Member Article

Is the Landline Still A Lifeline for SMEs?

By Monica Visconti-Patel, Senior Director EMEA Sales and Marketing at RingCentral.

For the last hundred years, the desk phone has been a staple of every small and medium sized business. For some purposes, like conference calling, there was simply no substitute. That is, until a few years ago.

The Rise of Mobile Workforce

Over the last decade, we’ve seen a shift in how and where employees work. Wi-Fi and cellular technology have ushered in an explosion in mobility. It’s not just a trend for large enterprises or tech startups, even in small businesses, many employees are no longer confined to an office.

Companies have leveraged the power of cloud technology to branch out, setting up distributed office locations while still connecting staff with shared resources like cloud-based productivity software, document storage and collaboration suites.

New Technology, New Limitations

Many employees now work exclusively from a mobile phone, however many companies still rely on conventional on-premises PBX-style landline desk phones to keep employees connected.

Many conventional on-premises systems are siloed and proprietary. Adding new locations or users can be costly and time-consuming. Conventional landlines simply don’t work at the pace of modern businesses.

The Phone of the Future is in the Cloud

Cloud technology is answering the call to be our phone of the future. As with email, document storage, CRM and many other business applications, the cloud makes calling, faxing, voicemail and other conventional telephone tasks accessible anytime, anywhere and on virtually any device.

Seamless management, Unsurpassed Value

From a management perspective, setting up new locations and users on a cloud-based system is as simple as installing software or an app.

Offering flexible and scalable technology, ease of use and minimal management, cloud based business communication solutions are better value over on-premises PBX technology. It’s also a pay-as-you-grow system. Subscription fees are based on the number of users and features.

Cloud Communications Amplifies IT Strategic Value

IT is viewed as a cost center, a necessity of doing business, enabling “real” business drivers, like sales, marketing, manufacturing and customer service, to do what they do best. Initiating strategy to evaluate and switch to a cloud-based communications platform saves time, money, and supports business growth.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Editorial .