Questions to ask when moving your business to a cloud phone system

A move to cloud telephony promises to be packed full of benefits for your business, with endless scalability, seamless flexible working and those all-important cost savings.

Easy to use, affordable to maintain and suitable for businesses of all sizes, it’s no wonder that more and more businesses are moving their business communications to the cloud, ahead of the 2025 switch off, of traditional phone systems.

Moving your business communications to a cloud phone system can be extremely simple and stress-free, with a plan of action in place and specific questions ready to be asked. But, what are the crucial questions to ask when moving your business to a cloud solution?

What internet connection is required?

Cloud phone systems are housed within the internet and therefore rely entirely on an internet connection. This is a huge positive for businesses, as the vast majority will already have a broadband connection. Plus, this is great news from a cost and continuity perspective, as staff members are able to make, take and transfer calls from any device including their desk phones, business mobiles and laptops.

While reliance on your broadband can be a benefit, it’s essential to have a reliable and fast internet connection in place with suitable bandwidth allowances before you switch. The good news continues as, even if you don’t have a suitable broadband connection in place, you will be able to change to a new broadband package. Doing so is simple, and it helps to know roughly how many simultaneous calls will be occurring during your peak hours to help calculate your bandwidth requirements.

Are there any security concerns?

One of the significant benefits of a move to the cloud is the built-in disaster recovery which comes as standard. This will protect your business from losing data or going offline due to unexpected events such as office shutdowns, natural disasters or criminal activities.

Your cloud phone system will ensure that you’re never offline, meaning that, not only will you be available to your customers, but you will be sure that your data and your customer’s data is secure. Your cloud solutions will come equipped with a range of security measures as standard, including a call behaviour monitoring algorithm, credit limits, clustered firewalls, VPN connections and geographic call blocking. There are plenty of providers such as SendMyCall cloud phone systems.

As one of the most secure telephony solutions available, cloud phone systems do also offer additional security options depending on your individual business needs. The telephony provider that you choose, such as Network Telecom, will be able to discuss all security options, in line with your specific business needs.

What equipment is required?

One of the factors that make cloud phone systems such affordable options is the lack of on-site hardware required. Gone are the days of physical phone systems, instead, all you need is an internet connection and your favourite device, such as a plug and play handset, like the award-winning NT Multimedia desk phone, a business mobile or computer.

While a cloud solution is available on a range of devices, if you choose to utilise your existing hardware, you need to check that it’s all compatible. It’s recommended that before moving to your cloud communication solution, you conduct an audit of your existing equipment and decide what needs to be replaced, either with new plug and play handsets that allow for seamless remote working or with softphone functionality via your employee’s computers. This way not only will compatibility not be an issue but working from anywhere will be simple!

If your business is considering a move to the cloud, be sure to ask these questions in preparation. Network Telecom, one of the UK’s leading telecoms providers and part of the European group Enreach, is on hand to answer any questions that your business may have about cloud solutions. For a limited time only, the provider is offering three months free on all new cloud phone systems via 0333 3603 899 or enquiries@networktelecom.co.uk.