The forecast for the future is cloudy. Voice over IP (VoIP) continues to lure more and more businesses away from traditional POTS lines thanks to the promises of increased functionality and ROI. Alongside the growth of business VoIP, many organizations are finding additional benefits by hosting their communications in the cloud.The big benefits of business VoIP are advanced features and greater savings on communications. The cloud enhances these benefits by adding something new: flexibility. Consider internal collaboration among employees. All too often, companies drop the ball on customer service because operations are split into separate silos with little communication between them. Cloud communications makes it simple to integrate mobile devices, CRM software, presence indicators, and more across an organization to provide a competitive advantage through more productive collaboration.
A study by IBM found that 58 percent of respondents reported using the cloud to collaborate across the organization and ecosystem, while 59 percent of companies improved integration between development and operation as a result of the cloud.
The flexibility of the cloud supports a variety of functions that business VoIP users need, including messaging and storage. It also allows for the rapid development and deployment of new products and services. To go back to the IBM study, 52 percent of businesses use the cloud to innovate offerings at a faster pace than with traditional technology. In addition, 24 percent are able to provide new products and services that were previously not possible.
Organizations are realizing that the combination of cloud hosted business VoIP is a winner for their bottom line and the numbers back it up. Fifty-five percent of businesses saw an increase in efficiency from using the cloud, 49 percent achieved greater employee mobility, and a quarter reported reduced IT expenses. These statistics are certain to keep increasing as the number of companies adopting business VoIP hosted in the cloud continues to grow.