Why cloud-based communication makes remote collaboration easier

If resilience and flexibility were important in business before the Covid-19 outbreak (and they absolutely were), today they’re more critical than ever. 

And your network infrastructure plays a huge part in achieving those two things, along with staying competitive and coping with ever-changing user demands. 

For many organisations, the cost of maintaining traditional on-premise infrastructure is a massive drain on IT resources. And scaling that system up or down can be a time-consuming process – slowing your business down when speed matters. 

Let’s look at the retail sector, for example. 

In our survey with Retail Week, 28% of retailers said delivering an excellent customer experience is their biggest challenge. If your communications infrastructure is putting such an important goal at risk, something must change. And fast. 

By migrating your voice communication to a cloud network, you can create a secure, streamlined infrastructure that’s routed through the internet and requires much lower overheads to manage effectively.

With voice over internet protocol (VoIP), a simple internet connection means you can move your voice communications online. 

Add your favourite collaboration tools to the mix and you can build on cloud-based voice to create an agile, resilient, and scalable tool that enables collaboration anywhere, anytime, and from any device. 

With one app, your colleagues can take part in high-definition video conferences, collaborate in virtual team spaces and handle calls. 

They’ll also be able to share files, collaborate on documents, use tools like interactive whiteboards for brainstorming and more – all from their mobile phone, desktop or tablet, with a consistent experience everywhere. 

Of course, with the move to remote working many workers and teams have already found their favourite collaboration tools like Cisco Webex, Google Drive or Slack. Microsoft Teams, however, has recently been in the limelight, with Microsoft reporting the platform to have reached an unprecedented 115 million daily active users by October 2020.

This multi-app universe is an ever-evolving picture, with new integrations being added constantly. With many voice communication solutions integrating seamlessly with common third-party apps and tools, end users can integrate with the interface they’re used to. That means no more switching between apps, with everything always just a couple of taps away

With many solutions being completely scalable and configurable, you only pay for what you use. So, as your business grows you can add more users and embed them into your teams, whether they are working remotely, in the office, or always on the move. 

That level of collaboration can mean your business grows too. In fact, 79% of workers feel that well-connected offices are better performing, while 70% feel they get more done when they work flexibly. 

And here’s another statistic worth bearing in mind: 

EY recently shared that 82% of millennials say that workplace technology would influence their choice to accept a job. 

By offering cutting-edge collaboration that’s compatible with a range of third-party apps, you can attract and retain top talent. That’s surely got to give you an edge as we move beyond the pandemic.

Collaborative technology makes your business attractive to customers too. As your colleagues can access information about customers quickly, easily and securely, they can give them personalised interaction that’s truly focused on their individual needs. 

So here’s one final statistic to round things off: 

75% of customers are more likely to purchase from a company that knows their name and purchase history. 

If you can embed that personal service through cloud-based communication, you could see your business grow and flourish. 

Now that businesses have made tactical changes to meet the needs of the pandemic, it’s time to make those improvements permanent. That means making the change to a cloud-based communication system to empower your people.