​Research indicates that organizations are quickly transitioning to ‘mobile-centric’ environments to take advantage of new efficiencies brought forward by mobile cloud communications solutions.

IDC research indicates mobile workers will account for more than 72 percent of the U.S. workforce by later this year, exceeding 100 million people. There are some key reasons behind this trend, such as more inclusive Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policies implemented by many businesses and the advancement of cloud communications solutions that enable the mobile workforce to optimize productivity while outside the confines of an office. Many industries are seeing a significant benefit of deploying mobile solutions, including construction, retail, manufacturing, and healthcare. Businesses recognize the advantages of leveraging an untethered workforce, such as empowering field-based workers to independently address customer problems and reducing costs associated with brick-and-mortar facilities. The challenge is finding the right technology to make sure you are adequately served, proprietary information is securely handled, and personal and business data is reliably partitioned in the network and on the employee’s device.

Ask Questions to Identify the Right Mobile Cloud Communications Solution

Forward-thinking companies have embraced the notion that they — in almost every instance — can leverage mobile technology to maximize efficiency and enhance customer service. However, you need to understand your everyday business processes and operations. Start with the basics:

• What industry are you in?
• Do you rely on mobile salespeople, whether out in the field or on a sales floor?
• Do you utilize outside technicians that visit customers, such as those in the HVAC or appliance sectors?
• Are you working with staff members that are always on the go, like doctors and nurses in a physician’s office?

Employees not bound to their offices or workstations require the same seamless and reliable communications tools like those available in traditional office settings to meet their business objectives. Don’t be reluctant to introduce new capabilities to these environments — it’s the role of an effective company to bring new functionality to your networks.

Mobile Cloud Communications: Must-Have Checklist

Companies should look for compelling solutions that can deliver robust mobile communications capabilities at least similar — if not identical — to the tools used in the office. But the truth is, not all mobile cloud communications are created equal. Here are a few key features to look for:

• Apple/Android Functionality: Cloud communications solutions should work equally well for both Android and Apple devices, basically turning smartphones and tablets into another extension of the core communications system.
• Presence Management: Specifically, ones that can automatically ring desktop and mobile phones simultaneously, and be programmed according to the user’s personal business preferences, ensuring that incoming calls are never missed.
• Personal/Work Contacts: A robust directory feature collects and synchronizes all personal and work contacts, giving employees access to all their essential phone numbers and email addresses at their fingertips, wherever they may be, is a must.
• Conferencing Tools: A worthwhile cloud communications solution needs to enable team members to participate in conference calls through a single click.
• Voice-to-Text: An ideal add-on for mobile workers that may not be able to listen to voice messages on their smartphones, voice-to-text features transcribe voice messages, enabling workers to glance at incoming messages and respond at a more appropriate time.

To kick off 2020, let’s take a look at some of the biggest stories developing in the unified communications sector. According to thought leaders and industry analysts, a number of trends are expected to gain traction in the coming year:  

• AI will make headway among communications providers
• Chat and SMS will become a major force
• 5G is an emerging contender to shape the market
• Distributed, room-to-room “as-a-service” offerings will emerge 
• Digital transformation will continue on a global scale, with the U.S.
  leading in “digital readiness”

Here’s what the pundits have been saying:

1) AI, IVR, and Automation

Cloud communications providers will be looking at Artificial Intelligence (AI), including virtual assistants, intelligent routing, and IVR automation, to shape their operations and make their businesses more efficient and productive, especially in lieu of supply chain management. The key to successful implementation will be for companies to use AI to augment existing systems and processes, as opposed to replacing them. In other words, AI will facilitate more common tasks, but escalation to more complex issue resolution will still require human intervention.

For example, automation will manage basic tasks while giving workers time to focus on the more sophisticated elements of their jobs. So IVR and automated tools can accommodate appointment scheduling, and businesses can schedule deliveries based on the analysis of SMS messages or social media notifications, according to media sources.

2) Specialized Services

A roster of new technology capabilities will arrive in 2020, including video-enabled devices in collaborative unified communications environments. International news site UC Today advocates that the addition of specialized services offerings in vertical markets will play a greater role in the sales process.

“Channel partners will begin to make their money through specialist services, rather than selling maintenance plans and call packages,” wrote editor Rob Scott. “However, there will always be complexity in the [communications] marketplace and vendors will need specialist support to bring their communication solutions to life. This new marketplace will steer partners and resellers to differentiate themselves as specialists in particular niches.”

3) Rooms as a Service

Some unified communications vendors are developing new “Rooms as a Service” collaboration solutions that allow businesses to instantly deploy video conferencing tools and meeting software
in SMB meeting rooms, as the “XaaS” everything-as-a-service economy continues to evolve, and
video becomes a more prominent component in a communications environment.

4) Chat and Bots Escalate in the Call Center

Industry experts predict an increasing interaction between “bots” and consumers in 2020. This is in addition to increased use of chat services, which are put into practice when a bot conversation requires escalation to accommodate a more complicated response than a bot script can address. As business customers seek to deliver superior engagement experiences, AI, automation, and chat services will coalesce to meet the evolving needs of the marketplace.

According to research from Salesforce, 53% of service organizations claimed they will implement chatbots within 18 months, representing 136% growth. And 40% of customers said they didn’t have a preference for either an automated response or a human responder as long as they get a satisfactory answer quickly.

5) Integrated Solution Suites

Throughout 2020, the market is predicted to favor integrated solutions and product suites, which can deliver a compelling value proposition by offering a range of services within a single ecosystem — all administered by one vendor, under one brand. Solutions may incorporate chat, SMS messaging, video conferencing, and VoIP services, in addition to business processes such as billing and invoicing. The “stickiness” of these bundled solutions make it easier for channel MSP partners to maintain long-term relationships, delivering extra value and serving as a coveted trusted IT advisor.

6) Gearing-up for 5G

In addition to exciting developments in AI, IVR, and IoT, new protocols such as 5G and WiFi 6 are gaining momentum and stand to be a catalyst for smart office and SMB environments. Being hailed as the “next generation of mobile connectivity,” the faster Internet speeds of a 5G environment could deliver a watershed of opportunities in the UC and collaboration space. For example, 5G will reduce latency, and allows end-users to leverage data-heavy 4K video conferencing or to rapidly upload large data files. 

Market research firm IDC predicts that 5G prices are likely to rapidly decline, helping to speed adoption. By the time we reach 2025, 5G technology should be available to approximately 65 percent of the world’s population, accounting for nearly 45 percent of all global mobile data traffic.

7) Cisco’s Global Digital Readiness Study

Cisco recently released its 2019 Global Digital Readiness Index, providing stats on the “digital readiness” of 141 countries across seven “components,” or categories. 

“Technology has the potential to be the single greatest catalyst for economic and social progress,” said Tae Yoo, senior vice president of corporate affairs at Cisco. “In every corner of the world, digital technology is helping us become more connected to each other and the organizations upon which we rely. It opens markets, creates jobs, and better connects citizens and customers.”

Some findings:

• Of the top-10 largest economies in the world by total GDP, only the U.S. ranked in the top-10 for Digital Readiness at #3. 
• The U.S., Canada, Luxembourg, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates are the top-five countries for Technology Adoption.
• The U.S. took the top ranking for North America at #3, Chile took the top spot for South America at #34, and Costa Rica took the top spot for Central America at #47.

Keep your eyes peeled for more updates on the latest developments in cloud communications.

The ever-changing business landscape has driven voice technology to evolve from the good ol’ analog landlines to powerful digital telephony.

Pre-VoIP, analog systems have supported businesses for decades. They’ve been reliable tools for inbound and outbound calls and can also be used to transfer calls across extension lines. It has well-known functionalities like hold, mute, redial and speed dial, but not much else. It’s simple and easy to use but has limited potential for expansion.

Meanwhile, modern telephony allows companies to add more-advanced features and capabilities, such as music on hold, VoIP integration, and alarm systems, which can be supported with modular add-on boards. Newer IP interface allows unified messaging features like voicemail delivery to email, fax delivery to email, voicemail transcription to SMS, click to dial, and a desktop client.

What drove the evolution of voice technologies from analog to digital? According to unified communications expert Dave Michels, the obvious advantages of software-based telecommunications solutions influenced this shift.

Michels adds that software-controlled solutions offer a superior upgrade path and more advanced features for integration with existing and future business systems, such as CRMs, messaging and social networking.

Here are the top five advantages of software-based voice technology:

1. Easy to Use & Operate

Back in the day, businesses relied on communication via landline phones, which can prove to be clunky and unreliable. Today, Internet telephony using VoIP is not only faster and more efficient, but it also eliminates the need for constant maintenance or hardware upgrades. The service provider hosts, maintains and upgrades all of the PBX technology for you. You can set up and configure the system for your business, all from your computer.

It’s easy to setup and simple to use, providing the ability to customize as you see fit, with no technical experience necessary.

2. Improved Scalability

Hosted PBX doesn’t limit your business’ growth. With a hosted system, you are able to scale up or down as needed, without the manual labor or wait associated with traditional phone lines.

Businesses can start small and gradually increase their usage over time, depending on business needs. Got2Connect cloud services are also self-managed so you won’t need to hire an IT guy to set up our communication system.

Enabling businesses to deliver results faster, cheaper and with more quality is key to giving you the competitive edge you need to win against your competitors.

3. Flexible and Future Proof

Hosted PBX allows you to access and update your phone system as needed, whether you’re at home, overseas, on the road or on vacation.

Additionally, hundreds of companies operate from different locations. Now, more than ever, the demand for cloud-based services is increasing. Remote work setup means team members should have the ability to collaborate through audio video conference and cloud-based office suites.

Internet telephony breaks down barriers and opens up collaboration with staff members in different departments and locations. With Got2Connect unified communication, your business can shift to Internet-based voice and data communication and allow employees to use real-time chat and voice call features for better collaboration.

4. Fully Featured

Hosted PBX and VoIP give you a feature-rich solution for your business or organization — complete with limitless call routing features and leading application integration, including Salesforce, Microsoft Outlook, and more.

Having the ability to re-route calls, move numbers across multiple sites and switch from one channel to another to mitigate service interruption, makes hosted PBX and VoIP a flexible and resilient option for businesses.

5. Cost-Efficiency

There are no heavy investments to getting started with Hosted PBX. You don’t need to purchase or maintain a cumbersome telephone system for your business.

Hosted PBX systems also cost less to maintain in the long run, lowering monthly phone bills, which makes the system a double treat for those looking for a cheaper business phone solution that provides serious ROI.

When disasters hit, being prepared is so vital for the stability of your small business. That is where Got2Connect steps in to help you prepare for the worst. Each year the storms seem to become more damaging, but the last thing you want to leave to chance is it hurting your business.

Do you have a disaster plan written? Is that something you have considered enacting on? If not, now is the time to make the beneficial changes to help your business thrive no matter what mother nature throws at us!

E911

E911 is a service that can provide the current location of anyone who calls 911 on your phone network. This service helps first responders and rescuers pin point the location of those in need. During a natural disaster this could be the difference between in a rescue. It is important to update your E911 location if you move or have plans to move for the duration of a storm.

Voicemail to Email Feature

The most efficient way to receive messages when your phones are down is the voicemail to email feature. During natural disasters some companies will receive a higher volume of calls and this feature is a helpful tool to stay on top of your messages and allows for better organization of your messages. The set up is just as simple as the tool!

Unplug Your Electronics

It’s always a good idea to unplug and store your electronics in a safe place to avoid damage from the storm. One benefit of using a VoIP phones is they are plug and play which means even after being unplugged they do not loose their configured settings. Once Mother Nature settles down and you are able to restore your phone systems all of your settings will come right back and things will be back to smooth sailing!

Mother Nature is unpredictable and there is no way to know for sure what will be headed our way, but being prepared will save you countless hours and headaches caused by being unprepared. Not only is it beneficial to your own business, but also to your clients. Clients like to invest in a company that they can rely on not matter what the situation and having the right tools will allow you to service your clients needs.

Work smarter not harder. There are no truer words than that & we are here to give you some insight on how you can establish that in your office setting. We would like to introduce you to VoIP. VoIP is an acronym for Voice Over Internet Protocol and what that means is it’s a phone service provided through your internet connection instead of your local phone company. There are many benefits to switching, but the one we feel is most important is the improvement within your productivity.

How many times do you find yourself thinking there is never enough time in a day, a week, a month or a year? Time management is a major key in success & moving forward with technology that can help you work smarter not harder is the way to go. VoIP is a tool which can streamline your communications & help reduce your admin time by 5% on a weekly basis. When you’re looking at a 40 hour work week that would be two hours of time you now have to use for other projects that have piled up or some free time to unwind & recenter yourself. The options are endless!

One time saving hack in which VoIP will offer is automating incoming calls. You can set up the service with a customizable automated answer in which you can inform your clients of basic information like operating hours, location & any other information you may find vital fro them to know. This is a service that is being run 24/7 without you having to lift a finger. You can adjust the message after hours to include additional information you may feel necessary to keep your clients up to date. On top of the nice automated feature you can set it up in conjunction with the Ring Group feature which would allow you to send incoming calls to numerous extensions. This feature would ensure the call would be answered in the quickest & most efficient way. In return keeping your clients happy!

In this day & age mobile cell phones are essential to personal & work life. Sometimes you can’t always be at your office getting work done & confusing clients with business & personal phone numbers can get cumbersome & inconvenient. With connecting VoIP & our mobile app there is a convenient way to sync the two in which you are able to receive incoming business calls & also make outgoing business calls all from your mobile phone as if you were making that call right in your office. Think of the time you would save if you decided to work from home for the day. Cutting out your communing time would allow for more work to get done or for you to enjoy some of your day!

Lastly, a better voicemail will create higher productivity by the versatility the app allows. Not only can you receive your business voicemails directly to your mobile phone you can also have an audio message sent to you via email. Instead of voicemail being a separate entity it now becomes a more streamline part of your workflow. Having one place where all your messages are will dramatically help manage staying in constant contact with the important people for your business.

There are so many advantages to making the switch to create a more streamline system within your business & we are here to help! Call us for more details in the new & exciting way to communicate!