Low upfront costs
Hosting business applications, such as telephony, in the cloud typically has low upfront costs, as solutions are sold on a per seat per month basis. There may be a small set-up fee, however it is possible to upgrade to a feature-rich phone system, with the latest IP handsets, for around £14pcm.
Availability of fast, reliable internet connectivity
If your phone system is hosted in the cloud, it goes without saying that a stable, high-bandwidth connection is critical. The roll out of faster, more reliable fibre broadband has made the decision easier for those who can access it today. In areas where faster fibre broadband is not yet available, BT Openreach has introduced a waiter’s scheme, where suppliers can place an order and when the number of waiting orders reaches a threshold, the cabinet is prioritised for an upgrade.
Need for scalability
The cloud route is excellent for allowing you to downsize or upsize your desk phone needs in short order with minimal effort. Going in-house for your phone system can require purchasing licenses outright and in some cases, investing in greater hardware. Not to mention, if you don't have your own IT staff, you need the skills to configure additional users. This is usually self-administered via a portal with cloud-hosted solutions.
No internal IT support
If your organisation relies on outsourced IT support, then you may consider a cloud-hosted VoIP solution. Your hardware footprint is minimised and you have 24/7 support from a trusted supplier you can call anytime when things go awry. In-house systems generally require more upkeep and problems that arise take longer to resolve, on average.
Need for remote working
Cloud VoIP providers like Jola allow you to use your desk phone anywhere that has an internet connection. This is great for staff that work from home, or travel and want to take their desk phones or use their mobiles as desk phones on the road for conference calls. Internal phone systems generally don't offer this flexibility without additional networking expertise and hardware in place.
If your customers are looking to move to hosted telephony and you are looking for a reliable partner, consider Jola.
