What is Cloud Communications?

One integrated platform for all your company communications: that’s cloud communications in a nutshell.

But where did it come from, and how does it ensure that business communication now runs more smoothly? We explain below.

It’s hard to imagine for anyone born after 1990, but once upon a time – in other words, before the internet came along – the only thing companies used to communicate with customers, suppliers and other companies was the telephone. But although we still call each other on a daily basis, that one-sided way of working is really a thing of the past. Today we do just about everything on the internet: e-mailing, chatting and sending files, but also making actual phone calls, with or without video. All that information – text, files or voice, it’s all ‘data’ – zips back and forth through your computer network at breakneck speed thanks to VoIP technology.

Read about the advantages of VoIP to your company, here

The great thing about cloud communications is that it does away with the need for a physical server in a dedicated space on your premises. Everything can be hosted in the cloud. The host is still a real, physical server, but it's owned and managed by another party that you trust – a hosting company. They look after data storage, the applications you and your colleagues use to work and consult with each other, and the switching between channels, all via the internet. The only thing that counts as far as you and your colleagues are concerned is that all these applications work. What's more, you don't need much: a subscription to an internet connection, that’s it. A hosting company – Dstny, for example – makes sure after that you and your staff can communicate smoothly and get access to all business data.

All those internet-based voice and data communications – phone calls, chat, sending e-mails and collaborating on that important presentation – run increasingly via a single platform. No more switching between three or four programs on your computer with your phone receiver clamped between your chin and your shoulder: the modern worker just uses their laptop or mobile phone. Here at Dstny, we work with a softphone which our colleagues operate via the smartphone or computer. They answer calls swiftly or transfer them to an available colleague; they also use the chat features to work together remotely.

Ready-made software solutions are available on the market, apps that you install on your computer. These can be used for things like video and phone calls, video-conferencing or call-centre management. Or, you can have this type of system tailored to your business.

And that’s where Dstny comes in. Depending on your needs and challenges, we’ll provide a communications solution that will not only enable your staff to collaborate smoothly, but – above all – will enable you to offer your customers the service they expect from you.

Discover our customised cloud communications solutions

Working with cloud communications has its advantages:

You don't have to buy any expensive hardware yourself, which means you don't have to worry about the associated management costs either.  All you pay for is your host’s internet subscription and a monthly cost per user.

Because you only use one platform for your whole business, your colleagues don't have to keep switching between devices and applications. This means people collaborate more smoothly and efficiently, wherever they are: at home, in the office or on the road. When COVID-19 broke out and thousands of companies had to shut their doors and rely on home working, the ones that were already entirely on board with cloud communications reaped the benefit of their actions: they could make the transition to the new normal with almost no effort.

As your business grows, your platform simply grows with it. You can easily add new employees to the system. But the same is true in reverse: if someone leaves your company, you don't have to follow any complicated procedures. It works like a license: you are renting a service, as it were, and you activate it with one click.

Your cloud communications platform can be integrated perfectly with other software used in your business, for example your ERP or CRM system, as well as with Teamleader, Microsoft Office, Salesforce or Gmail.

Want to know more about cloud communications? Read here about how cloud communications will give your service a boost.