The average lifespan of an on-premise PBX system around 6.5
years. However, given the high cost of upgrading or replacing a PBX system many
companies are stuck with outdated telephony systems that cannot provide the
capability or functionality required in today’s fast-moving communications
landscape. That is why a growing number of SMBs are looking at cloud platforms
to meet their changing telecommunication needs. Migrating communications to the
cloud can provide companies with the agility, flexibility and mobility that is
needed to compete in an increasingly competitive environment. But, there are
following clear benefits that a cloud telephony offers that SMBs cannot simply
risk to ignore:
Unified
communications
According to Transparency
Market Research, the global Unified Communications (UC) market is expected
to reach nearly $62 billion by 2018, representing 12 per cent year-over-year
growth between now and then. A typical SMB with an on-premise PBX is likely to
have accumulated a mish-mash of business communications tools over time,
resulting in disparate and disconnected systems for desktop phones, mobile
workers, web conferencing, video and audio conferencing, and so on, resulting
in multiple management and billing headaches.
Migrating communications to the cloud can provide SMBs with
access to a complete unified communications solution, including voice, video,
collaboration, SMS, email, and so on, that otherwise would be financially out
of their reach.
Access to latest
features
Moving to the cloud provides SMBs with the latest,
state-of-the-art communications solutions without the significant upfront
investment required for on-premise solutions. Older PBX systems will have a
limited feature set, compared to today’s cloud-based offerings. Furthermore,
latest features and capabilities, such as new UC tools, CRM integration etc. can
be integrated immediately into the platform without the need to perform any
form of system upgrade.
Eliminate costs
and management headaches
The cost of upgrading or replacing an outdated on-premise
PBX system is prohibitive for many SMBs, especially those with multiple locations.
A cloud solution eliminates the need for costly upfront investment and on-going
management and maintenance costs such as infrastructure, hardware, wiring, and
so on.
Analytics and
Business Productivity
The host of features that latest communication tools offer
on hosted Unified Communication enable you get relevant real time information
in the form of dashboard that can be acted upon. Using these tools
organizations can track the ROIs of their communication costs as well track
ROIs of their marketing campaigns in real
time. This not only enables the companies to spend monies more prudently but
also rationalize their communications.
Scalability and
flexibility
The beauty of a hosted communications is that features and
capabilities can be added or removed, virtually at the click of a button,
allowing SMBs to respond rapidly to peaks and troughs in demand, or to changes
in the competitive landscape. Scalability and flexibility are the hallmark of a
hosted solution, allowing SMBs to concentrate on the business objectives,
rather than on technology concerns.
Mobility
According to Gartner, by 2017 more than half of all
employees will expect their employer to offer mobile devices in order for them
to perform their tasks effectively and productively. Furthermore, survey after
survey shows that employees would leave their existing employer for another, if
the later offered better flexible working options.
