3 Cost-Saving Advantages of a Cloud-Based Phone System
The benefits colleges see from cloud services of all kinds now apply to phone systems as well
For colleges, cost is nearly always a factor when considering whether to adopt a new technology. Any solution should deliver on functional expectations, but it should also provide the institution with a reasonable return on its investment.
In one recent project I led, the IT team at Alexandria Technical & Community College decided the school was ready to make the move to a cloud-based phone system. For them, the ROI associated with the switch sealed the deal. In addition to getting a great phone service in Cisco Webex Calling, ATCC also saw cost savings in several areas by leaving its on-premises phone system behind. Here are three benefits of moving cloud communications to the cloud:
1. Cloud phones minimize the need for infrastructure.
With an on-premises phone system like the one ATCC had before it moved to the cloud, there are servers and other infrastructure that need maintenance, upgrades and — at end of life — complete replacement. Additionally, physical hardware may require significant electricity to operate, and at many colleges, it takes up valuable space that could be used to house something else.
Cloud phone systems do require routers and switches, but the bulky, energy-intensive physical servers live with the vendor. The need for physical desk phones is also eliminated because calls can be made and received through an app.
2. Cloud phones provide better scalability.
When the onsite servers of an on-premises system have reached maximum capacity, the college must purchase new physical machines. For many institutions, this drives overspending as they look to pad their infrastructure in anticipation of possible future needs.
With cloud phone systems, on the other hand, there’s no guesswork involved. Schools simply buy the capacity they need at any given time, and then scale back when the demand subsides — no additional carrying costs required. This can be especially helpful when communications tend to peak, as they do during application and enrollment periods, for example.
3. Cloud phone systems allow IT teams to operate more efficiently.
Because Cisco now manages and maintains the back-end infrastructure of ATCC’s phone system, the school’s IT team has more time to devote to other tasks. Their cloud vendor takes care of everything — patching and upgrades, the replacement of broken parts, resilience and disaster recovery — as part of the foundational service it provides.
The resulting cost savings can be hard to quantify but easy to imagine in terms of efficiency gains. Without a fleet of servers to maintain, for instance, IT might ramp up classroom support to directly advance their institution’s mission.
There are other cost advantages to cloud-based phone systems, especially when it comes to adoption of emerging technologies. In a competitive marketplace, cloud vendors are incentivized to continually push the envelope with new tools that might further improve their systems further; AI, for example. The good news is, once an organization has signed on for the service, those future advancements are baked in.
Should all colleges follow ATCC’s lead and say goodbye to their on-premises phone systems? I’d advise schools to crunch the numbers and decide for themselves if moving makes sense.
