With video conferencing, live chat, remote file sharing, and automated messaging essential in today's digital-first workplace, many business owners end up absorbing the cost of multiple software applications to support remote work and accommodate consumer preferences.
Although decision-makers were initially pleased with the results of combining legacy phone service with more advanced digital solutions, they're finding the impact on efficiency and workplace productivity unsustainable. Today, they're making changes.
For business owners and IT decision-makers looking for a cost-effective way to overcome the challenges of working with disparate communication technologies, switching to cloud-hosted enterprise voice is considered one of the best options available. It's a solution that ensures they'll have the advanced features needed to stay competitive. Once you've explored the finer points of what this flexible, scalable solution brings to the table, it's easy to see why so many business owners are planning to adopt enterprise voice in the year ahead.
How Modern Enterprise Voice Compares to Legacy Enterprise Service
Technically, legacy desktop phones are part of an enterprise voice system. The terminology itself has been used for decades to differentiate between technology that transmits voice signals from other types of business communication, such as fax, email, and text messaging. As businesses began adopting digital and IP-based telephones, that definition evolved.
Today's enterprise voice expands beyond the limited capabilities of analog phone service to encompass a rather impressive number of communication and collaboration solutions. It integrates with popular platforms like Microsoft Teams Phone and Cisco Webex Calling, allowing users to make and receive calls directly from within those interfaces.
Enterprise voice capabilities also include advanced call routing features, such as interactive voice response (IVR) menus, automated attendants, and skills-based call distribution. They often provide seamless integration with customer relationship management (CRM) systems, enabling screen pops and click-to-call functionality.
In other words, enterprise voice capabilities provide a more holistic approach by combining traditional telephony features with modern collaboration tools, enabling businesses to streamline their communication processes, enhance productivity, and deliver superior customer experiences
Instead of making and receiving calls over aging cables and wires, session initiation protocol (SIP) converts analog voice signals to digital packets transmitted over the internet. Businesses adopting enterprise voice can count on exceptional call quality, service reliability, and greater control over their communication costs.
Exploring the Advantages of Adopting Enterprise Voice Communication Services in 2024
SIP-supported Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technologies bridge the disconnect between analog business phones and the digital solutions needed to keep pace with today's work-from-anywhere business landscape. But it's not a one-size-fits-all kind of service. Business owners adopting the cloud-hosted solution have the freedom to choose the ideal combination of communication and collaboration technologies for their needs.
Instead of working with a system plagued with inefficiencies, everything modern businesses need to streamline communication and optimize productivity is consolidated into a single user-friendly interface. That interface is accessible with nearly any internet-capable device from just about anywhere.
Enterprise voice solutions minimize the need for IT teams to spend time managing legacy communication systems and on-site hardware. By adopting cloud-based enterprise voice platforms, businesses can reduce the complexities of monitoring, repairing, and upgrading disparate on-premises communication technologies. Whether they're conducting business from a single building or across multiple locations, business owners and IT decision-makers who adopt enterprise voice in 2024 can save their IT teams significant time and effort, allowing them to focus on more strategic initiatives.
A Modern Solution with Remarkable Flexibility
Enterprise voice isn't bound to a physical infrastructure. That gives administrators far more control over their communication costs. Instead of paying for services seldom used or absorbing the cost of installing additional phone lines to increase connectivity, subscribers can modify the number of active users on their accounts at will.
Decision-makers choose the best combination of solutions for their business and can add (or cancel) those services as their needs dictate. Plus, there's no need to invest in a lot of costly equipment. Legacy phone systems that aren't SIP enabled are easily converted with an analog telephone adaptor (ATA).
Enhanced Communication and Collaboration
The majority of businesses use cloud-hosted collaboration tools to boost workplace efficiency and optimize productivity. Organizations adopting enterprise voice don't have to give up working with familiar software.
With a platform based on standard API, it's easy to add third-party software integrations, including customer relationship management (CRM) tools, data analytics, and workflow solutions. Modernizing legacy systems with enterprise voice supercharges communication and collaboration platforms like Webex, Microsoft Teams, and Zoom with advanced capabilities, such as call queues, advanced call routing, paging, intercom capabilities, and disaster recovery.
Advanced System Security and Network Reliability
With enterprise voice, business owners can count on exceptional system security and service reliability. Experienced managed service providers (MSPs) achieve those imperatives with advanced technology designed to detect and deter suspicious activity on a geo-redundant network. Top-tier providers leverage technology that identifies performance anomalies in milliseconds and have standby services ready to take over as needed.
If a server on their network goes down for any reason, communication is routed through another. If a business's internet service is disrupted, incoming calls are seamlessly redirected to an alternative number. For companies with a global reach, SD-WAN technology can be integrated into the service to provide an additional layer of network security.
Advanced Call Routing and Interactive Voice Response
With the advanced call routing capabilities of enterprise voice, business call distribution is easily funneled based on criteria determined by account administrators. Factors can include the number dialed, caller location, or time of day.
First, the call goes to an interactive voice response (IVR) tool. Once the caller responds to a series of questions, an automated call distributor redirects the call to the appropriate extension. The feature reduces customer wait times, ensures a balanced call volume distribution, and helps businesses optimize resource allocation.
Discover How Your Business Can Benefit from Switching to Enterprise Voice in 2024
Businesses looking for a cost-effective way to stay competitive in 2024 are leveraging the advantages of enterprise voice to improve overall efficiency and productivity. Their investment streamlines communication and provides seamless communication by integrating the solutions needed to stay relevant in today's digital-first environment. With the convenience of a user-friendly interface, your communication infrastructure is accessible from nearly any internet-capable device.
Enterprise voice is not only cost-effective, but it provides the scalability and mobility your workforce needs to communicate and collaborate effectively. When you partner with the right MSP, you can leverage all the benefits without hiring additional in-house IT specialists. Contact us at BCM One to explore just how easy it can be to reduce your communication costs with a modern, customizable alternative to legacy phone service.
