5 Reasons to Move Your Business’s Phone System to the Cloud

Upgrading a business phone system to the cloud is a big step to take. When deciding whether to stick with their premises-based PBX phone system or to switch to a cloud-based phone system, businesses have many factors to consider. Does switching to a cloud system now support our long-term plans for growth, expansion, and diversification? What strategies do we need to have in place to ensure a smooth transition? How much will employee productivity increase under a new system? Will the company save money or is a cloud phone system an investment that requires funds to be set aside? So many questions need to be asked and answered before you can begin comparing cloud phone services.

To make things easier for you, we’ve researched and compiled some of the most compelling reasons that businesses cite for moving their phone system to the cloud.

Cost

You might think that training your team to use a new communications system would add overwhelmingly to the Total Cost of Operations (TCO) when switching to the cloud. Hours spent familiarizing staff with new software and hardware can certainly add up, but even with these added personnel hours, many businesses still see savings in operational costs. According to a No Jitter survey conducted in 2015, 16 percent of businesses said that reduced costs were a primary motivation in upgrading to the cloud.

The reason for the savings is twofold. First, traditional phone systems use circuits such as analog lines to transmit information. The secure internet connections that cloud-based systems use are much more cost effective. Second, opting for a cloud-based solution removes the need for on-premises equipment and personnel. As a bonus, the money your business saves can be put toward hiring more staff, investing in product development, or increasing wages of high performers.

Disaster Recovery

As any business owner knows, when you miss calls you miss sales. So what happens to your business phone system in the event of disaster? With a cloud-based phone system, you don’t have to worry as much about missing out on potential customers because of downtime during natural or technical disasters. Of the businesses surveyed, 12 percent said their reason for upgrading was because cloud-based phone systems are more resilient to disaster than their previous systems.

Scalability

Are you using everything you pay for with your phone system? Eight percent of businesses surveyed apparently were not. Cloud phone systems have a distinct advantage in this regard over their premises-based counterparts. Shifts in the market can also create sudden increases or decreases in demand for your products or services. Cloud-based phone systems have the ability to scale up and down at will so your call center can handle the ebb and flow of calls. This flexibility also allows you to easily add extensions to your system as you add new locations.

IT Resources

Without the right team, on-premises phone systems are difficult, if not impossible, to maintain. It’s likely that you do not have the IT resources at your disposal to run the equipment needed to ensure seamless communication. With a cloud-based phone system, you outsource these jobs to experts so you can concentrate on managing your team and meeting the demands of your customers. Nine percent of the businesses surveyed said that IT resources were their main concern.

Agility

At 18 percent, the number one reason cited by businesses in the No Jitter survey for deploying a cloud-based phones system was increased agility. With features and services easily added and removed, your team can respond to changes in the market as quickly as your competitors.

You have to be able to change with the market, recover from unforeseen circumstances, and make the most use of your communication system all while saving money and managing an expert team to make it in today’s competitive business landscape. A cloud-based system can help you do just that. If you want to take advantage of any of these 5 advantages of cloud-based phone systems, give nQuery Technology Solutions a call. Our experts will help you save without sacrificing.