Cloud Communications is another way of saying cloud phone systems, Cloud PBX or unified communications as a service (UCaaS). Cloud Comms seems to have taken poll position recently as the phrase that describes having your company’s telephony in the cloud.
Cloud Communications versus UCaaS
Voice is pretty much a commodity nowadays in the Telecoms equipment market, it’s all about unified communications which brings together voice, video, messaging, sharing and meetings etc. So in many ways ‘cloud communications’ encapsulates all these services and says they are available in the cloud. The term UCaaS could be classed as a sub-category of Cloud Communications.
- Cloud Communications = Encapsulates all cloud telephony deployment models whether they are private, hybrid or public cloud
UCaaS typically offers cloud-based unified comms apps, which are available on a subscription basis (OpEx). Therefore to differentiate the two, you could say that Cloud Communications is not only includes UCaaS, but also CPaaS, Cloud PBX and co-located communications hardware. Therefore any ‘cloud based’ communications service.
Here’s a list of Cloud Communications companies, the only platforms excluded from this are hardware based unified communications systems.
Service Providers List
For a full list of Communications Service Providers (companies that take vendor platforms and host them in the cloud for resale/wholesale see here)
Cloud PBX Platform Vendors
These platforms can be hosted in your office or in the cloud. Most software platforms can be hosted in virtualised environments such as Microsoft Hyper-V or VMware vSphere (be sure to check compatibility before purchasing!)
| 3CX |
| Avaya Aura Communications Manager |
| Avaya Equinox |
| Avaya IP Office |
| Cisco Business Edition 6000 |
| Cisco Business Edition 7000 |
| Microsoft Skype for Business / Microsoft Teams |
| Mitel MiVoice Business |
| Mitel MX-One |
| MiVoice Office 400 Virtual Appliance |
| NEC Univerge 3C |
| ShoreTel Connect ON-SITE |
| Unify OpenScape 4000 |
| Unify OpenScape Business |
| Unify OpenScape Enterprise Express |
UCaaS Providers
Subscription based UC platforms, commonly known as UCaaS – hosted in the cloud and typically supporting over-the-top (OTT) communications which allows users to connect from any location with ease.
Our CPaaS vendors List is here
Cloud Communications Service Providers
In recent years cloud communications service providers (CSPs) have risen in popularity due to the move to hosted telephony services. CSPs host the platform and offer resellers and end-user organisations an ‘all in one’ solution combining technologies from multiple vendors.
To view a list of Cloud Communications Service Providers click here.
Choosing the Best Cloud Communications Provider
Let’s start by saying it’s not an easy task and unfortunately there is no single ‘best’ provider. In most cases it’s a matter of ‘horses for courses’. Firstly you’ll need to know what differentiates them and to get you started you may want to read one of our Buyer’s Guides.
Here’s some top tips, if you’d like to share your expertise or experience please comment below.
- Explore vendor and product backgrounds
- How secure is their platform?
- What’s their marketshare?
- What’s the product roadmap?
- Read our Unified Communications Reviews
Ultimately you need to carefully select the right partner to help you manage the deployment (most vendors tend to work with Channel partners to assist with the service element). Business communications is becoming quite complex, having someone on-side to guide you through the purchasing and deployment process is critical if the investment is to provide a good return on your investment.
Any missing from our list? Comment below and we’ll add it in. If you found this list useful, please share it at least once or drop us a note below.
