Remote work, hybrid teams, and global operations have made location-independent communication an absolute must. As a business in the digital age, you might be thinking that business communication doesn’t particularly consider phone systems as primary and that they are slowly moving into obsolete territory. But here’s the reality check that you need today – If you’re not thinking about how a modern business phone system needs to evolve with your growing business simultaneously, you’re missing out on one of the most fundamental tools for scaling operations. 

Business phone systems have evolved (from just voice calls) to more sophisticated cloud-based systems that are obviously more dynamic and flexible. A Gartner report indicates that by the end of 2025, 75% of organizations will have moved at least half of their infrastructure to the cloud. Business phone systems will be no exception! 

A cloud business phone system enables a range of communication methods to happen simultaneously, no longer confining employees to a desk. Be it a startup or an established enterprise, a modern business phone system is a must-have if you are looking at growth opportunities and improved customer satisfaction. In this blog, we explore further what a business phone system can mean for your business regarding RoI and how InfinCE fits the bill.

Why Does Your Business Need a Business Phone System?

Primarily useful for prompt customer service, a business phone system also works as a critical tool that supports business as usual and enhances workplace productivity.

Here are some key reasons why investing in a business phone system is crucial:

1. Enhanced communication and collaboration: Communication is typically a cornerstone of business success. A business phone system is a one-stop solution packaged to serve multiple purposes, including facilitating voice calls, video conferencing, and instant messaging. This allows teams the luxury of collaborating efficiently without having to invest in independent tools for each function. 

2. Cost efficiency: It’s a given how traditional landline phone systems come with exorbitant maintenance costs and often incur hefty installation charges.  A cloud business phone system is easy to set up and does not have ongoing maintenance fees since it’s built to support more sophisticated equipment. They also don’t typically have long-distance charges. VOIP business phone systems (Voice Over Internet Protocol) are built in a way that they significantly reduce call and infrastructure costs. 

3. Improved customer experience: A PWC study and research on customer experience suggests that 73% of consumers cite customer experience as a significant factor in purchasing decisions. A business phone system can be a handy tool and a key driver of enhanced customer experience and satisfaction with features like call routing, auto-attendants, and voicemail-to-email. They specifically help businesses ensure that customers are connected to the right department quickly, improving response times. 

4. Enhanced security and compliance: Cybersecurity is a no-brainer in today’s digitally dynamic business environment. A business phone system with built-in encryption and secure data storage protocols can equip your teams to safeguard sensitive customer and business information. For industries like healthcare, finance, and legal services, compliance with regulations like HIPAA and GDPR is critical.

5. Robust scalability: As your business grows, your communication needs will change and evolve, and advance. As we know, standalone traditional phone systems often necessitate expensive hardware upgrades or new installations as you add employees or expand locations. With a modern cloud-based phone system, scaling is rapid and also straightforward. You can add or remove lines and integrate new features as needed, all without the need for additional hardware or installation. 

Read more: Top 5 Reasons Why You Should Consider a G Suite Alternative.

How Can a Modern Business Phone System Support Your Business Growth?

An online business phone system doubles down as an integrated communications solution. This means it should work in tandem to help improve overall business performance, add value, offer flexibility, and enhance productivity.

Let’s get to the specifics: 

1. More Convenience. Better Connection. 

A modern business phone system typically includes features like call routing, auto-attendants, and voicemail-to-email. Let’s say a customer calls in to check on an order. A business phone system with an auto-attendant feature can greet them, direct them to the right department, and even provide basic information (like shipping status or payment details), reducing wait times. 

Getting the caller connected quickly reduces response times and friction. Happy customers tend to stick around, spread the word, and ultimately contribute to long-term growth.

2. Improved Cybersecurity 

Imagine discussing sensitive contract terms with a client, only to have that conversation intercepted.  Today’s business environment is riddled with threats, whether you’re a small startup or a multinational giant. A modern phone system that offers encryption, secure data storage, and compliance-ready protocols (think HIPAA or GDPR) is critical to business success and sustenance. 

Measures such as end-to-end encryption, encrypted call recordings, and multi-factor authentication (MFA) for system access built into a modern business phone system can help you tick all these boxes. Having robust security in place also shows customers and partners you take their data seriously, which can become a huge trust booster. If you skimp on security, you might save a few short-term bucks, but the risk could be catastrophic in the long run.

3. Call Data & Analytics

A McKinsey & Company study found that companies using data analytics to optimize customer service experience a 20-30% improvement in customer satisfaction and a 5-10% reduction in service costs.

A modern VOIP business phone system has features such as call analytics, offering real-time insights into call volume, duration, and outcomes. This data can be used to identify trends, improve customer service, and optimize operations. With actionable insights from these reports, businesses can make data-driven decisions that enhance efficiency and resource allocation. 

4. Improved Customer Services

Small business phone systems are designed to improve customer experience at every touchpoint. Automated call distribution, call queues, and IVR (Interactive Voice Response) systems ensure that customers reach the right department or agent without unnecessary delays. Additionally, features like call recording and real-time transcription enable businesses to track interactions, improve training, and resolve customer issues more efficiently. In fact, CX Network reports that businesses that invest in customer service technology, including phone systems, can see up to a 10% increase in customer retention.

How Can InfinCE’s Phone System Enhance Your Business Communication?

According to CX Network, businesses that invest in smart call management can see a boost in customer satisfaction of up to 10% simply because callers spend less time waiting and more time talking to the right person.

InfinCE’s business phone system is a comprehensive cloud-based solution designed to increase operational efficiency and streamline collaboration.  InfinCE is built for the modern business with features like auto-attendant and call routing. These help direct each call to the right person or department. For example, a customer with a billing question is automatically connected to someone on your finance team without spending precious minutes doing manual transfers.

InfinCE’s detailed call analytics can show you how many calls come in daily, how long they last, and even how frequently they convert to sales or resolved support tickets. This data is a goldmine for helping teams spot trends, improve training, and allocate resources more effectively. 

In addition to voice calls, InfinCE is built with powerful integration capabilities with your existing business tools. This allows your team to leverage a unified platform for managing files, tasks, and appointments.

With user-friendly dashboards, a secured file management system, a pool of collaboration tools, and smart communication apps, InfinCE makes an apt digital workplace solution. Even better, robust built-in security keeps your conversations and customer data safe, allowing you to focus on growth without second-guessing whether your phone system can handle it.

Test drive InfinCE today. Start your free trial now!

Are You Moving to Enterprise Cloud? Here are 10 Statistics You Need to Know!

Cloud computing is a vital game-changer for businesses looking to make the most of advanced technologies. Enterprise cloud solutions help companies become more cost-efficient, innovative, and productive. Companies seeking to transform their business operations in these challenging times consider enterprise cloud services as the most feasible and viable option. 

With that, let’s cut to the chase first. 

What is Enterprise Cloud?

Enterprise cloud is a computing model that allows you to access virtualized resources from a private or public cloud services provider. It includes processing power, servers, data storage, networking infrastructure, and other virtualization capabilities. Enterprise cloud providers bill their customers on a pay-per-use basis, but you can also go for subscription-based models to better control the expenses. By migrating to enterprise cloud solutions, you can have improved flexibility and network security while reducing IT infrastructure costs.

Read more: 5 Ways an Integrated Cloud Platform is Beneficial for Your Small Business

Enterprise cloud services offer robust and scalable IT solutions to help you become more resilient by having scalable access to data storage, CPU memory, and processing power. On top of that, you do not have to maintain the network and data center either. Enterprise cloud platforms like InfinCE offer private IT infrastructure services to take care of your network and data center management.

10 Stats You Need to Know About Enterprise Cloud

Here are ten statistics that prove how enterprise cloud is transforming businesses around the world.

1. Business drivers

51% of the respondents of IDG Cloud Computing Survey 2020 cite the following reasons as the primary business drivers for enterprise cloud adoption:

• cost management
• reporting and optimization
• performance monitoring and management

44% of respondents mentioned security, governance, and policy compliance as the key reasons to adopt enterprise cloud. 

2. Enterprise cloud strategy  

81% of organizations that adopt enterprise cloud go with a multi-cloud strategy to take full advantage of the technology. This way, they get to enjoy the best of both public and private cloud computing.

3. Industry adoption 

Financial services, one of the most regulated industries today, reports the highest adoption rates of private and public cloud. Understandably, reliable security and IT resources scalability are the driving factors for that. According to a survey by Celent, over 33% of respondents from the financial services industry believe that it would only take 1-3 years to shift 75% of their workloads to the cloud.

Read more: 3 Strong Reasons for Your Business to Embrace Cloud-based IT Services 

4. Market leaders

According to the Flexera 2020 State of the Cloud Report, enterprise cloud partners of Microsoft Azure saw a significant increase in the adoption rates from 45% to 52% in 2019, while it was 67% for AWS in the same period.

5. Growth rate

In 2020, 67% of enterprise infrastructure was moved to the cloud. IDC reports that by the end of 2021, 80% of enterprises will be equipped to move to the cloud. As a result, cloud-centric digital infrastructure and application services will grow twice as fast as before the pandemic.

Read more: A Guide to Effective Cloud Migration

6. Impact on business functions

As per a recent report by Forbes, 74% of Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) believe that cloud computing will have the most significant impact on their business. Other technologies that would substantially impact financial enterprises include the Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence, and Virtual Reality.

7. Everyday usage

On average, an employee actively uses 36 cloud-based services at work daily, sometimes even without knowing that they are accessing multiple enterprise cloud solutions. This mainly includes collaboration apps, file-sharing services, and content management tools. For example, tools like Gmail, One Drive, Office apps, and so on.

8. Better results

According to Salesforce, around 94% of businesses that have migrated to enterprise cloud reported significant improvements in their online data security standards after switching to the cloud. At the same time, 91% said it made meeting the government compliance requirements much simpler.

9. Expectations

IBM reports that around 41% of businesses already have a multi-cloud management strategy in place. It is expected that 98% of enterprises will migrate to hybrid cloud computing by the end of 2021 to manage the running workload better.

10. Multi-cloud strategy

According to Flexera, 66% of enterprise cloud customers from 19 different industries believe that adopting a multi-cloud strategy is vital to reducing costs. At the same time, it is also crucial to develop a more predictable monthly operating expense model.

Read more: Why Should Your Business Invest in Cloud Native Digital Technology?

What Makes Enterprise Cloud a Sensible Choice?

1. Cost-saving

One of the key factors driving enterprise cloud adoption is that it allows businesses to pay only for the resources they use. Even with subscription models, you can have a predictable monthly expenditure while having the option to scale the resources as and when required. Moreover, there are zero costs for infrastructure maintenance or managing the servers or data center.

2. Improved security

Enterprise cloud offers multiple layers of network-wide and system-wide security measures to keep your sensitive business data safe. Enterprise cloud security helps thwart cyber attackers trying to infringe your company data and customer information.

3. Quick disaster recovery

No one can predict a disaster – but for businesses, losing data due to a disaster can significantly affect their reputation, not to mention the loss of revenue. As developing a solid disaster recovery solution can be very expensive for companies, moving to private or public enterprise cloud services provides them a reliable option to sustain business resiliency.

4. Drive innovation

Enterprise cloud allows you to scale the IT resources up or down as required dynamically. Thus, you can minimize the upfront capital investment needed to launch a new product line or test a new service. As the cost barrier is out, enterprise cloud services facilitate innovation and grow your business to new heights.

5. Easy data access

Cloud computing and desktop virtualization often go hand-in-hand when it comes to business uses. With that, you can ensure that your employees have access to the required data and files on the go, no matter which device they are using. This improves the overall productivity and profitability of your business.

Download White Paper: The Business Value of InfinCE for Business Owners and Employees 

InfinCE Enterprise Cloud Solution

InfinCE is an all-in-one enterprise cloud platform that offers a new way for businesses to manage IT. With InfinCE, you can get all the software, cloud servers, and technical services to run your business from anywhere – all in one place. Hosted on a secure private cloud, InfinCE digital workplace platform empowers your employees to collaborate and work from anywhere seamlessly. Contact us to learn more about InfinCE enterprise cloud. 

The Underlying Benefits of Using a Business Phone System

A business phone system can be defined as “a system where businesses use multiple telephones in an interconnected fashion that allows for features like call handling and transferring, conference calling, call metering and accounting, private and shared voice message boxes, etc.”

Business phones or VoIP phones are a great tool to facilitate your business communication needs. Business phone systems help manage large call volumes. With a business phone in place, you can route all the incoming, outgoing, and internal calls through a unified platform.

Read more: 7 Reasons for a Small Business to Adopt Cloud Business Phone System

Modern business phone systems come with multiple features to simplify communication management for the organization. From call recording, forwarding, and rerouting multiple calls to voicemail, IVR messaging, and automated call functions, you can benefit a lot from a reliable business phone system. Here’s everything you need to know about business telephone systems to help you make an informed decision.

Different Types of Business Phone Systems

A business phone system can make call management incredibly convenient for your employees. At the same time, it helps the caller connect to the relevant department immediately to address their concerns. You can make and receive calls from your PC, laptop, tablet, or smartphone by using the business phone system, using a dedicated phone number for your company. The business phone system is a vital part of customer management today. Here are some of the examples of business phone systems. 

1. PBX Phone Systems

PBX or Private Branch Exchange phone systems allow you to make and receive calls over the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) via circuit-switched telephony. In other words, PBX phone systems use physical copper wire networks to transmit voice communication as analog signals. In general, PBX phone systems are classified into two categories: on-premise and cloud-based PBX systems.

On-premise PBX phone systems employ bulky hardware that includes physical wires, PBX servers, and specialized phones. The system uses a trunk line with internal telephones, enabling the user to communicate within the network without using any external lines. This makes on-premise PBX phone systems an excellent choice for external as well as internal communication. However, many businesses choose cloud-based PBX phones instead of on-premise systems due to their infrastructure and maintenance expenses.

Cloud PBX phone systems employ a web-based cloud telephony platform to give you all the features you can expect from an on-premise PBX system. However, they do not require any specialized hardware, as seen in the latter. You can route the calls to your employees’ cell phones or the usual business line to facilitate communication. Apart from that, cloud-based PBX phones also offer additional features like call switching, access control, and better flexibility and visibility into the platform.

Read more: 5 Ways an Integrated Cloud Platform is Beneficial for Your Small Business

2. VoIP Phone Systems

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone system enables you to make and receive calls using the IP network. VoIP phones transmit voice communication and other types of multimedia communication over the internet using packet-switched telephony. Thus, it helps avoid the usual problems of a traditional business phone like voice breaking and call drops. A VoIP phone system will also be interfaced with PSTN using specialized adapters to route calls via PSTN if required.

Just like PBX phones, VoIP phone systems are also classified into two types: on-premise and cloud-based VoIP systems. 

On-premise VoIP phone systems, also known as IP-PBX phones, are very similar to on-premise PBX phone systems in terms of architecture. The main difference between them is that a VoIP phone system uses a VoIP server to route all the incoming and outgoing communication instead of using a private branch exchange. In addition, it requires VoIP-enabled phones to make and receive calls instead of usual phones.

As all the communication is sent and received over the internet, a VoIP phone system is much more cost-effective than an on-premise PBX phone system. Moreover, you can also use VoIP phones to transmit multimedia communication, which is impossible with PBX phones. Still, as on-premise VoIP systems require investing in infrastructure similar to PBX systems, most businesses prefer cloud-based VoIP phones rather than having an on-premise system.

Cloud VoIP phone systems function just like on-premise VoIP phones but without needing any specialized and bulky hardware. There is no hefty cost of installation involved, as the VoIP provider will be responsible for managing the infrastructure on the cloud. You only need VoIP-enabled devices to make and receive calls. There are also options to pay as per usage when you go for cloud VoIP phone services, which further help keep the expenses in check.

Read more: 8 Ways Cloud Automation Significantly Improves Your Legacy IT Operations

Benefits of InfinCE Business Phone System

With the InfinCE business phone system, you can have a dedicated phone number for your company to protect your privacy and keep work and personal phone numbers separate. When you make a call, the receiver will see the caller ID of your organization instead of a private number, which is a valuable asset to affirm the reputation of your business in the industry. Besides, you can also choose from local phone numbers and toll-free numbers to suit your needs with the InfinCE business phone system.

Read more: Introduction to InfinCE Business Phone System

InfinCE business phone allows you to have a virtual phone number for your company and make and receive calls on the go, from anywhere in the world. As a result, you are not confined to your desk and can access your InfinCE account anytime, anywhere, using your preferred device. In addition, InfinCE allows you to buy additional phone numbers and add unlimited extensions. With plans starting at $1 per phone number or user per month, the InfinCE business phone system also helps you enjoy incredible cost savings.

You get to benefit from many more features when you choose the InfinCE business phone system. You can create as many IVR greeting messages as you want, assign extensions to different departments, get dedicated phone numbers for key personnel, and do a lot more to fit your needs for business communication. With multiple extensions in place, none of your customers will have to wait in a queue to get connected to the relevant department when there are simultaneous calls. That will give you a competitive advantage over others in the industry by boosting customer satisfaction rates.

Set up your business phone system with InfinCE and start enjoying smart call management features. Sign up now!  

Why should small businesses invest in a cloud business phone system

In the past, a business phone system was not a small business priority. But did you know that nearly 65% of consumers prefer to interact with a business over a phone call rather than utilizing a web contact form? As companies rush to find more ways to engage their loyal customers, keeping their contact options flexible and open to customer demands is a critical area that they cannot ignore. In this context, having a business phone number is essential as customers may want to get in touch with you directly for various reasons. Traditional telephonic communication systems have transitioned into their digital avatars. Today VOIP based telecommunication is the backbone of every small business phone system out there.

The latest and most trending internet-enabled telephonic communication infrastructure for today’s digital-savvy small businesses is a cloud business phone system. The trend is attributed to the ROI that cloud business phone systems can provide to small businesses. Cloud business phone systems help companies deliver a seamless experience for customers to get in touch with them. 

Let us explore the top 7 benefits that a small business can enjoy if they switch over to a cloud business phone system:

1. Global access

A telephone system managed in a cloud environment enables businesses to globalize their communication infrastructure. It allows the staff to utilize the business phone for communication from anywhere in the world in just a few clicks. All it takes is a few configuration steps to be done on your cloud phone system. In a matter of minutes, your business phone system will be ready for use in any country you may shift your operating base to or open up new offices. All data related to your contacts, workflow mappings of different departments, or executives can be seamlessly moved to your new work location without any effort.

Read more: 5 Ways an Integrated Cloud Platform is Beneficial for Your Small Business

2. Cost-efficient

As we all know, cloud business phone systems rely on VOIP technology to make phone calls from the internet. Voice is transferred as data packets and not as analog signals found in traditional line-based telephonic infrastructure. Voice services over the internet are relatively inexpensive irrespective of the geographies connected through the line for customer interactions. Availing a cloud business phone system also allows small businesses to avoid hefty license fees as they can opt for economic subscription plans that best suit their needs.

3. Simplified infrastructure

A cloud business phone system doesn’t require enterprises to have physical telecommunication infrastructure components like a PBX box, telephones, and operational lines. Also, they do not require office premises to be modified to lay cables and wires to support a large user base of executives accessing different official phone numbers. The cloud system offers all employees a simple one-click call from their smartphones, and the cloud service provider handles all call routing, network optimization, and traffic management.

Read more: 8 Ways Cloud Automation Significantly Improves Your Legacy IT Operations

4. Flexibility of scale

Small businesses always need technology that can flexibly align with their growth prospects. Cloud telephone systems allow enterprises to seamlessly scale up the number of people who can access the business phone system with just a few clicks and no physical infrastructure additions. They can increase the number of subscribers in their monthly or yearly billing contract signed with a service provider. The same applies if they want to scale down operations as well.

5. Device independence

With a cloud-based business phone system, employees can make calls from any of their devices such as smartphones or laptops or any other work gear and have the recipient receive the call from the official business correspondence number. All call features such as recording, analytics, reporting, etc., can be done on the cloud. Companies can even route incoming calls to an employee’s number to another employee easily in the event of leave or absence.

6. Limitless geographical extension

One of the highlights of using a cloud-based VOIP business phone system is that it gives businesses the freedom to establish a local presence in a country with a business phone system tagged to a local number. They can do it remotely from anywhere globally, thereby empowering businesses to expand their reach to international customers seamlessly.

7. Recovery and security

With a cloud-based business phone system, your business’s entire telephone system has a virtual infrastructure hosted and secured in a cloud environment. In the wake of a natural calamity or a sudden migration of office space to a new city or locality, your business phone system can be up and running from the new area in a matter of seconds.

Download White Paper: The Business Value of InfinCE for Business Owners and Employees

As the world is increasingly transitioning to digital-first interactions, keeping your telecommunication system agile and flexible is vital for sustainable business growth. This is where investing in a cloud business phone system can make a tangible return on your investment. Get in touch with us to see how InfinCE can help create the perfect digital backbone for your small business by bringing all your enterprise applications, telecommunication, and collaboration capabilities under one roof on a SaaS model.