For businesses to be successful, their communication levels need to be on point at all times. Whether internally or client-facing, if your communication is poor, there’ll likely be a breakdown and issues can quickly creep into your work. Your choice of phone system is integral to keeping your communication levels high.
Your choice of phone system is often overlooked – and we can never understand why. Communication is one of the main pillars of a successful business, so you’d think that installing an efficient system throughout your business would be a high priority task. People are often left pondering whether or not to opt for a cloud-based phone system or something more traditional.
With that in mind, this post will look at the comparison between cloud-based and on-premise phone systems. We’ll cover what they are, the benefits and drawbacks of each choice and which one is better suited to your business.
We’ll cover:
- What is a Cloud-Based Phone System?
- What are the Benefits of a Cloud-Based Phone System?
- What is an On-Premise Phone System?
- What are the Benefits of an On-Premise Phone System?
- The Verdict: Which One is Better For Your Business?
What is a Cloud-Based Phone System?
Cloud-based phone systems are not rooted in the traditional fashion of copper wiring and servers. Instead, they’re hosted in a single location on the internet for a more secure and flexible approach. These phone systems are flexible and can work with several devices – including desk phones, mobile devices and desktops too.
Rather than storing hardware and software at your office, all information is stored on the cloud and can be accessed from anywhere. This means that businesses can increase their flexibility to bolster communication levels both in and out of the office. Cloud-based phone systems are easy to set up and maintain too – that’s less headache for your business, isn’t it?
Plus, cloud-based phone systems are a sure way of future-proofing your business. In 2025, BT are switching off all analogue lines. Meaning that, if businesses don’t make the switch by choice sooner rather than later, they’ll be forced further down the line and may not be able to take advantage of better deals at the current rate.
Anybody with an internet connection can use cloud-based phone systems, which is a factor that contributed to their increased popularity – especially in light of recent circumstances and large shift to remote working.
What are the Benefits Cloud-Based Phone System?
Unified Communications
Think about your current business set up… How many different communication channels do you have to keep up to date with? Emails, instant messaging, client-facing apps, mobile phones, voicemail services – the list goes on. When keeping tabs on various channels, it’s easy for things to slip through the net.
If a client’s work gets through and isn’t completed, you could be in for trouble! By using a cloud-based phone system, you’re unifying your communication methods. The convenience and efficiency of having all your communication channels in one place mean that things rarely get missed and your team will save a lot more time that can be reinvested elsewhere within the business.
Improved Collaboration
When teams work together, greatness is achieved. With that in mind, video calls and conferencing allow the team to easily work together when they can’t all be in the same meeting room. Plus, you can instant message anywhere around the world, that way, you can work with people in different time zones effectively too.
Sharing screens, annotation, file transfer can all be done on a cloud-based phone system. That way, you can easily collaborate on projects and have visual aids in front of you to help speed things up when working over the phone. Otherwise, it can be hard to fully visualise things for your team to see.
Cut Costs
Cloud-based phone systems are a lot cheaper than traditional ones. As we mentioned earlier, you don’t have all the hardware and software to purchase, you only have to pay a monthly fee for your seat and the internet that you use. So, you can kiss goodbye to hefty bills at the end of the month and be able to forecast your outgoings a lot more accurately.
Choosing a phone system that’s a lot more effective and cost-efficient is a winner for any business, right?
What is an On-Premise Phone System?
On-premise phone systems are more traditional style – think desk phones and handheld devices. They’re connected to an on-site server through copper wires, cabinets and other bulky pieces of equipment. On-premise systems allow team members to have a direct dial and a personalised voicemail – but generally, they’re not the most feature-rich.
If all you’re looking for is a phone, then they tick that box. However, they’re not the most practical now that time and technology has moved on. They’re inferior to cloud-based systems functionality wise, especially with the advancement of video calls and collaboration tools that are available.
As opposed to cloud-based systems, on-premise phones require complicated installation processes. An engineer will have to be called out to install it – which is also likely for any maintenance work. That can be costly on its own, especially when cloud-based systems are generally easy to set up out of the box without any or minimal assistance.
Unlike other products on the market, Pod can be used with your on-premise phone system. Whatever brand your office phones are, you can use them with Pod and reap the benefits of a cloud-based phone system with your handheld devices. This ranges from small phone packages to full works.
What are the Benefits of an On-Premise Phone System?
Personalised Experience
On-premise phone systems allow you to identify who’s calling the office. That way, you can prepare your personalised approach and deliver the best customer experience. If there’s one thing that customers crave, it’s a tailored approach. After all, your customer experience is everything, especially if you’re wanting to retain them as brand advocates.
Of course, you can do this with cloud-based phone systems too – caller ID is a relatively simple function to have on your phones.
Guaranteed Connectivity
With servers on-premise, you’re not relying on an external source to provide your connection. Whereas, with cloud-based phone systems, if your internet is down, they’ll be reliant on mobile data which can be unpredictable. However, they’re improving constantly with reliability. With that in mind, if there was ever a problem with your internet, it could lead to a disrupted service.
Customers don’t want to be greeted with an interrupted service when they call to report their own issues. This could be the point in which they decide to take their business elsewhere. So, with a more guaranteed connectivity, you can always be on hand to help out your customers and provide a high-quality customer service.
The Verdict: Which One is Better For Your Business?
For us, it’s no contest. Our winner is cloud-based phone systems.
At a time where businesses are relying on employees working remotely or from anywhere they can, you need to be able to rely on your business processes and systems to adapt to this shift. With a cloud-based phone system, you can use them wherever and ensure that your business is still firing on all cylinders.
Unifying your communications all in one place means that your team will save a lot of time and not let as much slip through the net easily. Both of these factors result in improved efficiency and all-round better performance. If your business is performing better overall, you’ll start to get noticed for all the right reasons – not because your communication is poor and, therefore, so is your customer service.
Of course, that doesn’t mean that all cloud-based phone systems are a great choice for your business. Some of them are unsuitable and unstable, which will end up costing your business more in the long run. However, you can always rely on Pod no matter what industry or business size you’re currently operating.
Pod can be used for as many or little features as you need it for. With three main pricing tiers, there’s an option that can suit anybody. It’s easy to install and manage, plus, should you come across any unexpected problems, the support network is second to none. It’s an amazing platform to introduce to your business when looking to grow, improve and succeed.
Find Out More About How Pod Can Improve Your Communications
Now that you know how useful cloud-based phone systems can be for your business, it’s time for you to look for the right platform. Of course, this is a huge decision as your whole business will be reliant upon the quality of service. Naturally, it can be a little daunting when starting to look for the right product, so we’d like to draw your attention to Pod.
We’ve touched on it throughout the article but we urge you to consider Pod. It’s an all-in-one unified communications tool that’s proven to improve your business’ communication levels. The innovative platform is easy to use and can be relied upon time and time again to get the job done.
If you’d like to find out more about the platform, please don’t hesitate to give us a call! One of our expert team will be on hand to assist you with any questions or queries that you may have. Take the first step to implementing the perfect cloud-based phone system for your business and best positioning yourself for success.
