Despite the chaos, you’ve stayed a pragmatist. You didn’t stock your warehouse full of toilet paper nor did you purchase every container of off-brand hand sanitizer you could find. No, you kept your IT team focused on accommodating a massive influx of work from home needs. You kept operations going regardless of the hysteria. You kept calm and steady, you’re a credit to the industry. But this isn’t blowing over or going away when it gets warm outside. You need to think long-term about how your company does better than surviving, you need to chart a path that will let you thrive.

A recent Gartner survey of CFOs and finance leaders found that 74% of organizations plan to permanently shift at least some employees to work from home. So you won’t be alone. But how does your organization find that perfect amount of flexibility and capability to really stand out? If you are reading this blog post then maybe you're thinking it’s time to abandon your on-premises communications and contact center platforms and make the leap to the cloud.

There’s no shortage of reasons to do so. Nemertes Research states the top three as cost savings, better scale and more available features. Maybe you are thinking about reducing the number of vendors you use. Or is it a need to support multiple locations? Do you need enhanced security? Do you want better reach to those distant employees?

Whatever your reasons, there are some questions you’ll want to answer before starting out.

  • Do you need business communications, contact center, or both?
  • When do you need to be up and running?
  • Who will be your company’s administrator(s)?
  • What functions will your team need? (Look for vendors with mix-and-match capabilities)
  • How many users do you need to support?
  • Will your team use a softphone or mobile app?
  • Do you need hardware? (desk phones, conference phones, headsets, routers, etc.)
  • Do you need analytics?

If you can’t answer these questions now, that’s fine. Engage with an expert to help you scope out your needs.

I’m ready, but is my network?

Step 1 is to test your connection quality. VoIP testing is the process of checking the integrity of your internet connection by gauging its performance across many variables. The VoIP speed test is useful in two ways. First, it will test an existing internet connection to see if it can support VoIP. Second, it will help you understand the experience a caller can expect when using VoIP.

How can a VoIP test help me?

A stable and capable VoIP connection is important for your business. A VoIP test helps you review the overall health of your network connection within a matter of seconds. It also enables you to determine whether the call traffic in your existing phone system is high enough to justify an upgrade.

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VoIP Test Results

The cost of doing nothing.

Pragmatism helped you weather the storm. Waiting, looking and listening paid off - but the time is now to take your communications and contact center to the cloud. A predominantly on-site workforce no longer exists. You certainly aren't likely to pack a conference room any time soon. High-quality audio and video supported by a robust network are the table stakes. In short, business as usual no longer exists.

If saving 30% on average for the total cost of ownership isn’t enticing, then concentrate on scalability and feature availability for your internal and external workforce. There is no better way to serve your customers and employees than with global, 24/7 cloud communications and contact center.

Some resources for your journey to the cloud: