Moving to the Cloud

With a Hosted VoIP Telephone System

Well, we all know about VoIP I am sure. I am writing this in a non technical manner as I do not have a thorough grasp of the technicalities involved. The basic functionality of VoIP ( as it was initially known ) is Voice Over IP, which means that instead of phone calls being delivered over the legacy copper telephone wires ( know as the PSTN ); they are delivered over the internet.

As many businesses have high speed internet and as the broadband line can take any sort of data it makes sense to apply this resource as a way of saving money. Indeed early VoIP systems saved money, but little else. Their call quality was not as good as previous traditional phone systems and their functionality was basic at best.

But the internet got faster – if we think of data like water flowing down a pipe then the pipes got bigger. There was enough capacity in the pipes to take the ever increasing demands of internet browsing and VoIP data simultaneously whilst delivering near perfect sound quality.

Growth of Cloud Telephony

Of course there was then a growth in the functionality of VoIP. As VoIP was independent of hardware ( to a point ) and controlled via programming many new business features were conceived and added; some in house, and some via software packages. Hence the concept of VoIP began morphing into IP Telephony, Hosted Cloud Telephony and with various protocols and methods.

Perhaps the first consumer awareness of VoIP was via Skype, initially an instant messaging app which was developed into a Voice Over IP system which could be used with Computers, SoftPhones or Skype Phones ( as they were known ) and which was improved upon to such an extent that it became a fully fledged enterprise platform; initially as Microsoft Lync and latterly as Microsoft Skype for Business.

Unified Communications

The internet is now fast and huge, and the many connected devices that make up its environment form part of an infrastructure which allows proper cloud based telephony. The proliferation of connected devices (IP endpoints ) such as mobiles, tablets, headsets, computers, systems, conference phones has made the creation of the Unified Communications concept an inevitability. Unified Communications is not IP Telephony – rather the way in which a multitude of connected devices can access services ( Over IP ) from anywhere at any time.

We first looked at Unified Communications here

Top enterprise UC Platform providers include Mitel, Cisco, Polycom, Avaya, SFB, though there are a great many innovative and cheap ways to get your phone system ported to the cloud.

Moving to VoIP

A great many businesses have realised that there are many reasons to move to a hosted cloud platform and very few not to :

  • scalable – increase or decrease lines as needed
  • configurable – business processes can be added
  • secure – increased levels of security
  • cost – calls are cheaper – system is cheaper
  • administration – administer all services and devices remotely

An example of a supplier is Avalle4Business which offers a service that starts from as little as 20p a day per user for a VoIP line with number. Moving to a Cloud Hosted IP Telephone service can save you money whilst increasing staff satisfaction and productivity.

Free Set Up, Flexible Contract Terms And Low Prices make Avalle4Business the most cost-effective way to connect your employees with your customers.

For more information about moving your business phone system to VoIP/ Hosted Cloud please see the form here