Through the miracle of cloud telephony, one can scale from 20 to 20,000 telephone lines in minutes. Cloud telephony is also referred to as hosted telephony today. Regardless of the hardware, the services can be provided wherever they are needed. When companies wanted to scale their telecom system, they had to spend crores on EPABX hardware. Additionally, the telephone lines had to be configured, and the extensions provisioned.
MSMEs have been at a disadvantage for a long time as they couldn’t afford features like voicemail, IVR, call routing, and other advanced features. Thankfully, cloud telephony services have made it possible for enterprises of any size to make or receive phone calls directly from their computer, laptop, or mobile device via the internet. In a report released by Global Industry Analysts, the global cloud telephony services market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 16.8% from 2020 to 2026. By 2026, the study estimates the market size for SMEs to reach $14.1 billion, representing an 18.1% CAGR.
Traditionally, the ‘brain’ of the system is located in the building. The system is closed, and its only connection to the outside world is through dedicated, voice-only lines. ‘Brains’ are in the cloud when it comes to cloud-based voice architectures. Even the smallest customers will benefit from the arrangement. An internet connection allows the phone to communicate with the system. This is the most common internet-based phone system.
Why cloud telephony is growing in India
What’s so great about cloud telephony?
Cloud telephony offers multiple benefits. Physical hardware must be added by the user. It offers analytics and actionable intelligence and is a pay-as-you-go model with built-in redundancy. The system can be rolled out quickly.
Cloud telephony companies claim that, in addition to cost savings, their most attractive feature is their analytics and actionable intelligence. Using cloud telephony, companies can track, report, record, and analyze customer interactions to attract and retain customers.
In addition to this, cloud telephony provides more than just IVRS (Interactive Voice Response Solutions). Take the example of someone booking a cab and not wanting the driver to know their actual number. When Ola and Uber direct call their drivers, their number is concealed by cloud telephony. He does not have the driver’s particular phone number when the driver uses a call centre-the data is secure with Ola and Uber.
In addition to number masking, call directing, and recording functions, cloud telephony can also provide fax, bulk SMS, voice messages, call forwarding, conferencing, and various other features. The adoption of cloud telephony has not been limited to start-ups and SMBs (Small and Medium Businesses). Even the large enterprises with legacy investments in equipment are adopting cloud telephony. The adoption of cloud telephony has not been limited to start-ups and SMBs (Small and Medium Businesses). Even the large enterprises with legacy investments in equipment are adopting cloud telephony.
Cloud Telephony Market Size and Competition
Despite the absence of independent estimates of the size of the addressable market, industry players note that the domestic BPM (Business Process Management) market alone is worth anywhere from $6 billion to $7 billion. In addition, those who are offering cloud telephony compete with CRM (Customer Relationship Management) vendors like Knowlarity, who offer helpdesk services.
In order to ensure transparency in regulation, the cloud telephony players have gathered together, and they are cooperating with TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) and the Department of Telecom. It is encouraged that start-ups provide value-added services.
In India, cloud telephony is here to stay, and it will gain more traction both with SMBs and large enterprises.
Because of cloud telephony, the Internet of Things (IoT), also known as machine to machine communication, is gaining popularity across the globe. With the help of mobile applications and websites, smart devices and machines can be controlled in an automated manner. For example, automatic alerts and messages can be sent to users of these devices. A cloud telephony product such as YOCC (your own contact centre) can automate message alerts, missed calls, and phone calls. When the insurance on your car expires, you will be notified; similarly, when your washing machine needs servicing, you will be notified. Through IoT data analytics, the aforementioned will be enabled, and human intervention will be significantly reduced.