A cursory Google search spits back the same cloud VoIP trends for 2020 with nearly every result. Rather than adding to the din with yet another search result list, we took the top trends (hey, a consensus is a consensus) and endeavored to explain how OnSIP is approaching them in the coming months.
You don’t need a list of buzzwords—you want to know how they affect you, your business, and your customers. Read on to find out.
1. UCaaS Is the New SaaS
Remote working continues to rise in popularity. Unsurprisingly, integrations and in-app communications are an increasingly hot ticket for dispersed teams to stay connected. It’s 2020 after all—who still jumps between a dozen different apps just to continue the same conversation? From Slack to your CRM, a unified ecosystem and integrated communication channels are a must. Luckily for OnSIP customers, you’re well used to this. Points to you for choosing software that’s ahead of the game! Check this trend off your list.
2. More Cybercrime Means More Protection
We’ve used Gotham City to explain cybercrime escalation before. Let’s switch to something a little more apropos. If one episode of Mr. Robot is enough to make you shake in your Bluetooth headphones, good. Complacency is the worst thing you can do for cybersecurity.
Using strong passwords, training on how to recognize and deflect phishing attacks, double-checking your website’s SSL certificate, following PCI compliance rules—the “Basic Cloud Cybersecurity Measures You Should Have Taken Yesterday” list goes on. Fortunately, we’ve covered most of those in other blogs linked in this section.
Read up. Cyber threats don’t take days off. We don’t either, really, but tight security is a two-way street. Regularly check your cloud phone system’s hardware, firmware, and software (or find someone who actually understands how to make it secure!).
3. 5G! 5G! 5G!
Yell it with us now! 5G, the next generation of cellular technology, is at the forefront of everyone’s minds. It’s heralded as the biggest change to Internet technology/communications since the smartphone because it brings previously unthought-of speed and IoT connectivity with its low-latency infrastructure.
Thanks to the basic nature of VoIP, low latency is already something we’re used to. However, continued 5G expansion means better VoIP service when you’re on the go using the mobile app. Overhyped 5G mania aside, this is one trend that will actually have a noticeable effect on your mobile VoIP experience without destroying your data plan when you’re caught away from WiFi. TBD on the actual timeline for widespread 5G adoption, but hey, we’ve got the whole year for this trend to grow.
4. Cloud-Based Phone Systems Step Up Customer Experience
When it comes to customer contact through the cloud, AI is all the rage. As CRN put it, “Some machine-learning-based features are genuinely useful; others just capitalize off the buzz word. But by next year, it will be hard to find a product that's not billed as intelligent.”
Yes, this train is pulling away from the station and gaining speed every day. But what’s at the root of this AI craze? In the business communications world, AI is practically synonymous with chatbots. So it’s all about customer service and contact. Businesses want their customers to have answers ASAP, and with good reason. We love talking about live chat’s positive effects on conversions and customer loyalty. That said, we’ve taken a different approach—one that doesn’t include bots.
Over the past year, we’ve leaned into human-based live chat, also known as sayso. That button in the bottom corner of your screen doesn’t lead to a bot that won’t understand your tone or pronunciation. Instead, sayso connects you with real people who can carry out an intelligent conversation.
Real people! We know, we know, it’s wild. We tech nerds will geek out on machine learning with the rest of you, but when it comes to customer experience, we’ll take the human element every time. Yes, AI is incredibly helpful, and for many large corporations, preferable to a tool that is based on available humans. However, for the small business crowd, we see the quality of the interaction outweighing quantity in the long run, and that’s why we’re continuing to fine-tune sayso in the coming year.
5.VoIP Phone System for Small Business Reviews: Value or Price?
Turns out you don’t have to choose. VoIP is growing, and fast. As more and more small businesses adopt hosted VoIP, it’s essential to do your due diligence and research the best option for your company. While enterprise solutions like to claim you can’t have your cake and eat it too—i.e., a low-cost VoIP solution means you miss out on integrations, cutting-edge technology, and customer service that follows through—we’ll go out on a limb and suggest they haven’t checked us out.
VoIP is low cost by design—not the provider’s design, the technology itself. Here at OnSIP, we pride ourselves on providing excellent service at a low overhead for small businesses.