2017 THE YEAR OF CLOUD COMMUNICATIONS - VOIP and UCaaS for Mid-Market Businesses

Why are more businesses moving to the cloud each year? The ongoing story of communications is tied to the evolution of technology. Understanding the story makes it easy to step back and decide where the future growth will be regarding VoIP and Unified Communications (UC). Here are the factors that have made the VoIP, Virtual PBX verdict a positive one:

Sunset of PSTN

In 2011, the Federal Communications Commission released multiple recommendations for the future of phone technology. Included in these recommendations is a note that the Public Switched Telephone Network (PTSN) or the traditional landline will need to be retired in the near future, and that the FCC should strive to accomplish this by 2018. We are 1 year away from 2018. With the drastic reduction in on-premises PBX solutions being sold over the past 10 years, those companies who have been waiting for equipment to fail or contracts to be over, will be moving to the cloud in large numbers in 2017. 

While the FCC remains hushed on the elimination of the PSTN, the telecom industry is preparing for this, and forward-thinking businesses would be wise to do the same.

A VoIP Pattern

What began as a few forward-thinking companies trying out a new technology has morphed into something that is so commonplace it wouldn’t be out of the norm to be talked about around a kitchen table. VoIP (Virtual PBX) has officially moved from a trend to a pattern, and the statistics back it up.

The number of VoIP users increased by 20% in 2013. Within a year, 56% of enterprises and 66% of small-to-medium-sized businesses plan to implement or upgrade to UC Solutions. In 2017, that number of mid-market businesses planning to move to a Cloud PBX solution is expected to increase by 40%. VoIP and Unified Communications are the technologies of tomorrow that are available today; more and more companies are beginning to utilize the technologies to gain a competitive advantage in their industry.

Savings – Time and Money

VoIP and UC save money and time in several ways. Reducing costly system updates, keeping mid-market businesses more connected with their offices and clients and eliminating maintenance and support costs associated with on-premises equipment, cloud-based VoIP and Unified Communications solutions deliver savings in a tangible way.

Specifically, Unified Communications creates savings through making more efficient use of time. A recent study showed that many employees saved up to 20 minutes daily by using Unified Communications such as real-time presence and follow/find to reach workers on the first try. These same employees saved an additional 20 minutes through utilizing UC’s efficient message management such as voicemail to email and instant messaging. In a world where time is money, having an extra 40 minutes in your work day could result in a huge productivity and revenue boost.

If you have been considering a move to the infinite possibilities a cloud solution could bring to your company, fill out the form to the right and a VoIP Expert will contact you shortly!