Growing your business? Managed cloud voice saves you money and headaches

Your startup business is taking off at last and expanding to new cities and even countries. Now, you need a communication system that can keep up with your growth without breaking the bank or requiring a team of IT experts to manage.

You need managed cloud voice — a flexible and cost-effective solution that outshines traditional hosted Internet Protocol (IP) telephony.

While hosted IP telephony often ties you down with old-school hardware and complex setups, managed cloud voice lets you communicate seamlessly, no matter where your team is. You can easily add new phone numbers and services for your international offices, and your remote workers remain connected at all times without hassle.

Plus, with features like zero-rated on-net calls and flat rates, you’ll save on communication costs and avoid the headaches of licensing and scalability issues.

Let’s dive into why managed cloud voice is the way to go for growing businesses.

The ins and outs of hosted IP telephony

Hosted IP telephony — also known as a hosted or cloud-based phone system — involves a third-party provider hosting your business phone system or private branch exchange (PBX) in the cloud. It uses IP technology to transmit voice calls over the internet from any device, eliminating the need for traditional phone lines and physical, on-site equipment. 

Once it has been deployed by a system integrator, this telephony solution is usually managed by your own IT team.

It is often manufacturer-specific, and this typically involves license restrictions that limit the adaptability of the solution. However, some solutions can be integrated with different collaboration tools and with other telephony agreements or Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) trunks — virtual phone lines that enable the connection of your PBX to the public switched telephone network (PSTN) over the internet.

The power of cloud voice

Cloud voice also combines the features of a traditional phone system with the flexibility and convenience of the cloud, with no need for on-premises infrastructure — and with additional upsides.

Inbound calls can be shared with any number of people simultaneously — for example, when external parties are added to an internal meeting. You can also scale the number of external “lines” up and down to meet demand, which means your customers never need to hear an engaged tone when they’re calling.

There are similar benefits regarding outbound calls. Your employees can make unlimited concurrent calls from the same service number. This creates a safe and consistent brand experience, as customers see a familiar, trusted number that reinforces brand recognition and reduces suspicion. A single service number also simplifies brand messaging — you have the same number on your website, social accounts and marketing materials.

Cloud voice mostly involves a shift from an on-site managed service to a hosted service — usually offered by a global service provider — that terminates traffic in multiple countries and manages numbering across customer estates, with the added advantages of zero-rated on-net calls and flat rates.

Which is better?

While both cloud-voice and hosted-telephony platforms offer Voice over IP-based communication, cloud voice is generally considered superior because it’s more cost-efficient and resilient, and it can be scaled instantly and easily.

This is because it’s built on multitenant, cloud-native infrastructure, whereas hosted telephony often just involves traditional PBX systems being moved to data centers (single-tenant or limited multitenancy).

So, with cloud voice, you don’t need to manage significant change requests. Your organization can expand globally or remotely without infrastructure headaches.

Other benefits of cloud voice include:

Lower total cost of ownership

It eliminates the need for expensive on-premises hardware, costly upgrades and maintenance. You deal with predictable, opex-based costs and fewer surprises. Hosted platforms might still require manual updates, incur service fees and need some physical infrastructure.

Instant feature updates

Cloud voice platforms receive frequent updates automatically, meaning you get access to brand-new features without delays or IT overhead. Hosted voice platforms often require manual patching or version control.

Native integration and application programming interfaces

Cloud voice integrates far more easily than hosted voice with modern collaboration and customer relationship management tools, contact center platforms and analytics. It fits into your digital ecosystem and improves productivity, as it becomes easier for teams to work together. Also, cloud voice solutions are often easier to manage than on-premises systems.

Built for hybrid and remote work

With cloud voice, your employees can always be on the go. They are supported anywhere they’re working with mobile, desktop and browser-based applications.

Hosted platforms may still rely on desk phones or additional virtual private network-based (VPN-based) access. Cloud voice solutions, which don’t need work within a VPN, are typically more secure than on-premises systems.

Why choosing a managed service for cloud voice makes sense

Managed cloud voice providers offer an end-to-end service, from setting up the system to delivering proactive monitoring and support — including number and fraud management. Beyond the value of ongoing management, they help you get more out of your cloud voice solution with better quality, higher availability and the easy integration of new features.

Through real-time analytics and quality management processes, service providers can deliver consistent quality — no dropped calls, awkward delays or “I can’t hear you; you’re breaking up” moments. Availability is almost fully guaranteed thanks to global Tier 1 infrastructure with ample redundancy. They also ensure your compliance with local regulations, manage data sovereignty and install enterprise-grade security.

Cloud voice is multivendor-capable, meaning you benefit from leading options such as Cisco Webex Calling and Microsoft Teams Operator Connect. Your managed service provider will have the expertise and partnerships to design cloud-based offers that combine voice, video, messaging and contact center capabilities, as your business needs them.

Ready for the next step?

Scalable, cost-effective and ready for the future, cloud voice is the way forward for your organization’s communications needs. While hosted telephony was a step up from traditional on-premises PBX systems, cloud voice takes communication to a whole new level.

It’s all about being smarter and more agile, and choosing the right global partner can make all the difference.

When comparing cloud-voice service providers, consider their global reach, how well their offerings integrate with your existing systems and how easy they are to deploy and support. Also look into their AI and analytics features, security measures and compliance standards, and pricing — and how many other organizations are using and recommending them.

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