Communication is Key. Our telecom solutions enable our clients to focus on their business, without worrying about being out of touch.
Technology is rapidly transitioning away from hardwired options towards wireless, or cloud-based options. The business communications world is not immune from this transition as companies are looking to upgrade their existing systems to state-of-the-art cloud-based technology that can save money and empower a remote workforce.
In this blog, we are going to examine the benefits of upgrading your business’s telecommunication to cloud-based options with City-Com:
8x8 CLOUD PHONE SYSTEM
City-Com now offers the 8x8 Cloud Phone System to all of our clients.
8x8 is a virtual office desktop that integrates a business softphone (mobile, personal computer) with visual voicemail, a corporate directory, instant messaging, video calling, fax, call recording, web conferencing, and more — all in a single desktop application.
This system allows employees to access the network anywhere they are using their devices — this includes mobile phones, tablets, laptops, and desktops.
PRI vs. SIP TRUNKING
Primary Rate Interface (PRI)
PRI has been the gold standard of supporting voice communications for businesses for over 40 years. A PRI circuit includes 23 voice channels to support 23 concurrent calls, and one data channel to support call-related functionality like caller ID.
It can deliver multiple lines of voice and data through physical lines built into your building’s infrastructure. Because of the labour involved in the hardwiring of a PRI circuit, they tend to be expensive to implement and they may even require long-term contracts with traditional telecom companies for local and long-distance calling.
Pros:
- Doesn’t rely on bandwidth to support calls
- High-quality, dedicated lines
Cons:
- Expensive to implement
- Monthly phone service costs
- Long-term contracts with telecom companies
- Large infrastructure required is slow to scale and upgrade
Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) Trunking
SIP trunks link your business to the Public Telephone Network.
Here’s how it works:
Your business, which has its own business telephone system, connects to your Internet Service Provider (ISP) network, which then links you to the public telephone network. This is commonly known as a VoIP call, or a Voice over IP call.
In addition to voice calls, SIP technology also supports communications like video conferencing, SMS messages, data transmissions, and more.
The need for traditional phone infrastructure is eliminated with SIP trunking.
Pros:
- Scalability
- Less expensive
- Ust it on personal mobile or desktop devices
- Easy-to-use administrative portals for easy management
Cons:
- Requires internet bandwidth (ideally a fibre optic network)
- Needs system security features like firewalls to prevent cybercrime
- Quality of communication can vary significantly
Cost-Savings
While there are obvious pros to a PRI phone line, SIP trunking is the way of the future, especially as fibre optic networks increase across Canada.
Here are two recent cost-saving quotes we presented to a medium and small-sized local business:
Medium-Sized Business
An organization with 20 employees was paying more than $1,300 a month with its previous telecommunications system.
City-Com quoted them on a SIP telephone line and the quote saved them $925 a month and $33,300 over three years.
Ultimately, the company decided to upgrade its legacy system (new system, phones, voicemail, and advanced features) using our leasing program and they saved $675 a month.
Small-Sized Business
An organization with six employees and five business lines was paying roughly $375 a month for their phone lines.
We quoted a SIP trunking solution that connected with their existing hardware and it saved them an astounding $250 a month!
USER EXPERIENCE
User experience (UX) is how someone experiences a piece of technology. It’s centred around the technology’s usability, structure, navigation, and ease-of-use.
If a piece of technology achieves a great UX, it will be both efficient and enjoyable for the user.
City-Com’s cloud-based communications solutions achieve great UX via:
The use of mobile and desktop apps
As we wrote about in our blog titled, The Benefits Of BYOD For Your Business, allowing employees to use their own devices for work-related tasks not only cuts down on costs for businesses, but it also allows people to use the technology that they’re familiar with. All a user has to do is download the mobile and desktop apps to access our cloud-based solutions.
Multiple points of contact
When you use City-Com’s cloud-based communications solutions, you have access to your designated account manager in addition to all our technicians, sales and operations staff, and even our management team.
Two of our company’s core values are: Being relationship-focused and responsive. This ensures that you don’t have to go through layers of support from faceless telecommunications companies for your solutions.
Client-Focus Mindset
As your go-to communication solutions business, you can rest assured that we’re always asking ourselves how we can make our clients’ jobs easier. When we receive questions or concerns from clients, we take it seriously and will work to make sure everything gets resolved.
This three-pronged approach to UX ensures your business is getting the latest technological advantages along with the support you need to use those technologies efficiently and without problems.
If you’d like more information on the 8x8 Cloud Phone System or any of our cloud-based and wireless products, contact one of our expertly-trained staff at City-Com.
