Cloud Telephony supports hybrid working

10.11.2021

Coronavirus showed just about everyone the benefits of working from home. It means homeworking is here to stay. "It's making hybrid working the norm," says Vincent Desmarets, Product Manager B2B at Orange Belgium. 

What exactly does that mean: hybrid working?

Vincent Desmarets: "In the narrow sense, it means that you no longer work exclusively in the office as you did before the coronavirus crisis, nor full-time at home as you did during the crisis. You work both in the office and at home. You can also work on the road or on-site, at a customer or supplier's premises, for example. In a broader sense, it also translates into the mix of technologies and applications that make this new way of working possible. One example is the combination of an IP telephone exchange with cloud technology."

 

You offer that combination with Cloud Telephony. What makes this solution so useful for hybrid workers?

Vincent Desmarets: "From the telephone exchange hosted by Orange in Cloud Telephony, you can have all your incoming calls automatically forwarded to another electronic device: a laptop, landline, mobile phone or even a combination of all three. So you can always be contacted, wherever you are. That’s essential when you know that 85 % of all calls go unanswered. But above all, because those people don't call back. Today's customers still use the phone. This traditional channel accounts for no less than 80 % of all business communication, but customers' expectations have clearly changed: they want an immediate response. In that sense, every missed call is definitely a missed opportunity."

 

With Cloud Telephony, you are initially targeting smaller companies with up to 15 users. How does this service benefit them in particular? 

Vincent Desmarets: "In short, Cloud Telephony also offers those smaller companies all the means to communicate and collaborate smoothly and efficiently, but without the cost and complexity that used to be inevitable with such an investment. This is, therefore, not a traditional investment in telephony infrastructure at the customer's premises. Our customers use the telephony servers in our data centre, which we manage and secure centrally on their behalf. This approach brings costs down considerably. Plus, it ensures they always have the latest features, without having to worry about updates and upgrades. We also take care of that aspect. The same goes for service continuity: we provide a back-up internet connection via the 4G mobile network, which means data and voice traffic are guaranteed at all times. Precisely to ensure the quality of that critical connection, we only offer Cloud Telephony in a package with our own internet connectivity, via VDSL or cable."

 

Even before the pandemic, four out of five employees no longer had a permanent workplace. Does this mean landline telephones will also become a thing of the past?

Vincent Desmarets: "The landline telephone must increasingly give way to a fixed number, in any event. What ultimately counts for our customers is availability. The equipment must support this need and not form a barrier. With Cloud Telephony, we can guarantee this availability at any time, anywhere, without the costs skyrocketing. With the inclusive telephony bundle, you can make unlimited calls to all fixed networks in Belgium. It also allows you to make 40 hours of international calls, to 42 destinations around the world. Carefree communication is what today's customers want above all else. And relieving those customers of problems is our greatest concern." 

 

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