Cloud communications solutions are now a must-have investment for many evolving companies. Any business hoping to ensure continued productivity in an unpredictable environment, facilitate hybrid work and ensure consistent communications needs to invest in the cloud.
As cloud calling technologies gain increased adoption, however, many organisations are discovering that off-the-shelf and pre-packaged options aren’t right for their brand. Instead, these companies need a more flexible ecosystem capable of adapting to suit their needs. Bring Your Own Carrier platforms and solutions are perfect for this new level of agility.
With BYOC solutions, businesses can easily bring the functionality offered by their preferred communication providers into the tools they already use.
Plus, there are cost savings and management benefits to consider too. Here are some of the hottest trends rising in BYOC and cloud calling for 2022.
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Converging Cloud Environments
Perhaps one of the most significant trends influencing the rise of Bring Your Own Carrier functionality and cloud call, in general, is the rise of converging clouds.
Increasingly, companies are embracing cloud technology as a way of ensuring business continuity and keeping team members connected wherever they might be. However, just as a host of different applications can cause information silos and disruptions, different cloud environments can pose problems too.
With Bring Your Own Carrier technology, it’s easier to embed the communication functionality you need into the tools your teams already use. Companies can use the same carrier for their CCaaS and UCaaS systems and align their communication strategies with CRM tools. With BYOC, business leaders can pave the way to a more synergised communication stack.
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Hybrid Working
BYOC solutions and cloud calling are also becoming increasingly important for the new age of hybrid and remote work. Currently, around 76% of employees in one study say their businesses are now shifting to a hybrid working model, and flexible working modes are evolving all the time. With cloud-calling tools, companies ensure business users can continue to access critical tools wherever they are.
BYOC solutions also allow companies more freedom when it comes to setting up communication strategies for workers around the globe. It’s possible to partner with different carriers, depending on where your users are in the world, to ensure regulatory compliance and consistency.
Many BYOC solutions are also designed to work alongside collaboration tools and systems designed to keep employees connected anywhere. With the right tools, companies can also provision and manage communication systems and numbers from anywhere in the world. This makes managing the overall communication strategy much easier.
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Team Collaboration as a Work Hub
As the workplace continues to transform and businesses shift into the cloud, new platforms are emerging to provide a “hub” for digital work. The collaboration platform, in the form of tools like Microsoft Teams, Slack, and Cisco Webex, provides an environment where employees can share ideas, communicate over the video, and work in tandem with distributed employees.
BYOC solutions and cloud calling take this work hub environment to the next level. With the right carrier and a solution like Direct Routing or Operator Connect, companies can embed communication tools into systems like Microsoft Teams. This ensures employees have all the calling tools they need within the environments where they do the majority of their work each day.
Bringing your own carrier into the work collaboration hub ensures team members don’t have to jump between apps to connect with colleagues and customers. It can also be an excellent way to align more of your conversational data and insights. This reduces the risk of information silos and gaps in your business communication stack.
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Contextual Conversations
Companies rapidly recognise the need for more data and insights in their communication strategies. Whether you’re connecting with colleagues in a collaboration app, or reaching out to customers, the more context you have, the more meaningful the discussion becomes. With cloud calling and BYOC solutions, the open environment makes it easier to access this context.
BYOC solution providers offer APIs and integrations to help you bring more of your essential technologies together in the same environment. This ensures business users have more of the information they need, whether they’re seeking out the ideal specialist to help with a task or talking to customers. Contextual conversations also allow for a clearer view of communication data.
Companies can track information across multiple channels in an increasingly diverse omnichannel environment to collect insights into everything from employee engagement to the buyer journey. This allows for better decision-making and growth opportunities.
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Omnichannel Communications
As mentioned above, the channels today’s teams and consumers are using to stay connected are growing more diverse. We’ve moved beyond simply “cloud calling” tools to unlock innovations in a range of conversational areas. Today’s BYOC solutions can help to connect you with the carriers you need in regions around the world. However, they can also support omnichannel connections.
Many of the top BYOC solution providers offering tools for modern cloud-based businesses also support things like SMS messaging across mobile networks. This can allow companies to keep field workers and front-of-office teams connected to back-end employees. The same solutions can empower more effective video conferences and meetings.
With APIs and integrations, your cloud calling provider can also provide access to various other applications and tools, like WhatsApp and Facebook messenger. Companies can essentially build their communication strategy to suit any environment from scratch.
The Rise of Cloud Calling and BYOC
As companies search for more flexible solutions for communication and collaboration, BYOC and cloud calling technologies will only continue to gain popularity.
Flexible ecosystems and open environments like Zoom, Slack, and Microsoft Teams offer insight into how companies can build their own communication strategies in a modern world without compromising on the benefits of choosing their own carriers.
