TechMixer University Recap: The future of VoIP is in the Cloud...

As VoIP phone systems become more advanced, Blue Ocean sat down at the latest TechMixer University and gave a brief history of VoIP over the past decade and outlined some of the evolutionary steps that businesses can expect in the near future. The overarching theme of the presentation was the impact of cloud hosted solutions and what they mean for the industry. In short, the cloud will impact the way we fundamentally view telecommunications in the business place.

For the most part, the “heavy lifting” of your telecommunications system will be handled in the cloud. The number of circuits, phone lines, servers--all these physical elements will decrease. The very concept of your telephone communications will change as your IT department will increasingly handle your telephone systems. The same convenience you enjoy with your Internet service will be extended to your phone system, and the ease of use and low costs will be a welcome change.

The cloud also means lower costs from savings on equipment but also in other areas--no more long-term contracts to sign. No more expensive T1 contracts as the cloud minimizes your bandwidth issues. And you can maximize your service to get the optimal number of phone lines for your office without sacrificing service.

What else can the cloud offer? Now your workers can take the office with them--they have access to your phone system wherever they can access the Internet. All of the features that you rely on from your home office can be accessed from home or on the road. The increased ability to handle customers orders will result in increased revenue.

As the cloud hosts your system, you have a full range of features as well as a fully functional forwarding/backup system. If your phones go down for a storm or other reason, you’ll have the cloud take over and and you won’t miss a beat.

Your phone system can now tie all of your offices together. If you have a headquarters in Birmingham and a satellite office in Atlanta, now you can put all of the employees on the same network. Instead of dialing a long distance number, you can reach your team with an extension. The cloud will have a definite impact in the productivity of multi-location offices.

To close out the meeting, Bill and Charlie demonstrated the cloud system with a VoIP iPad. Tablets can be viewed as an extension of your phone systems, and with the flexibility of the cloud they can be added to the mix of devices on your system.

With decreasing costs, more features and a range of technologies that are becoming more and more advanced, the future of VoIP is coming into focus. Thanks to everyone who came out to see our presentation at TechMixer University.