Recently someone asked us to share about cloud telephony and the market in general.
Telecommunication has come a long way. From a very traditional wired infrastructure, the advancement of telecommunication has move on to the cloud, largely due to the push for cloud computing and the availability internet connectivity.
It is strongly forecasted that the worldwide cloud telephony market is growing for the next few years. Data Bridge Market Research has reported the below forecasted growth.
What does this mean?
It means telecom service provider are moving away from the traditional wired services to cloud based technology which in the long run, more cost effective to both the provider and the consumers. Furthermore, cloud telephony gives so much more flexibility and convenient to individual users and corporates alike.
The market will continue to expand and there will be more cloud telephony providers coming into the scene to compete with the traditional big telco companies. One day, you may need to move to the cloud, too. With all these potential options to select from, how does one select the right provider?
Here are the suggestions:
Price:
It’s pretty obvious. This is the first thing most people would look at. It is a big eye catcher when the price is low or very low. However, it would be a folly if your decision is solely based on price. Do a bit of research to find out what the price includes, what are the hidden cost, contract commitment period, and so on. As the saying goes, everything comes with a price.
Reputation and Reliability:
What is the reputation of the service provider? It is very hard to determine that as not everyone may have direct experience with the provider. Commonly, people would check out who are their current customers, which market they focus in and company reviews, if there is any available.
Reputation can also be measured by the number of years the provider has been in the market.The reliability of connectivity service is a bit subjective. Cloud telephony has a few dependencies: the provide own cloud infrastructure, the reliability of the internet connect, the quality of the user devices or even the location of the device (don’t expect good connection when you are in a tunnel).
Flexibility:
This is pertaining to how flexible the provider is in terms of adjusting their services in order to meet your specific needs. You may come across those who are rigid and strictly defined by the package offered. You may also come across those who are willing to help. One just need to do some research and seek them out.
Support Services:
This is important and cannot be overemphasized. If telephony services is important to your business operations, you want to make sure you get prompt technical support from your provider. You do not want a provider who respond to you only after two days you lodged a complaint. Reliable support services will give you prompt response time after you lodged your complaint, understanding engineer who understand your issue, technical expertise of the provider who can resolve issues fast and sound technical advice when needed.
So, here you go. Make your decision wisely by weighing all the factors. Happy calling.
