Cloud communications is a method of contact that uses internet connections instead of a standard PSTN. With a cloud communications strategy, every message you send, conversation you have, and video conference you host works on cloud-hosted technology. That means that there's no hardware to install, no physical lines to place in your building, and more opportunities for enhanced scalability and diversity in your communication strategy. Cloud communications is more than just a hosted PBX or IP telephone. We're talking about a brand-new way to build, deploy and manage communication systems. Used correctly, the cloud reduces costs, provide high-definition services and offer platforms filled with advanced features perfect for empowering your team. To help you understand the cloud a little better, let's take a look at some of the applications and services cloud vendors provide.
UC&C
As the modern workforce grows increasingly mobile, cloud communications break the chains between employees and their desks. In 2018, more than half of the employers in an Upwork study revealed that they didn't have the policies in place to support remote working, even though half of the workforce will be mobile by 2020. Cloud communications solve this problem by providing staff with a rich selection of essential tools and applications, all available on the same platform, regardless of your location or the device you use. The cloud transforms the work environment from a traditional "place" into a series of empowering tools and ideals. Businesses can provide their employees with instant access to:
- Call analytics tools
- Instant messaging
- File sharing
- Video conferencing facilities
- Calendaring and scheduling
1 - Analytics and Digital Engagement
Because the cloud can hold huge amounts of information from a variety of backgrounds, it's also ideal for analytics and business growth. With the cloud, companies can tap into analytical solutions from top-tier vendors and discover the benefits of everything from predictive analysis to natural language processing and sentiment analysis. In a world where customer experience is the key to success, cloud communications makes it easier to improve the impact you're having on your clients through a broad selection of channels. Real-time communications play a significant role in core business processes of many industries and can, when integrated into applications, provide tangible outcomes for both organisations and their customers. You can integrate CRM software with your cloud communication services to get deeper insights. Many modern cloud communication services integrate with everything from machine learning, smart bots and AI services, to CRM solutions like Salesforce to improve digital and team engagement.
2 - Contact Centre Features
The scalability and versatility of the cloud is perfect for the contact centre. Since an average call centre generally sees high levels of turnover, the presence of a cloud-based portfolio of tools in your organisation ensures that you don't have to spend too much time setting new employees up with the right tools. You can onboard new staff and scale your workforce up and down according to spikes in demand, all without additional CapEx costs. The cloud also allows companies with contact centres to expand their offerings to customers, by giving them access to multiple channels for communication. You can offer your customers the answers they want, through the platforms they like best. This is another important way for today's brands to stand out in an experience-powered world.
Navigating Cloud Communications Service Providers
For most companies, the path to cloud communications starts with finding the right service provider. Cloud communications service providers or "CSPs" are your organisation's path to the cloud. CSPs are responsible for hosting your cloud platform and offering you the perfect "unified" solution for your cloud experience, so you don't have to worry about collecting different cloud features from multiple vendors. As the UCaaS market continues to grow, with a predicted value of $169BN by 2027, we're seeing an increasing number of CSPs on the market. The question is, how do you choose the right service provider in such a cluttered space?
1 - Examine Certifications and Standards
Choosing the right cloud communications provider in a vast market isn't easy. There are many players in this market so it's all about finding the solution that works best for you. To start with, make sure that you pick a provider that complies with recognised standards and quality frameworks. For instance, look for a CSP with security certifications like ISO 27001. Your cloud service provider should be able to provide a comprehensive list of their certifications.
2 - Look at the Innovation Roadmap
Once you're sure your CSP is certified, make sure that the R&D roadmap for the cloud provider meets with your cloud objectives. It's important to choose a company that's devoted to constantly innovating and delivering new solutions for its customers. One of the biggest benefits of the cloud is that it comes with the flexibility and scalability to help you maintain an agile business. However, you can only be truly agile with a provider that stays ahead of the curve and offers tangible outcomes for both your teams and your customers.
3 - Consider Security and Data Governance
Data management is more important than ever these days. According to The Economist, the world's most valuable resource isn't oil anymore - it's data. Since your cloud communications strategy will involve uploading, storing and managing huge amounts of data in the cloud each day, it's important to ensure that data is safe. Look at your opportunities for managing your data with each service provider, and how they can help you to comply with regulatory standards like GDPR. If you have specific requirements for your vertical, like healthcare and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), it's worth exploring your options there too.
4 - Simplicity and Ease of Use
Whenever you're implementing a new communications strategy, the most important factor in success is ensuring that you're able to drive adoption. Even the most feature-rich and reliable solution will struggle to deliver benefits if you can't use it. The right cloud communications service provider will be able to offer a rich and robust selection of cloud-based features that are easy to use and explore. You should know what it takes to scale your strategy up and down, request new features, and make the most of the services you already have. Some providers offer you free accounts for your teams to test before production. If you’re looking for integrating cloud communications into CRM and business processes, have a look at the integration capabilities and references.
5 - Reliability and Serviced Quality
Finally, reliability and service quality are two essential components in choosing any service provider. Your cloud solutions are critical to helping you achieve your goals, so you can't afford for an outage or a problem to disrupt your performance. Check out the service availability track record of your cloud service provider from previous years and months and look at any information they have about redundancy options. In most cases, the cloud can be much more reliable than on-premise equipment. However, it's important that your service provider has the right solutions in place to deal with issues as and when they arise.
6 - Plans and pricing
From a time that used to be ruled by capital expenditure, we are now in a world where more and more organisations are asking for consumption-based or subscription-based models. You should pay attention to whether the plan includes domestic and long-distance call traffic (local, national and international calls). Some providers will allow you to take advantage of your existing telephony infrastructure and SIP trunking services. This is especially cost-efficient if you have multiple branch locations.
PBX Versus Cloud
In business spaces across the world today, the communications environment is changing. Rooms previously filled with black boxes and blinking lights are suddenly empty. Tethered desk phones are quickly being replaced with headsets and softphone setups. We're finally making the move to the cloud. However, just because the cloud is more popular and accessible today than ever before, doesn't mean that it's the perfect solution for every business. While some companies are actively migrating towards the cloud as part of their digital transformation strategies, others are sticking with an on-premise PBX, either through choice or necessity. So, how do you choose between a traditional PBX and the cloud? Can your cloud communications provider offer you Hybrid models to connect PBX and cloud?
Feature Sets
One of the most important components to consider in any communication strategy is the features you'll be able to access. While many on-premise PBX phone systems come with a range of fantastic features like high-level security, data governance and more, the cloud tends to offer a broader range of features that make it much easier to connect mobile workers and geo-dispersed teams. Cloud-based solutions enable integration to 3rd party solutions for data analytics, AI, bots, IoT and other modern technologies. Because cloud service providers can constantly upgrade their offerings with the latest solutions without the need to install any extra hardware, the cloud does offer an easier way for companies to stay ahead of the technology curve.
Capital Expenditure
Capital expenditure or "CapEx" costs are another area where cloud services have a significant advantage. Any on-premise solution for communications requires a business to shell out for hardware or virtualisation software. On the other hand, with cloud solutions, you only need to shell out for desktop phones, headsets, or softphones. Instead of the standard upfront costs of traditional PBX solutions, cloud communications offer a switch to an "OpEx" operating model. You pay for what you use, and nothing else. However, this also means that if you're a large enterprise that's already paid out for an on-premise offering, you won't be ready to move to the cloud until you've recouped the costs of your initial investment. You may also choose a hybrid model where cloud communications connect to your phone system: This allows you to take advantage of the latest cloud features and benefits, whilst mitigating the cost of a full phone system replacement.
Scalability and Versatility
Another advantage in the cloud technology court comes with scalability and versatility. When it comes to creating a communication stack for your business, an on-premise PBX requires you to make estimations about what you expect to accomplish as a company. You need to know how many phones you need to have in the office at any given time, and what kind of software you plan on using with them. Upgrading, scaling, or adjusting your communication strategy with a PBX system takes time. However, cloud-based deployments are much faster and can be set up alongside your current system, ready for a seamless changeover. With cloud communications, the freedom is there to scale and upgrade as you see fit. If you need more tools for your team, then you can implement them instantly, with very little downtime. If you need to scale back due to a drop in traffic, you can do that too.
Moving to the Cloud: Is It as Simple as It Seems?
When you consider all the benefits of the cloud, switching away from an on-premises solution seems like an obvious choice. However, larger enterprises with strict regulatory requirements, stringent security concerns, and existing investments may still find it easier and more cost-effective to host their own PBX on-site. While the cloud is becoming more popular, it's far from the only option for today's communication-driven companies. PBX still has its part to play.
Private Cloud VS Hybrid Cloud vs. Public Cloud
Communication comes in many different forms. Not so long ago, the only real options businesses had when it came to internal and external communication, were email and phone calls. Today, we've got everything from video conferencing, to Web Real-Time Communication (WebRTC), instant messaging, and more. Moving your communications to the cloud is one way to make sure that you build your communications around your methods of work, rather than approaching growth from the other way around. The question is, how do you successfully deploy your new cloud-based strategy?
Deployment Options for Cloud Communications
Up until recently, there weren't many options available for deploying a business communications stack. The traditional model included a strong investment in PBX, and a lot of exhausting, and time-consuming hardware installations. Unfortunately, while PBX systems have their advantages, they lack the scalability, agility, and mobility that many modern companies need. The cloud solves this problem, along with the issue of limited deployment models. There are three primary methods of cloud deployment:
- Public cloud
- Private cloud
- Hybrid cloud
1 - Public Cloud Communications
Deploying your cloud communications strategy in the public cloud doesn't mean that anyone can access your conversation data. The public cloud is the most common communications deployment model for small to mid-sized businesses, and it simply means that you access the same cloud resources as a selection of other businesses. Public cloud is available on a per-user, per-month basis, and it's often one of the cheapest models. However, your section of the cloud remains encrypted and secure for you, so you don't have to worry about losing access to information. Most public cloud services run on an "over the top" or "OTT" service.
2 - Private Cloud Communications
Private cloud deployment models are most popular with larger companies, verticals with strict privacy policies (like healthcare) and government agencies. Private cloud communications access all the benefits of the cloud, along with a higher degree of security. A private cloud communications service is managed by a solution provider and can also be offered on an "as a service" basis. Private clouds are ideal for strength and security and can come with either a CapEx, or perpetual license model, or an OpEx model with recurring revenue features.
3 - Hybrid Cloud Communications
This brings us to the most popular cloud communications deployment model: the hybrid cloud. The hybrid cloud is particularly popular today because it allows companies to access the "best of both worlds" for their communications stack. With a hybrid cloud, you can leverage your existing on-premise investments, while enjoying the flexibility and scalability of the cloud environment. Some organisations use the hybrid cloud model as a transition strategy, helping them to move permanently from on-premise PBX to the cloud. However, the hybrid cloud model can also be an end strategy too. Some companies prefer the flexibility and security provided by the hybrid model. After all, it ensures that you can maintain absolute control over certain parts of your communication infrastructure, without having to give up on cloud resiliency and flexibility. Hybrid cloud deployments are particularly popular among businesses who don't want to abandon their existing high-cost investments, but they do want to take advantage of the latest cloud capabilities on offer.
UCaaS vs. CPaaS
As the communication landscape continues to change, the methods companies can use to access new trends and techniques are transforming with it. Notably, the "as a service" model for communication deployments has grown increasingly popular in the modern world. In fact, there are so many "as a service" abbreviations in circulation, that it's hard to know for sure what these terms really mean. If you want to make sure that you're taking the right steps with your cloud communications strategy, then it's important to know the difference between "CPaaS" and "UCaaS."
What is UCaaS?
Unified Communications as a Service or "UCaaS" is a fantastic hosted solution that allows companies to outsource their needs for video, messaging, and mobility to reliable third-party providers. UCaaS delivers the communication services you want most to you through an internet connection, ensuring that you get all the flexibility and scalability of the cloud. However, while UC brings ready-to-go tools together on the same interface, the solutions you can access typically exist on a carefully designed platform, designed to give you the tools you need.
What is CPaaS?
CPaaS stands for "Communication Platform as a Service," and it's designed to address the common integration issues presented by UCaaS. Essentially, you get access to a hosted platform that allows you to embed your real-time communication needs into applications using cloud-based tools. You can deploy apps that have already been built by someone else, or make your own services based on your specific needs. Perhaps the biggest difference between UCaaS and CPaaS is the fact that the latter allows you to seamlessly integrate new communication needs into business applications that teams use to perform their tasks and into websites or mobile apps that your organisation provides to your customers. CPaaS comes with support for various next-gen technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), and WebRTC too, with no need to build out additional back-end infrastructure.
The Relationship Between UCaaS and CPaaS
UCaaS is generally seen as the solution to consolidate existing conferencing, telephony, and collaboration services. UCaaS provides users with a front-end interface that makes internal communication and external connections easier to handle. At the same time, CPaaS also offers video, voice, and messaging services. However, with CPaaS, the benefits rest largely on the use of APIs to create a more integrated experience. Although CPaaS and UCaaS are different things, they don't always have to exist separately. In fact, the relationship between UCaaS and CPaaS can be quite complementary. Often UCaaS will serve the needs of users and business units that require a ‘ready to go’ solution, whilst CPaaS will connect other people, processes and objects inside and outside of the organisation.
Global Deployments
The world we live in today is much smaller than it once was. A few years ago, only the biggest and most well-established companies would have been able to launch and maintain a global presence for their brand. Now, thanks to cloud communications and the rise of collaboration tools, global deployments are more common than ever. Even the smallest businesses can work with employees from across the globe by providing them with a set of cloud-based tools and communication strategies. Of course, just because globalisation is easier these days, doesn't mean you shouldn't plan your global deployments. Here are a few points to keep in mind as you take your communication strategy worldwide.
1 - Know What You Need
Cloud communications, like any form of communication strategy, works best when it's built around the needs of your employees. To improve adoption across the globe, make sure you find a cloud UC strategy that's well-suited to the needs of your staff. You can do this by assessing your current employees and finding out which tools they need to use every day. Create a list of applications that you need and try and find something that connects everything into a unified platform.




