Communications T
he current rapid rise of ‘anything as a service’ models such as Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) and hosted contact centres – or
Contact Centre as a Service (CCaaS) – have encouraged many of these communications to move to the cloud. Tis opens opportunities for the sector to branch out beyond traditional telecommunications. Different companies in the channel, such as service providers and resellers, are seeking to better serve enterprise customer demands while generating new revenue streams. Te imminent shut down of the copper cable-based
Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) is also presenting opportunities, as well as challenges. Te move over to a fully online, digital-based network using Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) will not only affect businesses in the UK, but also around the globe. Te PSTN is being shut down in the UK in 2025 according to BT Openreach, with other European countries soon following suit. Customers want to be able to seamlessly communicate with
businesses whenever they need to, so direct contact is vital. Unrestricted by poor phone signals, VoIP communications allow for fast, stable, and wide-reaching coverage to and from anywhere with an Internet connection. Change is coming around fast, and it is imperative that businesses
can adapt to it. Communication and success go hand in hand, and with efficient cloud-based platforms and networks, service providers can offer enhanced communications to enterprises and seize the growing opportunities in this space.
Changes and challenges Naturally with change comes challenge, and a switch from a system that has been in place for decades is bound to raise some, including:
• Lack of Experience – Many enterprises have a skill and expertise gap in their internal teams, having not had the opportunity to work with VoIP before. Tis makes it harder for them to get started and expand into the world of cloud telephony. Without a knowledgeable partner, they could get leſt behind.
• Option Overload – While traditional lines of communication are important, many customers in today’s digital environment like to be contacted in ways other than a phone call. Email, SMS and Over-Te-Top (OTT) messaging apps like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger are all options that need to be thought about and addressed to provide the best possible service to the customer.
Despite these issues, the move to VoIP opens the door to more improvements to communication capabilities across the board and a chance to adapt ahead of the curve. Tere is a huge opportunity for service providers to help enterprise
customers overcome the above challenges, while creating new revenue streams for themselves.
Getting ahead with VoIP When considering UCaaS and CCaaS, there are plenty of options available to businesses to help them on their journey.
www.pcr-online.biz Te right expert partner should be able to evaluate
your needs and give you options on how to best address and optimise your network. It should also offer assistance moving from PSTN to VoIP, and testing the new network to ensure success. Different communications methods including
telephone calls, SMS and Email need to be aligned for an effective omnichannel approach. A customer should be able to start a conversation with a business representative on one platform, then effortlessly move it to another with all the information from the previous communication trail readily available. By integrating 2-way voice and messaging into CCaaS platforms, this is simple.
On top of this, when 2-way voice is properly integrated into a
UCaaS service like Microsoſt Teams, users can send and receive phone calls as well as the usual messaging services. Tese calls can be made to mobiles or landlines, allowing businesses to use Teams on their laptop, tablet or phone as a central hub for all communication. Te right platform and partner will offer all these features, then
enable service providers to white label and repackage them as their own. Providers that offer a Bring Your Own Carrier (BYOC) model have become increasingly popular for businesses who want to integrate VoIP into UCaaS, CCaaS and other ‘as a Service’ platforms. It can be difficult for businesses to switch to a new provider whilst making the most of their current existing telephony carriers. BYOC provides the best of both worlds. Te white-label platform should also offer a number of other
features for a comprehensive solution. It needs to provide the provisioning, managing and billing needed to grow voice in any business, plus fraud prevention, ticketing and reporting. With a single, API-enabled platform, it is simple for service providers to provide enterprise customers with everything they need to enhance their cloud communications.
“Customers want to be able to seamlessly communicate with businesses whenever they need to, so direct contact is vital”
A future in the cloud With the world of communication moving as fast as it is, the cloud is continuing to be at the forefront of the global business world. Whilst the PSTN switch-off may seem intimidating, it is in fact a
chance for businesses to adapt to change. With the right tools, it will become a help rather than a hindrance as businesses move forward into a stronger cloud-focused future. An expert partner and platform will enable service providers to
better serve their enterprise customers’ communication requirements on a global scale, while boosting their own revenues and experience.
June 2023 | 35
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