Data it seems makes the world go round, certainly the business world, and the fact is your telephone could unlock vital performance statistics that may help drive your business strategy. The question is – are you getting the best out of your telephony system for your business? Unless you’re using a cloud based system, the answer is probably no.
It’s all about simplicity. You may well have a state of the art premise based system, but the more complex it is, the more it’s likely to cost and the more problems it’s likely to have. Let’s say you have a traditional phone system with a few bolt-ons to enable call logging, integration to a CRM system and call recording. As well as having your phone system on site, each separate application will need to sit on its own server and be linked together. This is where telephony starts to tread on the toes of the IT world. Once installed, should a fault arise it becomes complicated. Is the fault on the phone system, the bridge servers, CRM or IT server? Added to that you need take into account Microsoft updates that happen in the background, they can cause all sorts of mischief and be difficult to diagnose.
Telephony is still the primary communication channel and is a largely untapped source of business intelligence. So if you’re looking for a richly integrated system that’s simple to administer, yet allows you to maximise opportunities for real-time customer insight, you’re probably best to look upwards, to the Cloud.
According to an article in Information Age, Hosted VoIP Telephony, or cloud telephony, grew by 11% in 2016 with analysts predicting it will continue to grow in 2017, as companies migrate additional applications into the cloud. The article states ‘through the application of simple cloud-based systems, companies can capture, access and interpret call data in real time, allowing them to track, identify and respond to trends dynamically and quickly’.
When the world’s leading project intelligence organisation, GDS Group wanted to simplify their telephony system, yet improve their integration applications, they approached RHM with a number of challenges (see case study). They needed to record calls for development purposes, wanted integration with their CRM system to give them a 360 degree view of client interactions and their current call logging system was a separate bolt on system which needed to be managed.
RHM Telecommunications proposed the business install Horizon, a cloud based telephony solution that allowed them to replace their old Avaya system with no upfront outlay and no added cost to their existing monthly budget, yet this new approach gave the business:
GDS Groups Head of IT, Andrew Broadbent commented that the migration from a traditional phone system to cloud telephony was critical for their drive to increased business development productivity.
In conclusion Cloud Telephony enables businesses to deploy complex integration in a very simplistic way. It is easier to set up and far easier to support without the need for multiple on site servers.
© rhm telecommunications 2024
