The pace of development and innovation in business internet telephony has rapidly accelerated as a result of the events of the past year. Several trends, technologies and new methods of working have evolved, all of which appear to have the potential to reshape the way we interact and collaborate at work. Let’s look at 5 ways business telecoms are changing.
- Working From Home
The shift to home working was by far the most significant development in the previous year. While it was initially implemented as an emergency measure, it has now been adopted by many businesses as a long-term workplace strategy. VoIP, video calling, and cloud technology have all played their part in making working from home more manageable and productive. With remote work looking like it’s here to stay for many businesses, it’s important to invest in the technologies required to make it work smoothly. Technologies like cloud-hosted VoIP and high-speed fiber broadband to support the increased bandwidth required. - Cloud Telecoms
The rise of remote work has necessitated a shift away from on-premises systems and towards cloud-based technology. Off-premises cloud telecoms solutions which can be accessed from any location, provide more flexibility for businesses and employees. With a cloud solution, you could be taking that next important business call from anywhere – your desk, on the train commuting, or even in a different country – all using the same number with the same call quality. Anywhere there is an internet connection, you can use a cloud telecoms solution.
- Video Calls
Video calls have been around for a long time, but we’ve only recently realized their full potential. In the past year home and business phone calls were often replaced with video calls. Despite the lifting of limits on in-person meetings, many organizations continue to conduct most of their meetings via video conferences, both with clients and internally. Video conferencing saves time and money by eliminating the need to travel to and from face-to-face meetings, while capabilities like screen sharing allow users to display software to other people on the call-in in real-time.
Because of the growing relevance of video calls and the popularity of free video call software such as Zoom, every video calling provider has been pushed to substantially improve the quality and usability of their platforms. Microsoft Teams has been rapidly adding more features to make it the leading business platform for video calls.
If your company isn’t using video calls yet, it’s time to start. In 2017, the Harvard Business Review conducted a study that found that when seeking to engage a potential consumer, face-to-face communication was nearly 30 times as effective as email communication. - 5G Technology
5G technology provides much higher speeds and lower latency than current 4G or Wi-Fi connection standards. As more 5G infrastructure is installed across the UK, more enterprise technologies are likely to use it. The lower latency 5G affords will enable the remote operation of sophisticated machinery, and its IoT (Internet of Things) applications will see more aspects of a business’s technologies, inventory and supply chain connected and networked than ever before. The leading telecoms companies in the UK are currently investing heavily in 5G and any business looking to stay ahead of the curve of telecoms technology needs to start investing in 5G infrastructure today.
Live Chat & AI
Live chat features on business websites have become the norm and more and more businesses now use these as the first line of customer communication. AI-drive chatbots can help to triage customer service inquiries and gather some basic information about a potential customer’s inquiry before they are passed over to a member of your team. The increase in the quality of machine learning has made these chatbots increasingly accurate and capable of engaging users in increasing complex dialogues. Some of the latest VoIP platforms can integrate with these live chatbots and allow a sales team member to take over once the chat bot has gathered the initial information for the user.
How To Stay Ahead Of The Curve With New Business Telecoms Technology
These are only five of the telecommunications trends that will likely intensify as the economy recovers. With the support of a professional business telecoms provider, you can stay ahead of the curve and gain an advantage over the competition. A managed telecoms supplier can assist your company in utilizing all of the latest telecoms technology to help you save money on your business phone and broadband bills, while also improving the efficiency, quality and ease-of-use of all your communications.
