Technology keeps changing, which results in the changes with the usual business practices. In the last few decades, technological advancements resulted in an abrupt involvement of the phone systems with the different business operations. It changed the way businesses communicate. Now phone systems have elevated the communications for businesses to connect their employees, convincing customers to buy their products, delivering after-sale support, and do a lot more. Phone system’s importance has become so vital that it is now a major industry, per se.
Riding on the improving communications system, the business phone system has turned into a vital asset for the productivity. Therefore, it is essential for the businesses to keep their phone systems prepared to meet the future challenges. Here are the top 5 ways that can help your business phone system in keeping up with the future.
1. Get Over Device or OS Restrictions
After the introduction of VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol), changes with the phone machinery have shaped more rapidly. Different users have different preferences for the devices and Operating Systems. Moreover, these preferences keep changing with time. In the era of BYOD (Bring Your Own Device), restricting the employees to a certain choice is an outdated concept. So, opt for the phone solutions that are compatible for cross-device operations and let your employees breathe easy by allowing them to work on the device that they wish to.
At the same time, adopting such services will ensure that your business communications remain on track even if any device (or OS) runs out of service in the future.
2. Minimize the Local Hardware/Pick the Cloud Path
So far, the local servers, routers, and switches along with the wire mess that connects them formed the nervous system for the business communications. With the advent of Cloud Computing, future has decided to save the precious real estate by eliminating the needs of local hardware infrastructure. Cloud-based solutions deliver a greater flexibility and efficiency with the operations with features, like- anytime and anywhere access, device-independence, no user restriction, etc.
Altering the network structure has always been a daunting task with the local hardware and the future demands for the simplified solutions. So, make sure that your business plan has the futuristic requirements fulfilled. Next time any of your hardware goes down, look for its replacements with cloud-based application, if available.
3. Keep Ample Scalability Choices
A business plan should hope for the best and prepare for the worst. In the communication needs, this proverb can indicate to the measure of the employees using the business phone system. The number of agents (or extensions) deployed to serve the business phone system keep on altering when existing employee leaves or new ones join in. Your business phone system will not have to make major adjustments in those cases.
However, in certain cases, like- bulk hiring, major cut-off, shifting the office location, new branch setup, etc., it will require considerable modifications with the business phone system. If your business does not have ample stability choice, it can mark impact on the operations and the pocket, as well.
If the business has already opted for the cloud solutions (as mentioned above) the scalability will not be a major issue but businesses, dependent on local hardware, will need a dedicated local IT team and a VoIP provider with a myriad of plan choices to serve the cause.
4. Do More Than Just Calling –Unified Communications
Voice calls are part of business communications since long and are to stay for long. At the same time, there are other forms of communication as well that are gaining popularity for various reasons among different businesses. Instant Messaging, web chats, emails, video conferencing, collaboration on documents files, etc. have their own importance depending on the services that a business caters. In most cases, the voice is able to go along with them. This unification of the communications solutions can streamline the operations and enhance the productivity by many folds.
So, the point is that when you are laying the maps for communication setup in your organization, do not just stick to the phone calls. Make sure that other communication solutions that can serve your business are also given the requisite consideration.
5. Tighten Up the Security
Currently, almost all business phone systems rely on VoIP and that means the phone calls are recordable and can be monitored. This can make way for the attackers to eavesdrop on your business calls. VoIP, being an internet-based service, remains susceptible to Denial-of-Service (DoS) like attacks as well. What can be even more critical is the fact that VoIP can integrate with the dialers and CRMs, so it has a path that leads to very critical employee and customer details. These vulnerabilities are avoidable if the right security tactics are practiced.
All this calls for the businesses to implement a reliable security with the business phone. It means, phone recordings storage, third-party app integration, etc. must be protected with the best possible digital security measures.
Wrapping Up
Change with technology is inevitable and if your business is not able to adapt with the changes on time, you might not be able to sustain in the market for long. VoIP technology is currently on the verge of major facelifts, mainly because of the hosted (or cloud-based) solutions. So, business phone systems are all set to see the change in the manner of their communications. The ways mentioned above in the article are certainly going to help you with that.
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