Six reasons why migrating to cloud communications now could be your best move of the year
Modern business comes with unprecedented challenges. From keeping up with technology to wading through regulatory guidance to responding to consumer demands, guiding your business through today’s environment can feel like navigating a never-ending maze of obstacles.
Your communications shouldn’t be one of them.
As you look for better ways to manage communications, connect with customers, and keep your business running seamlessly in the face of disruptions, you should turn to the Cloud. Companies are increasingly looking to cloud-based services for mission critical systems – including communications. In fact, digital transformation means that many companies will move nearly all business processes and models to digital platforms.
A 2022 study by Frost & Sullivan shows that for 75% of companies surveyed, the Cloud is the most critical part of a business transformation strategy. Why? Because companies need to address new concerns:
- Rise in remote work (66%)
- Customer and employee safety (65%)
- Low employee morale and engagement (56%)
The 2019 State of the Cloud Report from RightScale found that 84% of respondents have a multi-cloud strategy and 94% of respondents use cloud services in some form.
Clearly, customers view a sound cloud strategy as a key pillar of business transformation. As more and more companies migrate systems to cloud services, the case for moving communications to the Cloud has never been clearer. A Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) solution can be a key piece of your overall business strategy.
Here are 6 reasons to migrate your communications to the cloud:
1. Improved employee satisfaction & engagement
Your employees need easy access to each other. Seamless communications remove business hurdles.
UCaaS systems provide:
- Flexibility and mobility: UCaaS provides employees with work-life balance. They can be on the move because they can access their phone system from anywhere. They can work from home (or really from anywhere with an Internet connection) and still have access to the same collaboration tools as they would in the office.
- Intuitive, enjoyable operation: UCaaS fosters productivity because it’s easier to use and manage than traditional on-premises phone systems. Employees can set up and customize their phone features, such as call routing and voicemail, without IT support.
- Better collaboration: With a UCaaS platform, employees can jump on a video call, share screens, and work together more efficiently, virtually eliminating the need for in-person meetings.
Enhanced communication: UCaaS improves the quality and reliability of voice and video communications by providing features like HD voice and automatic call routing. Collaboration among employees, customers, and partners becomes clearer and more efficient.
2. It’s less expensive than premise-based systems
Many companies choose to stay with on-premises systems under the assumption that cloud systems will be cost prohibitive. In reality, cloud-based systems are more cost effective in the long run. Premises-based systems come with many ongoing costs, especially as they age and require regular maintenance and replacement parts. When an on-premises system becomes obsolete, the cost of replacing the entire system can mean a lengthy approval process coupled with a major capital expenditure.
Cloud services reduce communications expenses over the lifetime of the system. Because UCaaS solutions are a monthly operating expense, they allow you to fit communications into your monthly budget and reduce unplanned communication maintenance costs.
UCaaS systems save money by:
- Allowing you to add apps or services for small monthly fees rather than as large capital expenses.
- Offering the opportunity to swap out phones more frequently without a major additional expense to stay on top of the latest technology.
- Making scaling less financially impactful, allowing companies to stabilize and predict monthly expenses.
3. It’s secure
Anytime the subject of cloud services comes up, questions inevitably arise about security. Not only do businesses want to ensure the security of their own private data, but they also must comply with an ever-evolving list of regulations and requirements designed to keep customer information safe. The publicity around major data breaches can understandably give pause concerning the dangers of putting communications across the Internet.
Zayo offers private connections between your business and the cloud communications data center that can virtually eliminate security issues. As your cloud voice provider, Zayo will help you design a communications solution that meets your individual security needs. Whether you need a private, dedicated connection or shared multi-tenant option, or help to communicate policy solutions internally, or assistance meeting external compliance regulations, we’ll partner with you to achieve your security requirements.
UCaaS can keep you secure by:
- Providing your remote workers with the secure connection they need to work anywhere, anytime.
- Offering a variety of options designed to solve your particular security needs.
- Encrypting data across a secure connection without requiring a complicated log-in process.
4. It easily scales
UCaaS provides the scalability you need during periods of rapid change. With premise systems, hiring one additional employee could push your company into the next level of pricing or service, creating unnecessary expenses. Cloud voice services, however, are priced according to licenses. As you bring on additional employees, adding licenses is easy and your costs stay predictable.
Cloud-based communications systems also:
- Allow you to hire talent wherever it resides. UCaaS equalizes communication options for remote workers. Workers in other geographies can access the same communication functionality as employees in the office.
- Expand features for your users. When your customers ask for SMS text, chat, or web and video conferencing, you can add those services without completely overhauling the entire system.
- Reduce the burden on IT departments. New employees added to the system are easily handled by a single phone call to the communications vendor, freeing IT to spend time on more important functions.
5. It offers peace of mind during disruptions
Business disruptions happen – sometimes on a daily basis. From global pandemics to natural disasters to building floods, cloud voice services allow companies to keep operating seamlessly. With UCaaS, customers and colleagues can operate from anywhere – in the office, at home, or in another branch.
UCaaS offers business continuity by:
- Giving employees the necessary tools to conduct business from anywhere at a moment’s notice. Whether it’s a minor business emergency or a global crisis, employees can quickly adapt to the needs of the moment without missing a beat.
- Allowing employees to stay connected with customers anywhere, anytime, on any device without changing the customer experience.
- Making collaboration and teamwork easy across geographies, allowing disaster teams to immediately work together.
- Offering the peace of mind that premise systems can’t offer. While premise systems can be physically compromised by building emergencies, cloud voice remains up and running through any business disruption.
6. It’s always up-to-date
Communications systems have changed in unprecedented ways over the last decade or so, and modern systems involve a lot more than just a phone plugged into a wall. Most telecommunications manufacturers are moving away from hardware-based systems to software, precipitating the decline of available options for premise based-hardware solutions. Also, with premise systems, phones can quickly become obsolete as technology evolves, and companies that want to remain competitive will be left behind as technology outpaces their communications systems.
Cloud-based systems make communication systems evergreen, allowing companies to stay on top of the latest innovations – and remain competitive and responsive to their own customers.
With UCaaS, you’re always up-to-date:
- Add new apps or services as soon as they become necessary. When customers ask for SMS text or web-based chat options, your company won’t fall behind the competition because of an outdated communication system.
- Update software automatically without worrying about old or obsolete hardware.
- Stay on the leading edge of technology to provide the best user and customer experience. Cloud allows you to communicate in the way in which they prefer – voice, email, chat, text, video. or any of these in combination.
Make Your Move to Cloud Communications with Zayo
Zayo offers a suite of cloud voice and collaboration products and services to grow your business and keep your teams connected from anywhere.
With a focus on exceptional customer service, our sales and service teams are experts in moving customers from premises to cloud. We’ll work with you through the entire process to make the move to cloud communications simple. Depending on the cloud communications solution you choose, we can install your new system in parallel to your existing system, offer complete project management coordination, and provide on-site training for a seamless transition to your new cloud system.