April 2019 Summaries

The debate between PRI and SIP trunks in business communications is ongoing, with both having their advantages. While PRI offers improved call clarity and quality, it has limitations in scalability and cost-effectiveness. On the other hand, SIP trunks provide more flexibility in scaling, cost savings, and compatibility with various enterprise systems. Despite the growth of SIP trunk adoption, many businesses still rely on PRI due to its reliability and network stability. However, considering the continuous improvements and innovations in SIP trunk technology, it appears that SIP trunks are emerging as a more compelling solution for modern business communications.

The type of phone number your business uses can significantly impact customer perception and interaction. Local numbers establish a local presence, while toll-free numbers encourage customers to call without incurring costs. Non-geographic or national numbers are popular with contact centers and businesses operating across multiple regions. Mobile numbers enable SMS communication and may be regionally specific. Businesses can obtain these various types of numbers through services like the one mentioned in the text, which provides on-demand phone numbers in thousands of area codes worldwide.

BT Openreach announced that starting in 2020, businesses and individuals in the UK will no longer be able to purchase ISDN lines as part of their plan to discontinue ISDN and PSTN circuits entirely by 2025. Modern technology has outpaced traditional ISDN PRI and PSTN circuits, prompting a growing number of businesses to abandon their dated telephony systems in favor of faster and more agile networks. SIP trunking offers numerous benefits such as eliminating the need for physical phone lines, cost savings on calls, call routing, and connectivity, and improved flexibility for employees. Businesses can also keep their existing phone number, establish a local presence quickly, and optimize their network for both high-quality voice and data.

Many organizations use best-in-region SIP trunking services for PSTN access, leading to complex call routing schemes. Current strategies involve designing least-cost routing approaches and leveraging in-region providers to overcome service limitations or find cost-effective solutions. However, these approaches increase complexity and cost of voice management. Communications-as-a-service (CaaS) providers are changing this dynamic by enabling companies to partner with a single global provider for PSTN access services in all regions. CaaS providers offer more than just PSTN access, including local DID numbers, voice and messaging services, and management of call routing to emergency services answering points. IT leaders should consider leveraging CaaS providers to reduce cost and complexity while accessing emerging services for digital transformation initiatives.

Growth is crucial for companies, especially startups during their first few years. Effective communication strategies are essential to ensure successful scaling. Companies can establish a simplified comms strategy by considering the application they want to use and their infrastructure. Building an application from scratch offers customization and flexibility needed for future scalability. For infrastructure, using a separate provider for voice connectivity that integrates into the comms platform is recommended. This approach, known as Communications-as-a-Service (CaaS), can significantly lower PSTN access and operational costs by running cloud SIP trunks from a CaaS provider into the platform of choice. Unbundling communications app and infrastructure offers benefits such as preventing scaling costs, simplified connectivity, reduced need for IT support, and single provider access to numbers in various markets. A CaaS approach can lead to cost savings, improved customer experience through omni-channel marketing initiatives, and new functionality for products and services.

SIP trunking, a method of delivering voice over IP (VoIP) services to enterprises, has seen widespread adoption due to its cost-effectiveness and deployment flexibility. Over 57% of organizations have deployed SIP trunking, with nearly half experiencing reduced spending on PSTN access. The technology is rapidly evolving into cloud-based communications-as-a-service (CaaS), offering features such as global reach, routing of emergency services calls, virtual phone numbers, and integration with UCaaS platforms. IT leaders should revisit their SIP trunking strategies to evaluate potential cost savings and new feature capabilities offered by CaaS providers.

The utility industry can significantly benefit from using text messaging (SMS) to enhance customer experience. Key advantages include timely reminders for invoice and payment, usage and outage alerts, and reduction in inbound and outbound calls. This not only improves the overall customer satisfaction but also reduces operational costs associated with managing a high volume of calls. Furthermore, SMS allows customers to receive support on their preferred channel while enabling agents to handle multiple customer communications simultaneously.

Digital transformation is crucial for businesses in today's fast-paced economy, and it involves the innovative use of emerging technologies to achieve measurable business value. Nemertes research shows that 75% of companies have digital transformation projects underway, with almost a third having an enterprise-wide planning function. Successful digital transformation strategies are closely correlated with the adoption of cloud communications services. The primary driver for adopting cloud communications is the agility it brings, along with rapid delivery of new features and the ability to deliver only required features. Cloud communications can be leveraged in various ways as part of a digital transformation strategy, such as establishing local phone presence in remote markets or adding texting capabilities between customers and vendors. IT leaders should ensure that cloud communications are an integral part of their digital transformation efforts for faster access to new capabilities, more flexibility in deployment, and easy integration with business processes and applications.