Is Cloud-Based Phone System the Right Choice for My Business?
The alliance of technology and innovation has led to the emergence of cloud solutions to run businesses successfully. The expanding tech space has not streamlined many of the existing business processes but has also, created new business opportunities. Large enterprises, SMEs to startups, cloud solutions have been permeating the business space in a variety of ways.
Business phone systems have drastically transformed the business functioning and simplified the complex network of switches, hardware, and wires to a simple virtual office set-up. Business clients, partners and other team members can interact with each other and with the in-house team from anywhere across the globe with the help of cloud-based VoIP service. But, it needs to be clearly validated that does cloud solutions fits every business need.
Here’s a complete checklist that needs to be considered before making the business critical decision.
How much is the total cost of ownership (TCO)?
On-premise telephony solutions take away a huge amount of upfront cost. Along with the installation, businesses have to pay for the licenses and equipment. Additional license and equipment cost has to be incurred on adding up new employees. As most of the businesses prefer SaaS applications that are built under cloud so, it does not take away on-site equipment costs which eliminate the big upfront investments. And as the company grows, these solutions can be easily scaled up. For large enterprises, TCO doesn’t vary significantly. Calculating and comparing the cost of each solution, both in terms of recurring payments and upfront expenses must be considered.
What is the importance of disaster recovery solutions?
As the data and services are hosted by the cloud provider this implies that businesses can ensure smooth business functioning even in the face of natural disasters. Usage-based charges for the cloud services are well-suited for the disaster recovery solutions which are most of the time at rest and runs on the need basis. So, it is much suitable for the businesses wanting to run on a shoe-string budget.
Will I need to control in-house IT personnel?
On-premise set-up requires constant attention so, missing IT team in your company will require outsourcing the tasks of maintenance and software up gradation. In contrast as, the cloud-based solutions are maintained and handled by the service provider, so, tasks like routine maintenance, software upgrades doesn’t have to be managed by the on-premise IT personnel.
What are the terms and conditions of contract?
One of the key selling points of cloud applications is easy scalability and flexibility offered by these solutions. Many of the service providers offer best prices on extending the contract. You can get the contract canceled in case it doesn’t fit the business requirement or can further be extended as needed. Doing research on the various cloud service providers can help businesses to ensure business continuity and instant solutions to adapt businesses.
What data security and portability requirements should I consider?
Before choosing any cloud service provider, data backup, and recovery options must be considered. It must be considered that, whether cloud service provider adheres to data handling best practices. Additionally, data migration concerns in the new infrastructure must also, be addressed. This takes into the picture the overall maintenance of cloud infrastructure and ensures a positive cloud migration experience.
Conclusion
Whether, it concerns incorporating the cloud service for the first time or scaling up the workload in the cloud, ensuring what to expect is the key. By putting into practice the steps mentioned above can help to deliver diligent performance.