By Jessica Day
A well-functioning phone system is beneficial to any business – big or small. That said, for those running large-scale enterprise companies, a modern phone system isn’t just beneficial; it’s imperative. Enterprise-scale businesses require much more than just basic calling capabilities out of their phone systems.
They need on-demand scalability, the very best service level guarantees, and advanced customer support and call handling features. Luckily, a robust enterprise phone system like Dialpad can help enterprises achieve all of this.
What is an enterprise phone system?
An enterprise phone system is a type of unified business communications solution (or UCaaS for short). These telephone systems are capable of much more than just basic calling. With a robust enterprise phone system in place, you’ll be able to handle all of your inbound, outbound, and internal communications from one unified platform.
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone systems use packet-switched telephony technology to connect communications over the internet, rather than the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), which is traditionally used as the foundation for most circuit-switched legacy systems. With VoIP you won’t need any hardware. Everything is provisioned off site by a third-party vendor and all of your phone system functions and features will be accessible online.
With Dialpad’s cloud-based phone system, for example, you can make phone calls, conduct video meetings, create meeting notes templates, and send instant SMS/MMS messages online via the Dialpad app. You won’t need to install any on-premises equipment, and you’ll get access to advanced communication features, such as call recording, call forwarding, call transcription, targeted analytics, and more.
Top business benefits of enterprise phone system
There are so many benefits that come along with implementing an enterprise phone system in your BCP (business continuity plan). Your business will benefit from various advanced features, and you’ll enjoy increased scalability, robust analytics, native integrations, and more.
Let’s take a look at some of the top benefits.
1. Super scalability
Because enterprise telephony solutions use VoIP technology, you’ll be able to scale your operation up or down to meet demand as and when needed. In most cases, this can be done virtually instantaneously by calling up your vendor or directly from your VoIP system application. Simply add users during busy periods or remove users during the slower weeks and months. That means you can pay for what you use, and you’ll never have to waste resources again.
2. Remote working made easy
One of the biggest perks associated with enterprise phone systems is the ease with which companies can start to roll out remote and/or flexible working models, as standard. With a VoIP system, everything is accessed online, making it so much easier to facilitate a “work from anywhere” culture in your organization.
Now employees can work in the office, from home, on the road, or even while overseas. All you have to do is connect to the enterprise phone system from an internet-enabled device or IP phone, and you’ll be able to make and receive calls, and, provided you’re not half way up Everest, you’ll be able to participate in video conferences just as if you were there in the flesh.
Dialpad’s desktop and mobile apps are designed to work across Mac, iOS, Android, Chrome browsers, and supported desk phones. Plus, since Dialpad is also fully browser-based, clients without the Dialpad app can still participate in calls and meetings. To invite a client to participate in a call or video meeting in Dialpad, just send them a meeting link so that they can join in from their web browser without downloading anything.
3. Improved call controls
The best enterprise phone systems come with advanced call control features as standard. These features, such as call forwarding, call queuing, and interactive voice response (IVR), enable teams to improve efficiency and streamline call flows. For example, enterprise call centers that receive high volumes of incoming calls can avoid manually transferring callers by using an enterprise VoIP that automatically routes callers to the right person and department.
Dialpad users, for example, can make use of the designated IVR feature to automate call queuing, cut down on wait times, and allow agents to spend more of their time focusing on what really matters – helping callers with more complicated questions, queries, and issues. With Dialpad, you can customize call controls for your unique needs. It’s super easy to route calls by skill level or agent idle time and then direct them to voicemail or a specific department.
4. Useful integrations
Unlike legacy telephone systems, a good enterprise phone system will allow you to integrate with other third-party software and apps. That means you’ll be able to keep using all of your favorite workplace tools in collaboration with your communications platform.
For example, that means you’ll be able to use your existing CRM, productivity app, email client, or accounting platform and share data between these platforms and your enterprise VoIP.
Neat, right? This is particularly beneficial for enterprise organizations (which tend to have a larger tech stack). Make sure to look for a platform that makes it easy to access all of your tools from one place. Some communications apps, such as Aircall, will still require you to toggle between different apps.
Aircall alternatives, like Dialpad, on the other hand, integrate with a whole host of third-party apps, including Azure, Okta, OneLogin, Microsoft Outlook, and Salesforce. For ecommerce businesses looking to integrate enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, search online for terms like “ERP integration Shopify” to find guidance on how to do this.
5. Call analytics and reporting
The best enterprise VoIP systems mobilize real-time call analytics and reporting. A good communications platform should make it easy for you to gain a 360-degree view over all of your analytics and make sense of the data.
This is super important for informing better, data-led, business decisions that lead to productivity improvements, increased customer satisfaction, and long-term business growth. With Dialpad’s call analytics, you’ll be able to see exactly what your call patterns look like, including which IVR menu options are being used the most (and least) so that you distribute staff more effectively.
5 reasons why an enterprise phone system is a business imperative
Now that we know what an enterprise phone system is and why it has the potential to be so useful, let’s get down to the nitty gritty.
Aside from the perks and benefits, for large-scale enterprise operations, a robust enterprise VoIP setup isn’t just “nice to have;” it’s imperative. And here’s why.
1. Improved customer service
Customer service is everything. If our customers aren’t happy then they will simply go elsewhere. The best enterprise phone systems are capable of improving the standard of service that call and contact centers deliver to their customers every day.
VoIP telephony solutions make it easy to implement omnichannel support and help customers get routed to the most appropriate agent, team, or department for faster call resolutions. When support is fast and efficient, customers leave calls feeling valued and content.
2. Reduced workload pressure
In fact, one of the reasons why enterprise phone systems improve customer service is because they also reduce workload pressure on employees by improving call flows and helping to facilitate team management practices, such as agile-swarming.
The right business phone system will help you streamline workflows with targeted call routing and give employees the flexibility to work from a location that is convenient for them (whether that be in the office, at home, or while traveling). And when employees have a balanced and manageable schedule, that encourages better outputs all around. What’s not to like?
3. Reduced costs
Reducing costs and expenses is an important part of managing any enterprise business. And, for many, the costs and expenses associated with managing and maintaining a traditional internal and external communications system, on premises, are substantial.
Enterprise phone systems can help reduce costs substantially. But how? Well, first of all, VoIP communications platforms do not require any on-premises hardware, installations, or maintenance. That means reduced up-front costs and the eradication of all associated expenses (such as replacing tech and/ or hiring an IT manager to maintain the system).
With enterprise cloud software, all employees can access the tools they need from a unified online platform, and you’ll only ever have to pay your vendor for what you need. Finally, you’ll also save money indirectly by reducing losses that your business was accruing as a result of call center inefficiencies, such as dropped calls leading to unsatisfied customers.
4. Unified workflows
For enterprise-scale businesses with multiple teams, departments, and potentially even a global network of business domains, achieving a streamlined and unified workflow is essential. With the new .au domain to launch in March 2022, this is a case in point. A robust phone system will unify all of your communications both at home and overseas.
A business phone system helps businesses unify all processes, data, and users under one platform for both internal and external communications.The result is a system that is simple, efficient, and productive.
5. Business growth
At the end of the day, your business wants to grow. And, for that reason alone, you’ll need a communications system that is easy to scale up with as you need it. Unlike legacy hardware, which is complicated and expensive to scale up (or down), business phone systems, like Dialpad, can be scaled up in just a few clicks according to your business needs at that time.
Level up with an enterprise phone system for your business
Implementing an enterprise business phone system like Dialpad is fast and simple, and it promises to bring a whole host of business benefits, including improved customer satisfaction, unified workflows, reduced costs, and reduced workloads, and – most importantly- it can increase conversions.
About the Author
Jessica Day is the Senior Director for Marketing Strategy at Dialpad, a modern business communications platform that takes every kind of conversation to the next level—turning conversations into opportunities. Jessica is an expert in collaborating with multifunctional teams to execute and optimize marketing efforts, for both company and client campaigns. She has written for Clipchamp and Plutio.
