The past 18 months of lockdowns have brought cloud communications to the forefront. Cloud PBX, UC, and collaboration tools, which work anywhere on any device, have been critical to businesses enabling teams to work from home and continue to communicate with their co-workers, suppliers, and, most importantly, their customers.  

At the start of the Pandemic, many companies deployed a hodge-podge of technologies to support their remote workers, but unfortunately, these quick-to-deploy solutions were not a good long-term fit for a hybrid workplace. As a result, their home-office and in-office environments became disjointed, reducing productivity, collaboration and often introducing risk. 

Many of your clients recognized early on that a digital transformation was necessary to their survival. As they came to this conclusion, you undoubtedly helped several clients transition to VoIP and UC technology. Without cloud communications, many of these businesses would have shut down—some never to reopen.

It turns out that we’ve all been part of a global proof of concept for cloud-based tools enabling remote work. And the verdict is in—cloud-based technologies work if deployed correctly and they have been instrumental in keeping businesses afloat in the face of extraordinary circumstances. 

What are some of the lessons learned from the remote workplace? 

Customer expectations don’t change when you aren’t in the office 

In fact, sometimes they have higher expectations. Whether your clients were in the office or working remotely, delivering an exceptional customer experience didn’t change. Luckily, cloud communications still allowed conversations to happen the way they needed to.  

For some, that meant reminding customers about an appointment through text. For others, it was setting up a phone call to provide further details on a new product. And others used video to make meetings more productive. As a result, businesses could adapt to customers’ preferences and switch from one mode of communication to the next—seamlessly, from anywhere.  

All-in-one solutions make communications easier 

Disconnected systems cause delays. That is why all-in-one solutions that provide a single pane of glass for all communications have become a critical piece of the puzzle for a business’ success. They provide team members a variety of options and flexibility to collaborate in the ways that works best for them.  

Team members can start a text, call, or video conference from the same window, and they can chat one-on-one or in a group depending on whatever serves them best. Most modern cloud communications solutions also provide access to the complete company directory, so employees can quickly call or chat with anyone at the company with a single click.  

As many in the workforce start returning to the office, does that mean that cloud communications become less important? No. Look out for part two, of this three-part blog series, where we will look at the rise of the hybrid workplace and its advantages.  

To learn more about Broadvoice’s b-hive Cloud Communications solution, visit https://www.broadvoice.com/cloud-pbx/ or contact [email protected]