologies available to small businesses at competitive prices and on flexible contract terms. Speak to one of our customer service advisers to find out more – 03330 093 677.
