The chances are that you have come across the term “cloud telephony,” especially if you have ever searched for ways to make your phone system cost less but do more.

The business world has evolved a lot from what it used to be a decade ago. An increasing number of employees are now working remotely. As professionals continue to spend a lot of time working from their homes, cafes, or client offices, it is only right not to leave their business phones back in the office. This is where cloud telephony comes in.

What is Cloud Telephony?

Essentially, cloud telephony refers to a phone system that runs through your internet connection. It is a type of Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) that brings various communications systems and collaborations tools under a single roof. For instance, you can move your phone services to the cloud using Cloud PBX and connect them with your video meetings, CRM, instant messaging, and business processes.

A few other names used to refer to cloud telephony include cloud communications, cloud phone systems, and cloud calling. Typically, a cloud telephony system comprises the following components:

• VoIP Phone Service – transmits calls
• Softphones – convert a device into a business phone
• Cloud or virtual phone numbers – facilitates global communication
• Outbound calling – helps make outgoing calls with specific called IDs

Cloud telephony help streamline your business communications, keep your teams better connected, and make your employees more focused, engaged, and satisfied in their roles. According to a study conducted by CMBR for Cisco, remote work capabilities, such as video conferencing and team chat, helped 8 in 10 employees improve their productivity.

Whether you are opening a new office, hiring remote workers, or expanding your in-house teams, cloud telephony will help make the expansion effortless and cost-effective.

How Does it Work?

Cloud telephony leverages VoIP to transmit calls through the internet. So, by moving telephony to the cloud, your calls will be routed through remote servers. Furthermore, as it isn’t attached to a specific location, it becomes easy for users to receive and make calls from any location using any device.

Additionally, the servers are hosted in the supplier’s data center instead of physical on-premises equipment in your office. So, they can be accessed through the internet.

Organizations usually port their DDI numbers to the cloud service. Hence, it isn’t necessary to add new phone numbers. When someone calls, it is routed according to predetermined rules. This means sending the call to several devices at once to a colleague, or a pre-recorded message, or whatever is right. Calls are also routed to a phone number. However, the number is kept virtual instead of being attached to a physical cell phone or handset.

As your entire telephony system is handled in the cloud, it saves you from having to buy, install, and switch systems like SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) and PRI (Primary Rate Interface) lines to switching and routing systems.

But how does this help your business?

Cloud telephony helps your business expand beyond its immediate geographic boundaries and enter new markets cost-effectively. Nevertheless, the best part of using a cloud phone system is that you can control the service regardless of your location through an online control panel. You will also be offered access to all VoIP phone features and given complete control over your phone numbers. You can add new numbers of clients, make updates, add new rules, and more.

Switch to Cloud Telephony

It is pretty evident that cloud telephony is the future of business communications, especially as work from home has become more common. A cloud phone system allows you to expand and scale while making processes more cost-efficient. It also makes managing your teams more efficient through a central system.

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