Over the past 12 months, many companies have changed from a old business phone system. PBX to Cloud.
They have been adapting to a completely different style of working. Whether it’s Zoom calls instead of meetings. Collaborating on projects via Microsoft Teams or just taking calls from home, much has changed.
One thing we have found at MF Telecom Services is that many of our clients have vastly benefitted from moving on to a cloud-based system. Notably cloud-based telephony and the freedom that comes with anything cloud-based. You can access, use and modify your telephony services from anywhere where there is a viable internet connection. Whether that be via a mobile app, a physical SIP phone, or the use of a Softclient via a laptop/PC, having the ability to take your office phone to wherever you need it can be a real game-changer.
MFTS engineer, Martyn, recently did a blog. He documented how he managed to work solely from his mobile for a whole day.
One of the key things Martyn had at his disposal was the mobile app, Horizon. The Horizon app allows you to take calls from your office number, receive internal calls from colleagues (using just your extension number) and make calls that present your office number, saving any unwanted returned calls to your private line.
Whilst it is true that some PBX phone systems can also provide all of this, the cloud-based systems have the advantage that they give each user permissions. They can also make changes to their own set-up.
Cloud-based systems also require a lot less admin. There are minimal setup requirements needed to get a new user up and running. In tough times, where we have been unable to meet face-to-face, this has made working life much easier for everyone.
One thing the past 12 months or so has proven to many of our clients (who have upgraded to a cloud-based product), is how far behind their old systems were. We recently upgraded one of our clients from a 15+-year-old system. In fairness it was still running fine but had lost the ability to add functionality. When it came to the maintenance of the hardware, it was becoming more and more expensive to upgrade due to lack of available spare parts.
We upgraded our client to a fully cloud-based system (Horizon) in May this year. Matching the needs of their old system and then improving their services where possible. They now have fewer overheads due to having much less physical hardware on site. They also have better control over all users and call routing. It even ties in with their in-house software in a way that the previous system was unable to do. This was something that was very welcomed by the client. This is what they had to say:
“We were considering moving to a cloud-based system to assist with the modern way of working from home. James, Martyn and the team at MFTS were fantastic at understanding our needs and requirements before we took the plunge.
Our biggest concern when moving to a cloud system was losing any existing functionality that we have relied on heavily over the years with our PBX based system. But their great attention to detail ensured that they were able to answer all of our many questions. Also highlight to us what we used on the PBX system to ensure that the transition was as smooth as possible. They replicated a large part of the structure of the system over to Horizon.
Now that we have the new system in, administering changes is not only easier than ever. However, the team have been great at assisting us whenever we’ve had queries that we aren’t too sure on how to handle ourselves. It’s safe to say there isn’t anybody here who misses the archaic system of old!”
From an engineer’s perspective, moving to a cloud-based system offers far more in the way of resilience, practicality and longevity. You need an internet connection for all calls. However with the PSTN and ISDN being turned off in 2025, this will be the case for whatever you are using. With the ability to simply “update” an application on your mobile or PC/laptop to the latest version, you are effectively constantly updating your system. Rather than keeping the same hardware running in the background, something that like most technology at present, will become legacy five years down the line.
Moving to a cloud-based telephony system is a good choice.
Whether it’s the right choice for your or your company comes down to your requirements and infrastructure. If you would like more information on this, we would be more than happy to discuss it with you. We have some free guides for you to download here.
Please contact us, or call 01892 577 577 for all your IT support and business telecom needs.