Voiceover Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology is used by cloud-based phone systems to connect calls. It does not make use of any on-site hardware or legacy technology, such as analog telephone lines. You only require a fast internet connection.
There are many benefits of cloud phone service, including decreased monthly phone costs for your business and increased mobility for remote workers.
You can move your business phone service to the cloud with the aid of a cloud phone system, which is a VoIP-based hosted PBX solution. Cloud phone systems improve security, provide cutting-edge features, and streamline business communications.
The key components of a cloud phone system are listed below.
Advanced Call Routing
In order to control which agents or departments receive calls and what happens if no one is available to take the call, users can set customizable rules for call routing. It provides better call flow management overall.
There are several call routing techniques to take into account:
- Round Robin Routing: Incoming calls are answered by agents alternately. Agent A, Agent B, Agent C, and Agent A again receive the initial call.
- Calls are routed according to their skills so that the most qualified agent can help the caller. Callers can either type information into the voice responder or dial a specific number to speak with a specific department. It makes sure that support calls from customers aren’t routed to the billing or sales divisions.
- Most Calls are automatically routed to the agent who hasn’t responded to a call for the longest period under the idle routing policy.
- Priority-Based Routing: Calls from predetermined phone numbers are routed to preferred agents or are sent ahead of the line (for VIP clients, etc.).
IVR (Interactive Voice Response)
Without speaking to a live agent, Cloud IVR connects callers quickly to the appropriate departments and allows them to make payments, view account status, and more.
Customers can speak out loud or use the dial pad to enter their answers to voice prompts. The IVR system uses NLP, voice recognition, and DTMF dial tones to lead callers through pertinent call flows.
Call Monitoring and Call Recording
Managers and administrators can use call monitoring to listen to live phone calls, give agents advice in real-time while the customer is still on the line, or completely take over the call using a call barge.
Call recordings can be made on demand or automatically, and they frequently include screen streams from online meetings. When discussing sensitive information, the recording can be paused and resumed.
Automatic transcriptions of calls and meetings are created, stored in the cloud, and distributed to participants.
Before using this feature, familiarise yourself with the laws governing call recording.
Unified Communications
A central dashboard for various communication channels, such as Unified Communications (UC or UCaaS), streamlines business communication.
- Voice calling
- SMS texting
- Video calling
- Instant chat messaging (internal or live website chat)
- Virtual faxing
Every exchange of information is instantly synchronized across all channels.
Local Presence and Toll-Free Vanity Phone Numbers
Businesses can either buy new phone numbers directly from the provider or port their current phone numbers into their cloud phone system.
The majority of VoIP service providers bundle at least one free local phone number into their packages.
Purchasing numerous local phone numbers gives a business a local presence in every area they target, regardless of its actual location.
Toll-free vanity numbers (like 1-800-DOGWALK) make it obvious what goods and services your company provides. Businesses can reach out to clients and leads at no cost to the caller.
Why It’s Important – Business phone numbers give you a local phone number in a variety of area codes and locations, enhance the professionalism of your company, and are simple to remember.
Video Calling With Team Collaboration Tools
Face-to-face, in-the-moment communication between coworkers, entire departments, and outside participants is possible with video conferencing.
Users can easily switch with just one click from team chat messages or phone calls to ad hoc video calls. There are available scheduled meetings with automated reminders, attached files, guest lists, and meeting summaries.
Replicating in-person meetings is made more plausible by collaboration features like in-call instant messaging, screen sharing, remote screen control, file co-editing, and whiteboard tools. There are frequently more sophisticated tools available, such as task management, in-meeting polling, user presence (status) updates, breakout rooms, and virtual hand-raising.
Visual Voicemail
Voicemail messages are automatically transcribed by visual voicemail, also known as voicemail-to-text, and sent to users along with the original audio files.
Users no longer need to listen to each voice message individually because they can now read them visually. Voicemail notifications are also sent to agents, ensuring that they promptly return missed calls.
Call Pops and CRM Integrations
Users can integrate their current business software and applications into their cloud phone system using CRM (Customer Relationship Management) integrations and communication APIs.
There is no need to constantly switch between apps because Call Pops uses the integrated CRM system to automatically display recent customer data for inbound/outbound calls within the softphone interface.
Customer Callback
Customers no longer need to wait on hold in order to speak with an agent thanks to customer callback capabilities. Instead, callers can arrange for a callback at a time and date of their choosing.
Both the agent and the client will be informed in advance of the call.
Real-Time and Historical Call Data & Analytics
Call analytics offer current and past information about callers and agents over a predetermined, programmable time frame.
VoIP analytics offer pre-built templates or fully customizable reports that are centered on well-known metrics and KPIs like
- Average call duration
- The average speed of answer
- Daily/Weekly/Monthly call volume (inbound/outbound)
- First, call resolution rate
- Average talk time per agent
- Percent of calls sent to voicemail
- Cost per call
- Average conversion rate
Automation and AI
Artificial intelligence (AI) and automation are auto-attendants or bots that handle routine business operations without the involvement of human agents.
Natural language processing (NLP) and conversational AI find the words or phrases that start pre-programmed automation.
NLP tools, for instance, can “understand” the words “paying,” “bill,” and “help” if a client calls and says, “I need help paying my bill.” The caller is then directed to the billing department or assisted in making a phone-in bill payment using AI and automation tools.
Additional instances of AI and automation include:
- Collecting/updating customer contact information
- Workflow automation
- Chatbots
- Dial-by-name directories
How Does a Cloud Phone System Work?
VoIP powers cloud phone systems, which use codecs to convert audio into data packets and send them over the Internet.
Your entire remote and/or blended team connects under the same service regardless of where they are because a cloud-based phone system isn’t restricted to a particular location. Additionally, the majority of cloud phone systems provide free calls between in-network extensions.
Cloud Phone System Pros and Cons
Cloud phone systems offer plans for companies of all sizes and give businesses the option of bundled all-in-one services or a la carte features that can be purchased separately.
But what drawbacks do cloud communications have?
The benefits and drawbacks of a cloud-based phone system are listed in the table below.
Pros of Cloud Phone Systems
Compared to traditional landlines, lowers the cost of business communication by 30–50%.
By saving 115 minutes per day per employee, virtual PBX systems save about 49,660 hours annually.
the high degree of dependability and uptime assurance via numerous remote data centers
Compared to traditional business phones, they require less maintenance and are often easier to set up.
Solutions that are scalable so that your SMB’s phone system can expand with it
Cons of Cloud Phone Systems
A steep learning curve is possible; look for service providers who offer user training and round-the-clock support.
Users might need to integrate additional business communication software as well as feature or user capacity add-ons.
Your overall Internet connection as well as problems like jitter, latency, and packet loss have an impact on the quality of your calls.
Upgraded networking hardware, such as VoIP routers, potent Internet connections, and greater bandwidth, is frequently necessary.
typically calls for a commitment or contract lasting at least 1-2 years.
