DisacoCloud Phone Services

What is a Cloud Phone System?

A cloud phone system is a Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) business telephone solution that a third-party provider hosts on a cloud server (hosted PBX) as opposed to on-premises PBX (Private Branch Exchange) hardware.

Cloud phone systems (also called virtual phones or cloud PBX) aren’t tied to a single physical location and are accessible via any device with Internet access. This means users can access their business phone system from desktop computers, laptops, mobile phones, tablets, and even compatible desk phones.

Cloud phone systems have more advanced features than traditional landlines, offer a higher level of flexibility for a lower price, and streamline business communication within a single platform.

For more detailed information on the difference between a traditional and cloud phone system.

How Does a Cloud Phone System Work?

Cloud phone systems are powered by VoIP, whereas landline phones convert audio into electrical signals and send them over copper wires.

Rather than change audio signals into pure electricity, cloud phones convert audio into data packets using codecs that are transmitted over the Internet.

A VoIP phone uses an Ethernet cable to connect to the Internet, while a landline uses an RJ11 traditional phone wire. Internally, VoIP phones are much more complex than traditional phones – more like small computers as opposed to analog devices.

Since cloud-based phone systems aren’t limited to a specific location, your entire remote and/or blended team connects under the same service no matter their location. Plus, most cloud phone systems offer free calls between in-network extensions.

Cloud Phone System vs Traditional Phone System

A cloud phone system brings with it a unique experience that differs significantly from traditional PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) landlines. But how does this system measure up against one of these older business communications systems? Let’s take a look:

	Traditional Phone System	Cloud Phone System
Hardware Requirements	Installed copper lines, phones, private branch exchange (PBX)	VoIP endpoints (phones, computers, smart devices), modems, routers
Scaling	Requires purchasing new licenses, lines, and phones from the telecom carrier	Easily add new lines online via the “add a line” section in the control panel
Long Distance	Long-distance calling means extra charges	Most providers include unlimited calling in the U.S. and Canada, more affordable international long-distance calling
Emergency Services	Dispatchers send responders to the registered location of the phone line	E911 services send responders to the location registered to the account via the provider’s portal
Faxing	Converts scanned documents into an electric signal transmitted via phone lines	Cloud-based faxing sends faxes over data networks. Online fax is secure, and there are fewer quality issues compared to traditional faxing.
Call Forwarding	Call forwarding typically comes as an extra feature	Many providers have this feature, and many take it to the next level with features like remote call forwarding.
Call Routing	Most call routing is hardware-based	Advanced call routing, auto-attendant service, and basic IVR are included in most service plans
Sound Quality	Limited to voice band audio in an analog format, meaning sound fidelity varies	Sound quality is primarily affected by internet connection strength, packet loss, and other factors

Key Cloud Phone System Features

Advanced Call Routing With Drag-and-Drop Call Flow Design

Call routing lets users set customizable rules to determine other words, which agents or departments calls are sent to, and what happens if no one is available to take the call. It offers better overall call flow management.

This call flow is designed with an easy-to-use drag-and-drop interface and can be adjusted at any time.

Why You Need It – Business phone numbers make your company look more professional, are easy to remember, and give you a local phone number in many different area codes/locations.

There are several call routing strategies, such as:

Round Robin Routing: Agents take turns answering inbound calls. The first call goes to agent A, then agent B, then Agent C, then back to Agent A again.
Skills-Based Routing: Calls are sent to the agent who is the most qualified to assist the caller. Callers can dial a specific number to reach a certain department, or enter information into theIVR systemto be directed to the appropriate agent/department. It ensures that customers calling for support aren’t redirected to, for example, the billing or sales departments.
Most Idle Routing: Calls are automatically sent to the agent that has not answered a call in the longest amount of time
Priority-Based Routing: Calls from predetermined phone numbers (VIP clients, etc.) are sent to preferred agents or skip to the front of the queue

Why You Need It – Call routing offers customized call flow management, decreases wait times and call lengths, and ensures callers speak to relevant and available agents.

Local Presence and Toll-Free Vanity Phone Numbers

Companies can port existing phone numbers into their cloud phone system or purchase new phone numbers directly from the provider.

Most VoIP providers include at least one free local phone number with their plans.

Regardless of a company’s actual geographic location, buying several local phone numbers gives them a local presence in every region they target.

Why You Need It – Business phone numbers make your company look more professional, are easy to remember, and give you a local phone number in many different area codes/locations.

Video Calling With Team Collaboration Tools

Video conferencing offers face-to-face real-time communication between colleagues, entire departments, and even external participants.

Users can instantly transition from VoIP phone calls or team chat messages to ad hoc video calls with one click. Scheduled meetings with automated reminders, attached files, guest lists, and meeting descriptions are also available.

Collaboration features like in-call instant chat messaging, screen sharing, remote screen control, file co-editing, and whiteboard tools make replicating in-person meetings even more realistic. More advanced tools like task management, in-meeting polling, user presence (status) updates, breakout rooms, and virtual hand-raising are often also available.

Why You Need It – Video calling and team collaboration tools:

Decrease needs for constant in-person meetings
Connect remote/blended teams
Increase employee engagement
Decrease miscommunications

Call forwarding automatically forwards unanswered phone calls to another telephone number without making the caller physically hang up and dial additional numbers.

For example, if an agent doesn’t answer their desk phone, the call is automatically forwarded to their cell phone number, then home phone number, etc.

Admins and agents can customize the order in which numbers are dialed, add and remove numbers, and forward calls to other agents/departments.

Cloud-to-cloud backup is an offshoot in which data is copied between multiple public cloud storage platforms. Using cloud-to-cloud backup hastens recovery of mission-critical data, although it also multiplies the chances that storage security could be compromised — at least, in comparison to hard offline backup.

Some enterprises opt to host internal private cloud storage using a proprietary network to back up data to locally managed servers. Others mix private cloud storage with internal private storage to build a hybrid cloud. However, it’s deployed, cloud backup storage is cited by experts as a key ingredient in an enterprise disaster recovery strategy.

Cloud IVR uses pre-recorded automated messages and call menus to quickly connect callers to the appropriate departments, make payments, view account status, and more without needing to speak to a live agent.

Customers enter in their responses to voice prompts via dial pad touch-tone or speech. Using NLP, voice recognition, and DTMF dial tones, the IVR system guides callers through relevant call flows.

Why You Need It – IVR offers a high level of customer self-service and convenience and keeps more agents free to handle more complex calls.

Call Monitoring and Call Recording

Call monitoring lets managers/admins listen to live phone calls, use call whisper to give agents advice in real-time without the customer’s knowledge, or use call barge to take over the call completely.

On-demand or automatic call recording records phone and video calls (often including screen streams during video meetings. Recording can be paused and restarted when discussing sensitive information.

Searchable call and meeting transcriptions are automatically generated and stored in the cloud or sent to participants.

Familiarize yourself with call recording laws before using this feature.

Why You Need It – Call monitoring lets users:

Evaluate sales and customer service reps’ efficiency and performance
Discover common problems or reasons for the contact
Learn more about customers
Avoid taking notes during meetings
Verify conversations

Unified Communications (UC or UCaaS) streamlines business communication by providing a central dashboard for multiple communication channels, including:

Voice calling
SMS texting
Video calling
Instant chat messaging (internal or live website chat)
Virtual faxing

All communication is automatically synchronized across channels in real-time.

Why You Need It – UC has an abundance of benefits, including:

No need to switch between multiple channels or applications throughout the day
Preventing customers from having to repeat themselves to multiple agents
Increased productivity and customer satisfaction

Visual voicemail (sometimes called voicemail-to-text) transcribes voicemail messages and automatically sends the transcription and original audio files to users.

This means users can visually read their voice messages instead of having to listen to each one. Agents also receive voicemail notifications, ensuring they promptly return missed calls.

Why You Need It – Because agents can read voicemail messages, they can prioritize callbacks, determine if a callback is needed, or even respond via text or email.

Voicemail transcription also ensures the caller’s message is correctly understood, decreasing miscommunications.

CRM (Customer Relationship Management) integrations and communication APIs let users integrate existing business software and applications into their cloud phone system.

Call Pops to use the integrated CRM system to automatically display recent customer data for inbound/outbound calls within the softphone interface, so there’s no need to constantly switch between apps.

For example, if you were to integrate Salesforce into your VoIP platform, when you receive an incoming customer call, Salesforce will instantly provide you with a Call Pop of available caller information.

Why You Need It – Integrations let teams continue to continue to use familiar/preferred business software and tools within the phone system interface. They also provide instant access to additional features that may not be native to the VoIP provider’s platform. Plus, call pops mean key customer data like contact information, order history, and more are quickly and easily accessible.

Customer callback capabilities eliminate the need for customers to wait on hold to speak to an agent. Instead, callers can schedule a callback for their preferred date and time.

Both the agent and the customer will receive reminder notifications of the upcoming call.

Why You Need It – Providing callers with the option to receive a callback instead of wasting time on hold drastically improves the customer experience, decreases call abandonment rates, and better manages peak call times.

Call analytics provide real-time and historical data about callers and agents over a preset, customizable period.

VoIP analytics include pre-made templates or completely customizable reports focused on popular metrics and KPIs like:

Average call duration
The average speed of answer
Daily/Weekly/Monthly call volume (inbound/outbound)
First, call resolution rate
Average talk time per agent
Percent of calls sent to voicemail
Cost per call
Average conversion rate

Why You Need It – Call analytics to provide invaluable insight into agent productivity levels, the quality of current training, current call volume management, busy times, and much more.

Automation and AI (Artificial Intelligence) are auto-attendants or bots that automate common business processes, eliminating the need for agents to handle them manually.

Conversational AI and NLP (natural language processing) identify keywords/phrases that trigger preset automations.

For example, if a client calls and says, “I need help paying my bill,” NLP tools “understand” the words “paying,” “bill,” and “help.” AI and automation tools then send that caller to the billing department or help them to pay the bill over the phone.

Additional examples of automation and AI include:

Collecting/updating customer contact information
Workflow automation
Chatbots
Dial-by-name directories

Why You Need It – Automation eliminates routine tasks, saving time and boosting productivity levels.

Automation and AI handle Tasks like:

Data entry
Call placement
Scheduling
Call transcription
Reminders
Report generations

Cloud Phone System FAQs

Below, we’ve answered some common cloud phone system FAQs.

What are the benefits of a cloud phone system?

Top cloud phone system benefits include:

Lower costs than traditional business telephones
Advanced calling features like IVR, SMS messaging, and call routing
Scalable phone system solutions
Greater flexibility, specifically for mobile users
Little equipment/hardware required
Integrates with existing business communications software
Increased productivity
Excellent analytics offering insight into agent/department activity and customer contact

How much does a cloud phone system cost?

Cloud phone systems cost €10.00-€45.00/user per month, depending on the provider and specific features you choose.
Opting for annual payment plans usually results in significant cost savings.

How does a cloud phone work?

Cloud phones work by breaking up VoIP voice data into packets that travel to the call recipient across the Internet -- not the PSTN telephone network.
Once the packets reach the recipient, they reassemble, delivering clear voice communication. This process is managed by your PBX solution.

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