Karan Chhabra is the CEO of Servetel, RTDS’s Sister Concern. RTDS is a one-stop destination for business communication and account solutions, within the realm of cloud telephony. Karan worked part-time with RTDS—across various divisions such as sales, digital marketing, administration, procurement, talent acquisition, and research—before going on to pursue a B. Com LLB (H) degree from Amity University. After the completion of his course, he began his professional career with Servetel. Karan is passionate about philanthropy; he works closely with Operation Asha, an NGO working to eliminate TB from India.
Cloud is the future of all communications. This statement has featured in nearly all recent business news, magazine and interviews. However, a quick look around and one is soon able to understand that the future is here. Cloud telephony has already made an inroad into the Indian business landscape.
From the IVR that greets you every time you order a pizza from Domino’s, to the broadcast calls from your local politicians, cloud communications—are already here and supporting organisations across sectors.
While the broader domain of cloud services are integral to overall development, Indian businesses have quickly caught on to the benefits that come with cloud telephony. They understand that to navigate through the ongoing digital revolution, they need a strategy to remain agile and proactive while assisting their clients.
For any business that prioritises customer communication, cloud telephony—the futuristic communication platform—is the smartest solution.
The power of cloud telephony
Seamless communication is the foundation of any business. Organisations that fail to connect with clients, or offer a structured collaboration pathway for their employees, are sure to fall behind in the race. Thus, one of the first investments businesses make is in robust communication systems.
This is where cloud telephony comes into the picture. It brings the potential to revolutionise business operations.
With the power of automation, the technology allows businesses to shift their entire communication systems to the cloud. Not only does it significantly reduce their CAPEX, but it also offers efficient, feasible and necessary tools that provide businesses with a competitive edge.
Here are a few ways cloud telephony can help businesses grow:
- Quick and affordable to scale
- 99.99% uptime
- Huge cost savings
- Enables effective marketing campaigns and their analysis
- Offers toll free and international phone numbers
- Allows efficient remote work
- Enhances business efficiency with call analytics
- Instant and secure data storage and backup
Besides its umpteen advantages, cloud telephony augments sales and support teams. With offerings like missed call services, analytical reports and scheduled callbacks, customer-facing teams can have better conversion rates.
Cloud Telephony and Indian Businesses
Cloud communications have changed the way businesses interact with customers. Not only this, but their ubiquity has also upped customer expectations. This rapid shift in consumer interactions and expectations has allowed for the expansion of the technology across different sectors of the Indian market.
While Indian companies are quickly hopping onto the VoIP bandwagon, many brands have also successfully implemented other cloud telephony services. Tech-based ride hailing brands like RedBus and Ola have repeatedly used voice and SMS broadcasting tools in their marketing campaigns.
Food giants like Swiggy and Zomato protect user privacy by employing number masking tools. Additionally, telecommunication service providers like Airtel and Vodafone have benefited from switching their customer service to voice-based IVR services, heavily improving their customer experience.
Cloud telephony can even assist NGO’s in their social undertakings. With the availability of missed call services, agencies like Amnesty International have successfully allowed many people to report social issues anonymously. Additionally, with the ability of IVRs to allow regional languages, a single tool has the potential to reach different parts of the country effortlessly.
However, the biggest beneficiary of cloud telephony services is the startup culture of India. Cloud solutions have allowed them to grow rapidly by providing them with enterprise-level software at affordable prices. Moreover, as cloud telephony services are highly scalable, startups like Rapido, were able to expand into new markets with relative ease.
The Indian government is also taking significant measures to leverage the opportunities presented by evolving technology. The launch of Frontier Technologies Cloud Innovation Centre by Niti Aayog, in association with AWS, is an example of their interest in the field of cloud communications.
The future of cloud telephony
In 2020, we saw how cloud telephony helped businesses sustain operations even when storefronts shut down.
The coming years for the cloud will be defined by an enhanced need for flexibility. And, indeed, the stage is set for further development and maturation.
As of 2019, businesses spent over 19% of their cloud budgetson cloud-related services which include cloud implementation, consulting, migration, and managed services. The report predicts that this figure will increase to 28% by 2022. It also reveals that Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) will likely become the fastest-growing market segment.
Cloud is the present and future of business. Market leaders are fast leveraging these technologies to revolutionise the way they do business. Service providers too will focus on subscription-based models that are flexible and scalable in every way. We also predict an increase in hybrid cloud models and AI.
Banking, travel and logistics, real estate, education and healthcare are a few key segments wherein cloud communications can offer a truly transformative change and become integral to the way these sectors function in the future. It is all because of the efficiency, speed, security and seamlessness of cloud communications.
Final Thoughts
Effective communication—both internal and external—is the basic foundation for a successful organisation. Cloud telephony, and its associated services, are quickly saturating the Indian market with the promise of revolutionising this fundamental building block.
With the COVID-19 pandemic introducing the world to the ‘new normal’ of work from home, businesses in the future will continue to use cloud telephony services to conduct their business operations. The technology has transformed the business landscape in India altogether and is gradually emerging as an intrinsic part of the operational strategies and growth stories of companies across industries.