Cloud calling or cloud telephony is one of the biggest buzzwords in the communication industry today. By the end of 2023, the market value for Cloud PBX systems is forecast to reach $20.83 million, driven in part by the demand for VoIP networks to replace traditional PSTN.
As more businesses continue to take the plunge into the cloud environment, you might be left wondering what "cloud calling" really means, and how it works to transform your business. Today, we're going to give you your "101" intro to the basics of cloud telephony, and why it's so important for companies in the future.
What is Cloud Calling?
Cloud calling is a form of Unified Communications as Service strategy that offers voice-based communication services through a third-party company or "host." The UCaaS solution replaces your need for conventional PBX telephone systems so that you can reduce the clutter and expense in your office. Cloud telephony services are available through the web and in the form of applications that you can build into your existing processes through CPaaS.
Cloud telephony offerings are hosted on cloud environments and maintained by the provider you choose. You can access your systems on an as-needed or subscription basis, and customers don't need to pay for unnecessary resources or upkeep as a result. Common features of cloud telephony packages include:
- Resource pooling across networks
- Broad network access
- Integration with call centre and CRM technology
- Integration with UC solutions
- Included PBX functionalities like conferencing, recording and call forwarding
- Self-service on-demand
The inherent flexibility of cloud calling technology also paves the way for new features in the business communication environment, like voice analysis via artificial intelligence, interactive voice response with automated assistants and more.
How Does Cloud Calling Work?
At the front end, your users might not notice a huge difference in their calling solutions when they embrace a cloud calling framework. However, behind the scenes, the way that your conversations are processed will be very different. Instead of having your calls routed through onsite PBX systems that you have to store on-site, your calls will go directly through innovative cloud-based switches.
With cloud calling, you don't need to worry about keeping the routing and network elements of your comms stack onsite, which means that you can securely store your data and access it via the internet. While business phone systems have always been crucial to a company's success, it's only since VoIP based systems began to arrive in the mid-90s that we started to unlock and understand the benefits of connecting people over the cloud.
After all, for small to mid-sized businesses, the costs of running an entire phone system on-premise can be astronomical. Fees range from the costs of SIP trunking services to PRIs that connect your systems to the PSTN. Cloud calling reduces the IT overhead associated with switching to the VoIP environment. Providers in the cloud calling space allow companies of all sizes to manage and host their systems over the internet, keeping on-site clutter and cost to a minimum.
