Web-based phone systems gained such a huge popularity in quick time due to their incredible features and solutions.
Today, most business communications are web-based, thanks to internet telephony that uses the internet to provide telephony services. According to a survey, more than 70% of employees have access to the internet. This makes an ideal condition for those companies to enjoy the benefits of web-based phone systems. In this article, we will talk about some of its amazing benefits.
What is internet telephony?
Internet telephony covers all forms of telephony services like phone calls, SMS, video conferencing, etc., that send calls and data digitally via the internet using the Internet Protocol (IP). It is referred to as IP packet-switching technology. Web-based phone systems use internet telephony to exchange all kinds of data and information. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology is a subset of internet telephony.
What are the benefits of a web-based phone system?
A web-based phone system allows you to handle communication channels via the internet using IP technology. It makes business communications smarter, comfortable and efficient. When compared to the traditional telephone, it provides many amazing benefits to companies. Let's have a look at some of them.
15 benefits of web-based phone systems
- Easy to implement
Since web-based phone systems don't need an on-site hardware installation, you can enjoy internet telephony services in a quick time. You can use your existing devices to run the software as long as you have a stable internet connection. There is no need to wait for a new phone line connection or technician. The service provider will handle the configuration and implementation of your new cloud phone connection.
- Advanced features
Web-based phone systems are widely known for their advanced features for calling, work automation, and collaboration. It gives you access to a dashboard where you can use all the features to manage all your business communications.
Some cloud telephony services offer handy features like Call forwarding, call monitoring, click-to-call widget, video conferencing, CRM integration, sales dialer, etc., which makes your business communication more seamless and effective. These features provide companies with more alternative solutions for running their businesses more efficiently.
- Affordable cost
The most notable thing about web-based phone systems is the cost. They assist you in reducing the cost of physical infrastructure by eliminating physical wiring, telephone, etc. Also, exclusive features like video conferencing, voicemail, call forwarding, etc., are compressed together in one affordable subscription package. Using internet telephony, businesses can avoid international calling charges. You can easily make VoIP calls through a softphone app at a very low cost.
- Mobility and flexibility
The trend of remote work is increasing quickly, thanks to internet telephony. With a web-based phone system, you can easily handle communication channels from any location as long as your device has access to an internet connection. Not only that, you can route calls, forward calls, access voice mail, etc., on the go. You can work from anywhere and still be remotely connected to your office system. This is ideal for employees that work off-site and work-from-home.
- Scalability
While running a business, you will need to add or remove employees, offices, and customers. This situation demands a communication system that can easily scale up and down. Well, web-based phone systems can easily scale as per your needs.
Adding an extra extension is a lot cheaper and can be canceled easily when you don’t need it. Let’s take KrispCall for an example, which lets you add unlimited members to your workspace and share your business phone number with them.
- Easy-to-use
Web-based phone systems have a very intuitive dashboard where agents can easily use communication channels. The interacting user interface allows you to quickly make calls, access contacts, use sophisticated features, view insights, and more. It can create centralized storage that enables you to access data and information in one place without switching apps.
- Better call quality
The web-based phone system provides VoIP calls through the internet. With a stable bandwidth, it gives users an uninterrupted and clear voice calling experience. Especially at remote locations where cell phone towers are not feasible, internet telephony is an ideal choice to enjoy high call quality. The VoIP service providers continuously check the system to tackle VoIP issues from the server-side.
- Highly reliable
Businesses rely heavily on web-based phone systems to connect with customers, collaborate with teams and perform daily tasks. They have such confidence in the system due to its availability wherever and whenever they need it. Even if your internet connection is down, the web-based phone system forwards all business calls to your mobile or landline number. On top of that, it improves employees' productivity by giving them access to all the tools necessary for their work.
- Regular system updates
Technologies get outdated over time. Likewise, internet telephony needs to be updated to align with the current technology. The big relief is that service providers give regular updates to web-based phone systems for giving the best VoIP service available. Businesses need not worry about not getting behind the latest improvement in their phone systems.
- Secure environment
Data and privacy are extremely important for any business. Web-based phone systems provide top-notch end-to-end secure encryption to communication channels so that your data don’t leak to the wrong hands. They integrate multiple privacy policies to make sure your channel is secure during an interaction.
- Omnichannel support
The topmost priority of businesses is maintaining a good connection with customers. With omnichannel support, a web-based phone system can provide a seamless customer experience. Even if customers contact the business using different communication channels, the interaction thread between customers and agents doesn't break. This is possible by having a centralized database in the phone system from where all users can view the customers' information.
- Maintenance support
Problems don't knock on the door before entering. That's why Web-based phone systems continuously monitor the system to eliminate any technical issues or software bugs. They focus on maintaining the system in a proper working condition on the server side. Also, they help users to handle any problems on the client-side.
- Enhance Productivity
Web-based phone systems are well known for integrating CRM tools and sales automation tools. On top of their main purpose of providing internet telephony services, they can enhance employees' productivity. They enable employees to work with various tools that help to manage data and perform iterative tasks automatically. This allows employees to complete multiple tasks in less time.
- International phone numbers
Web-based phone systems offer phone numbers from all the countries. You can get any type of phone number from any country of your choice. It allows you to get a landline number, toll-free number, or mobile number. International phone number assists companies in creating a local presence of their business in foreign lands.
- Disaster recovery
Once your web-based phone system is up and running, then it should never shut down. Regardless of any natural disaster or man-made disaster, your phone system should continuously provide internet telephony services. They have protocols to tackle unavoidable disasters and recover lost data and connections. They ensure your virtual working environment isn't affected by anything.
4 Things to consider while choosing a web-based phone system
It is fun to learn about the benefits of a web-based phone system, but it doesn't mean you can randomly select any system and can enjoy the benefits. Different platforms have different strong areas. You must know what you want in your system. There are some key things you must research and compare while searching for a platform. Let's have a look at them:
- Subscription costs and Features included
Different web-based phone systems offer different kinds of subscription packages. These packages have different prices based on features and services included. Some phone systems take extra charges for additional features. First of all, you have to know how long you want to use the system, your budget, and what features you need. Secondly, you need to compare between multiple platforms to find the one that meets your budget and has the necessary features.
- Integration with third-party services
It is time-consuming to switch between your web-based phone system and third-party apps like Salesforce, PipeDrive, Google Workspace, etc. So choose the platform that offers third-party integrations. Not just that, you must check if the platform integrates with the apps you use.
- Mobile application
Make sure the web-based phone system you choose provides a fully featured mobile application. The mobile app should allow you to access VoIP phone calls, SMS, voicemails, and more so that you don’t need to open your computer. All the platforms do allow basic call forwarding to mobile numbers but having a mobile app gives you more flexibility.
- Unified services
While researching for a web-based phone system, check if it supports Unified communications as a service (UCaaS). UCaaS is a blessing as it allows systems to bundle all the internet telephony services in a single platform so that you don't have to subscribe to multiple platforms to get different services. It makes a phone system more scalable and adaptable. Existing users can configure UCaaS via a computer or mobile device without the need for specialized technical support.