If there's one thing that's defined the distributed work experience during Covid more than anything else, it's video conferences. As we adjusted to a completely remote workplace, many of us turned to collaboration tools to keep us connected during the pandemic — and of those, Microsoft Teams has consistently been among the most prolific, with 145 million daily active users as of April 2021.
As many businesses have discovered, however, collaboration software on its own isn't quite enough. Leveraging distributed work to its fullest potential requires a reimagining of processes and systems. In many cases, that means migrating from old infrastructure to new.
Your business phone system (also known as Private Branch Exchange/PBX) is one of the clearest candidates for this migration. Traditional PBX is ill-suited for a world defined by mobility, flexibility, and telecommuting. The problem is that even though business PBX might leverage new technology like Voice over IP, automated call handling, and video calling, it's ultimately still anchored to a single location — the office.
A Cloud PBX system does not suffer from this shortcoming. Because it's Internet-based, cloud PBX is easier to both manage and scale, requiring no physical storage space, less capital investment, and lower overhead. What's more, cloud PBX systems can be accessed and managed from virtually any device, while also supporting the rollout of more sophisticated features and functionality.
In short, cloud phone platforms are more or less a perfect match for distributed work.
But they can always be better. Prior to Covid, business users already felt overwhelmed by the number of apps and platforms with which they were made to contend. The deployment of new solutions during the pandemic has only exacerbated the problem.
Collaboration, after all, is always most beneficial when it's seamless. Productivity is always at its highest when someone doesn't have to interrupt their workflow by jumping between multiple tools. Migration, in other words, is only the first step towards supporting a remote workplace.
Equally critical is integration. The more systems and tools you can bake into a unified platform, the greater your benefits. It's here that we see another, lesser-known benefit of cloud PBX.
It's perfectly-suited for that sort of integration. RingCentral's Cloud PBX solution is a perfect example of this. Its seamless, native integration with Microsoft Teams allows a business to enjoy the best of both platforms through a single, intuitive interface. With RingCentral for Microsoft Teams, you can:
With a global presence in more than 110 countries and PSTN availability in 44 countries and 16 languages, RingCentral's always-on Cloud PBX makes it easier than ever for remote staff to stay connected, no matter where they are. And through integration with Microsoft Teams, you can empower those same employees without disrupting their workflows.
Whether you're looking to evolve your existing phone system or deploy a new communication channel, RingCentral Cloud PBX and Microsoft Teams make for a formidable option.
RingCentral for Microsoft Teams supports web, desktop, and mobile usage, and is available for all RingCentral MVP subscriptions. Full functionality requires both an active Microsoft Office 365 account and the RingCentral App. Learn more here.
