There has been much talk about the migration to the cloud and how cloud technology will reshape the technology sector. In fact, our very own blog posting last month spoke to the benefits of the cloud. Like anything else, no one solution is a perfect fit for every business and certainly the cloud is not a ubiquitous solution to all businesses’ IT issues. The cloud has a place.
The real question is “what is that place for your business?” In our past postings we spoke to the advantages of email in the cloud. Colden Company offers several options ranging from Google Apps to Hosted Exchange to Office 365. Email is a natural fit and a good place for the cloud to benefit most businesses. We have also spoken about Line of Business (LoB) applications and file data and considerations for both of those when contemplating the cloud.
The cloud can also have a place in your business for areas like hosted phone service. In today’s business climate, having a reliable and broadly functional phone system is a real advantage. Missed calls mean missed opportunities. There is so much functionality available from hunt groups, to cell phone integration, to voice and fax messages in your email inbox that businesses can and should be taking advantage of. Integration with instant messaging (IM) tools like Microsoft Lync can really improve internal communication as well as communication with partners and vendors. Hosted PBX should be considered as a place where the cloud can benefit your business, not just because of the feature rich options, but also because often times the solution leads to a reduction in monthly recurring costs and a dramatic reduction in capital costs for the business.
Are you happy with the functionality of your phone system? Is it integrated with your IT systems the way you would like? Do you have your remote offices linked into your phone system seamlessly? Are you paying too much per month for phone service? These are considerations your business should be thinking about.
As we like to say at Colden Company “If your business is running the same way it was a few years ago, you are not staying the same, you are falling behind.” Contact us today to find the right place for the cloud in your business. We can be reached at (888) 600-4560 (which is in the cloud), at info@coldencompany.com (which is in the cloud), or on Facebook and Twitter (@coldenco) (all cloud!).
(BTW, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for more informative posts!)