A Guide to What Cloud PBX Can Do For Your Business

Cloud PBX is the latest and digital version of the private branch exchange located in the cloud surpassing traditional forms of private branch exchange or PBX. For effective functioning, a service provider will own, operate, and maintain the PBX using a secure data centre.  The service can be accessed using the internet with a high-speed broadband router.  This article will provide information on how the Cloud PBX is beneficial and what it can do for your business.

1.  Protecting the Company’s Capital

Cloud PBX solutions are useful in protecting the company’s capital because there are no upfront costs for new private branch exchange or business infrastructure.  Instead of paying these costs, you will pay a monthly service provider charge covering management, maintenance, and upgrade services.

2.  Reducing Calling Costs

Cloud PBX allows for connection of the internet to your company’s phone system allowing access to call charges lower than the equivalent costs on the public switched telephone network.  This is beneficial to company savings, particularly if the company requires one to make several regular international or long-distance calls.

3.  Choosing Your Telephones

Using a cloud PBX, you will have a larger choice of telephones.  Not only will you have a larger choice of phones, but it is also possible to retain the current analogue telephones while adapting them for digital use with a low-cost converter.  To enjoy the advantages of this service, it is possible to buy or rent the latest IP telephones.

If your staff members spent a lot of time out of the office at client companies or working from home, the cloud PBX offers mobile solutions.  This means that the staff can make and take calls using mobile phones with internet abilities; as well as laptops, tablets, or personal computers with a software application known as ‘softphone’.

4.  Elimination Of Maintenance And Upgrade Costs

When operating an office-based PBX, it is possible to incur maintenance charges or experience downtime if the company’s facilities break down.  The impact of downtime on a company is important because it can result in a loss of productivity, the loss of revenue, the cost of service recovery, and the loss of client confidence in the company.

While cloud-based PBX solutions could break down, it is not possible to notice any difference in the provider service.  This is because the providers will invest in carrier-grade equipment setting up duplicate systems.  If one of these duplicate systems fails, the cloud PBX will automatically switch to the alternate working system.

Traditional software upgrades are regular, and this means that there are additional licence charges and deployment of latest versions of the software to all users.  With the cloud-based PBX solution, however, the service provider deploys all of the latest versions to the users without any disruptions to deployment and no additional licence charges.

5.  Improvement In Call Handling

If the company staff takes calls using various individual desk telephones or mobile phones with different numbers, it is easy to miss telephone calls.  This can result in poor levels of customer service, frustration among customers, and the chance of lost business.

Using a cloud PBX phone solution, callers can dial a single telephone number, and the PBX routes will send them to the dedicated staff extensions at the company office or the staff mobile phones.  Callers will receive a professional greeting when calling the company and will be able to choose the service from some alternatives including technical support, customer services, and sales.  The calls will be sent to extensions outside of the company that handle specialist support functions, such as remote call centres or specialist contractors.

6.  Supporting Flexible And Mobile Working

One of the benefits of cloud PBX is its ability to reach contacts throughout the world when an individual has an online connection.  This means that the staff members do not need to be located at a central office to receive or make telephone calls.

The cloud-based PBX solution can transfer incoming calls to a staff member’s home phone or mobile telephone if the employee is away from the central office.  It is also possible to forward the telephone call to numerous phones ensuring that the caller will receive a response.  If the first telephone is not answered, the digital PBX system is forwarded to some differently designated telephones.  Taking this into account, you can be certain that all staff will remain in contact regardless of their location.  This provides the opportunity to incorporate flexible working options providing callers with a high standard of service.

7.  Improving The Company’s Efficiency And Service

Cloud PBX solutions can increase the company’s level of efficiency by providing employees with access to advanced communication services such as VoIP, also known as voice over internet protocol.  Companies of all sizes can benefit from different calling features such as call forwarding, conferencing, presence status, and unified messaging.  In previous years these services were only available to large businesses and not smaller start-ups.

8.  Increasing The Capacity On Demand

If your company begins to grow and you need to handle a large volume of traffic, it may be necessary to increase the capacity on demand.  This means that the business may experience seasonal peaks or a need to deal with a growth in call volume following a marketing campaign.  By improving the communication system, you can ensure that the company will be able to handle changing volumes and maintain call waiting times for clients.

9.  Connecting Branches Using The Cloud

If your company operates using multiple websites, the cloud-based PBX improves communication making it simpler and reducing expenses.  Calls made between the connected websites are free and you will be able to reduce the operating costs by removing any duplicate equipment on each site by running a central system.  The company requires only a single VoIP router with a high-speed online connection to access this service without any need for further infrastructure.

When the solution is put in place, all companies can enjoy identical communication facilities as the primary office or access the shared facilities.  The sites can use a shared call centre, such as agents operating in a central location or remotely.  Regardless of where the staff member is working, they will be able to respond to clients using the same call handling services; thereby, improving the level of company call consistency and customer service quality.

All branches will be able to exchange information and collaborate when connected using a cloud-based PBX.  This means that the main office is able to gain essential business reports easily with branches exchanging information easily.  This simple and efficient exchange of data can improve the effectiveness of functioning and improve the level of decision-making.

10.  Making The Company More Mobile

Using the cloud-based PBX solution, all mobile staff members and workers operating from home or other areas will be able to access identical phone services.  All they require to access these facilities is a smartphone or an internet connection on a desk.  This makes it easy for the company to offer flexible work policies attracting and retaining modern employee services.

11.  Supporting A Virtual Company

If you own a “virtual company” with staff members or freelancers working from home or from various locations, it is possible to link all individuals using a cloud-based PBX.  There is no longer any need for clients to remember numerous numbers for different agents, they can call a single number and the digital system will direct them to the correct staff member.