Cloud Telephony

The industry is abuzz with talk of cloud computing, and many organizations are evaluating the benefits of adopting cloud-based services, including cloud telephony.

In fact, due to the growing number of service and equipment options, there has never been a better time to shop around for a new phone system, according to Diane Myers, directing analyst at Infonetics Research (News - Alert).

In a recent whitepaper, “The Benefits of Cloud-based Telephony,” Myers explores the dynamics of enterprise telephony and enumerates why more businesses are starting to select cloud-based telephony services instead of premise-based PBXs.

There are pros and cons to all phone systems, and all factors need to be considered when evaluating them to determine what system will best suit a company’s needs.

While cloud-based communications has clear benefits, whether they will accrue to your organization depends on a number of factors, points out Connection Telecom’s Rob Lith, who devised this checklist to help businesses determine if they are indeed in the market for a hosted PBX (News - Alert).

As Infonetics points out, one benefit of cloud-based PBX is built-in business continuity.

“If a business location is inaccessible due to natural causes or significant or Internet failures, phones can be quickly and easily relocated without complex hardware installation,” the whitepaper said. “If WAN connectivity is lost and all communications on the premises are cut off, systems allow users to route calls and faxes to their mobile devices with call forwarding or simultaneous ring and still receive incoming calls and voice and fax messages because the system is in the cloud and not dependent on local power or Internet to continue functioning.”

Other benefits of a cloud-based PBX include the following:

• Flexibility in paying for only the capacity required;
• Ability to eliminate or reduce staff to manage, maintain, troubleshoot and deal with software upgrades and contingency planning;
• Eliminating costly voice lines and local and long distance contracts.

The benefits of cloud-based PBX are still emerging with new usage cases constantly coming forward, Lith added.

“Chances are that you will discover a few of your own if you see benefit in having access to shared or centralized ICT infrastructure with best-in-class business continuity assurance,” he said.

Want to learn more about cloud communications? Then be sure to attend Cloud Communications Expo, collocated with ITEXPO West 2012 taking place Oct 2-5, in Austin, TX.  Stay in touch with everything happening at Cloud Communications Expo. Follow us on Twitter.