By Brian Martin on July 12, 2018 in Blueface, Communications & VoIP, Technology

Unified Communications, IP telephones and VoIP are the changing the definition of the business landline. UC and VoIP are advancing the way customers and businesses communicate and what they expect from the business phone system.

This blog outlines 5 reasons why you should upgrade your old, soon-to-be-obsolete PBX to a Cloud PBX to this summer.

Still Paying Analog Line Rental

Many businesses are still reliant on legacy lines for their phone services. Before there were few options to line-based telephony, consumers felt as if they have no choice but to pay.

According to the BCT Report, 42% of businesses are still paying monthly charges for line rental. Instead of paying line rental, as long as you have a fibre broadband connection, Unified Communications and superlative real-time voice can work for all of your devices.

Avg. Line Rental Charges
According to the Irish Times, Ireland is the highest in the EU in line rental charges at €25 compared to the average EU price at €15.

By 2020, you will no longer to be able to purchase ISDN and PSTN circuits in the United Kingdom, making it clear that the future of communication is VoIP. A fully hosted solution provides numerous amounts of benefits when you switch as you can have as many seats as your internet connection can handle.

By combining voice and mass media services, such as data, and video, companies are now offering their customers more than ever. Blueface Unified Communications lets you cut the lines, improve your communication experience, and give you control over your business phone system.

Cannot Work Remotely

The way businesses operate has greatly changed in the past few years. Remote working is becoming a popular strategy for human resources. According to the BCT report, 77% of businesses already have remote working policies in place.

The advancement of broadband infrastructure — 10MB in 2014 to 50MB in 2018 (avg.) — has allowed businesses to keep their staff connect, from anywhere in the world.

Businesses are implementing remote working strategies for various reasons that include obtaining vital skills that are in local short supply, productivity, or retaining top talent with an increasingly nomadic workforce.

Unified Communications has enabled various features that enhance connectivity among remote workers like video conferencing. According to the HBR, these features help 87% of remote workers feel more connected. Remote working has yielded benefits

Working remote is becoming the newest trend for businesses around the world, allowing more flexibility and increased connectivity for employees. This is supported by a recent Gallup Survey that highlighted that 41% of telecommuters were more likely to feel engaged than regular office goers.

A hosted business phone system will allow you to roll out and test new site globally, with no need for lines or bulky equipment.

You Need to Call Your Provider to Make Changes

Many phone providers do not afford customers the luxury of customising their phone system in real-time. Coupled with this, often many providers charge for customer support, so small changes can have a big price tag.

Blueface Unified Communications Portal allows you to make changes big and small, from full call flow outlay to dynamic time of day routing.

Can’t figure out UC?
Blueface UC affords customers the ability to customise their own account. With that said, Blueface provide complimentary support through instant messaging, voice, and email to help with any issues. You can also check Blueface Support for quick queries.

Changing the way your phone system works is very simple and quick set up with the drag and drop abilities. Using the call flow tool, you can direct where you want the calls to go, add a virtual receptionist, customise ring groups, and more from the drag and drop items in the menu on the portal.

The portal allows you to personalise the opening and closing hours of your business so that incoming calls can be redirected. Redirect to a specific voicemail, audio message, or contact outside of office hours.

This feature is especially handy for global businesses such as Blueface customer LearnUpon, who have offices in the US, Australia and Ireland — about as spread as you can get.

Controlling your account has never been easier with the UC Portal. Add, remove, and edit users, their numbers, and their devices in real time. In the UC Portal, customers can control real-time call reporting, recording, and call conferencing.

No need to go through your provider’s IVR to set your own.

No Music on Hold

Music on hold helps customers stay calm and it encourages them to stay on the line longer.

According to a study published by North American Telecommunications Association, callers with silence on hold will abandon their calls in less than one minute, whereas callers with music on hold will stay on the line 30 seconds longer than with only silence.

The same study also showed that callers with information on hold will stay on the line for up to 3 minutes longer. Blueface customers can change there’s at any time on the Blueface UC Portal.

They personalise it to the music of their choice, the information they want to provide, and more. Switch to Blueface and break the silence for your customers, create aural marketing campaigns and reduce frustration.

Cannot Change Outbound Caller ID

Unlike Hosted Unified Communications, fixed-line telephony does not have the flexibility needed to change your outbound Caller ID linked to your line.

Fixed-line telephony is restricted by the lines that provide the service, unlike virtual numbers that allow users full flexibility with their outgoing number.

Simply Put
Outbound Caller ID is the number that displays when you dial out.

Geographically unbound virtual numbers allow users to dial out from anywhere — such as a Paris, Texas regional number from Paris, France — and edit on the fly from the UC Portal. This feature is particularly important for businesses with multiple locations in multiple regions.

As VoIP and Hosted PBX systems are not restricted by lines, there’s no need to contact your provider — just log on to the Unified Communications Portal and select your profile.

A simple selector allows users to instantly push device changes to their device — whether it’s local or international — and dial with a new ID, as well as excellent international rates.

Need a refresher?

As many businesses use summer to refocus and fix some capital expenditure, now is the perfect time to plan your upgrade to gain more features, fewer lines and more peace of mind. Need a reminder about why you need to upgrade Unified Communications and enhance the way your business collaborates this summer?

– You’re Still Paying Analog Line Rental
– You Cannot Work Remotely
– You Need to Call Your Provider to Make Changes
– There is No Music on Hold
– You Cannot Change Outbound Caller ID

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