Cloud communications

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Cloud communications are Internet-based voice and data communications where telecommunications applications, switching and storage are hosted by a third-party outside of the organization using them, and they are accessed over the public Internet. Cloud services is a broad term, referring primarily to data-center-hosted services that are run and accessed over an Internet infrastructure. Until recently, these services have been data-centric, but with the evolution of VoIP (voice over Internet protocol), voice has become part of the cloud phenomenon. [1] Cloud telephony (also known as hosted telephony) refers specifically to voice services and more specifically the replacement of conventional business telephone equipment, such as a private branch exchange (PBX), with third-party VoIP service. [2]

Contents

Cloud communications providers deliver voice and data communications applications and services, hosting them on servers that the providers own and maintain, giving their customers access to the “cloud.” Because they only pay for services or applications they use, customers have a more cost-effective, reliable and secure communications environment, without the headaches associated with more conventional PBX system deployment. [3]

Companies can cut costs with cloud communications services without sacrificing features. [4] The success of Google and others as cloud-based providers has demonstrated that a cloud-based platform can be just as effective as a software-based platform, but at a much lower cost. Voice services delivered from the cloud increases the value of hosted telephony, as users can equally well turn to a cloud-based offering instead of relying on a facilities-based service provider for hosted VoIP. This expands their options beyond local or regional carriers. [1]

In the past, businesses have been able to do this for IT services, but not telecommunication. Cloud communications is attractive because the cloud can now become a platform for voice, data and video. Most hosted services have been built around voice, and are usually referred to as hosted VoIP. The cloud communications environment serves as a platform upon which all these modes can seamlessly work as well as integrate. [1]

There are three trends in enterprise communications pushing users to access the cloud and allowing them to do it from any device they choose, a development traditional IT communications infrastructure was not designed to handle. The first trend is increasingly distributed company operations in branches and home offices, making wide area networks cumbersome, inefficient and costly. Second, more communications devices need access to enterprise networks – iPhones, printers and VoIP handsets, for example. Third, data centers housing enterprise IT assets and applications are consolidating and are often being located and managed remotely. [5]

Applications

Cloud telephony services were predominantly used for business processes, such as advertising, e-commerce, human resources, and payments processing. [6] Services were used by distributed call centers and remote workers. [7] The scale of services, features and functionality is expected to evolve even further in the coming years, to embrace mobilisation, facilitate more direct collaboration and streamline communications. [8]

Potential advantages

For a small or medium-sized business, the capital investment to set up VoIP infrastructure in-house could be too high compared to the potential return, but cloud telephony could offer the same services on a lower-cost subscription basis. [9] The cloud telephony provider is also an expert in the technology, whereas a small business is unlikely to have an employee with the same level of expertise, or cannot justify the expense of a full-time telecommunication infrastructure position. [9] Traditional telephony applications required on-premises maintenance, PBX, and a great deal of wiring through a Main Distribution Frame (MDF). [10]

Cloud communications are promoted to help businesses with collaboration, scalability and supporting access via multiple locations and devices. [11]

Cloud Communication Service Providers (CCSP)

Organizations and IT Professionals are leveraging a new approach to delivering cloud communications as their employees work remotely or in a hybrid fashion. Gartner has classified this approach as a 'Cloud Communication Service Provider' [12]

Risks

Cloud technology still must exist on physical servers, and the physical location of those servers is important under many nation's laws. [13]

Products

Cloud telephony companies can provide "hosted" (off-site) software versions of services that were previously constructed on-site in hardware. These can also allow the users to be more geographically distributed, since the voice traffic moves over the Internet. Examples include:

See also

Related Research Articles

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), also called IP telephony, is a method and group of technologies for voice calls for the delivery of voice communication sessions over Internet Protocol (IP) networks, such as the Internet.

HCL Sametime Premium is a client–server application and middleware platform that provides real-time, unified communications and collaboration for enterprises. Those capabilities include presence information, enterprise instant messaging, web conferencing, community collaboration, and telephony capabilities and integration. Currently it is developed and sold by HCL Software, a division of Indian company HCL Technologies, until 2019 by the Lotus Software division of IBM.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Business telephone system</span> Telephone system typically used in business environments

A business telephone system is a telephone system typically used in business environments, encompassing the range of technology from the key telephone system (KTS) to the private branch exchange (PBX).

Broadvoice is a privately owned company headquartered in Northridge, California. They provide Voice over IP (VOIP) cloud-based telecommunications services to small, medium, and enterprise businesses in the United States. Broadvoice offers telephone services, unified communications as a service (UCaaS), SIP Trunking, telecommunications network and security, along with virtual call centers, so business customers can use voice and video communications via a broadband Internet connection or cellular phone.

net2phone is a Cloud Communications provider offering cloud based telephony services to businesses worldwide. The company is a subsidiary of IDT Corporation.

Unified communications (UC) is a business and marketing concept describing the integration of enterprise communication services such as instant messaging (chat), presence information, voice, mobility features, audio, web & video conferencing, fixed-mobile convergence (FMC), desktop sharing, data sharing, call control and speech recognition with non-real-time communication services such as unified messaging. UC is not necessarily a single product, but a set of products that provides a consistent unified user interface and user experience across multiple devices and media types.

An IP PBX is a system that connects telephone extensions to the public switched telephone network (PSTN) and provides internal communication for a business. An IP PBX is a PBX system with IP connectivity and may provide additional audio, video, or instant messaging communication utilizing the TCP/IP protocol stack.

Nirvanix is an American-based provider of business phone systems, VoIP services, hosted PBX, SIP Trunks, and cloud storage services headquartered in San Diego, California, United States. The company offers a variety of business phone solutions for small, medium as well as enterprise businesses. It also has a strong presence in public, hybrid and private cloud storage services with usage-based pricing. Based on previous service companies founded in 1998, Nirvanix shut down in October 2013. In July 2021 Nirvanix re-entered the business with $12 million funding.

Unify is a Mitel company headquartered in Munich, Germany and is present in over 100 countries. It provides software-based enterprise unified communications including voice, Web collaboration, video conferencing and contact center, networking product and services.

Voxeo Corporation was a technology company that specialized in providing development platforms for unified customer experience (self-service) and unified communications applications. Voxeo was headquartered in Orlando, Florida with main offices in Cologne, Germany; Beijing, China; London, UK and San Francisco, US.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dreamtilt</span> Australian Internet Service Provider

Dreamtilt is an Australian Internet Service Provider, founded on 10 October 1999. The ISP focuses primarily on Fixed Wireless-based Internet access, making it a Wireless Internet Service Provider. Dreamtilt also provides web hosting, web design, Voice over IP, and a variety of related services.

Aculab is a privately held, UK-based limited company that was founded in 1978. It is a designer, developer and manufacturer that specialises in providing API-driven, enabling technology sub-systems for telecommunications related OEM products such as are used in fixed line PSTN, wireless and VoIP networks. Aculab's products are sold worldwide, primarily through direct sales and also via the reseller channel. Aculab's headquarters and R&D facilities are located in Milton Keynes, UK. It has a branch office in Norwood, Massachusetts, USA.

Telesphere is a nationwide Unified Communications as a Service provider for businesses. In 2003, Telesphere began providing highly secure cloud-based voice and data services over a private IP MPLS network to mid and large enterprises throughout the United States and now also in Europe. Telesphere provides hosted VoIP, managed video bridging, MPLS network services, private SIP trunking, mobile integration and many other cloud communications services. Services are available regardless of the geographic location throughout the United States.

SIP trunking is a voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology and streaming media service based on the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) by which Internet telephony service providers (ITSPs) deliver telephone services and unified communications to customers equipped with SIP-based private branch exchange (IP-PBX) and unified communications facilities. Most unified communications applications provide voice, video, and other streaming media applications such as desktop sharing, web conferencing, and shared whiteboard.

The Internet Telephony Service Providers Association (ITSPA) is a British body representing providers of Internet Telephony services (VoIP).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Voxbone</span> Belgian communications company

Voxbone S.A. is a global communication as a service (CaaS) company that is a wholly owned subsidiary of Bandwidth, Inc., with offices in locations including Brussels, London, San Francisco, Austin, Simi Valley, Dublin, Singapore and Iași. Voxbone became a part of Bandwidth on November 2, 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MegaPath</span>

MegaPath was a business telecommunications company. In 2018, MegaPath was acquired by cloud service provider Fusion Connect for $71.5 million. Founded in 1996, it provides a voice, unified communications, internet access, Managed Security Services, and cloud computing services to carrier and service-provider businesses in the United States. The company was headquartered in Pleasanton, California.

Ingate Systems AB is a Swedish company that sells data network security and telecommunication equipment. The company primarily provides SIP Trunking of IP PBX:s on the US market. It is associated with sister company Intertex Data AB.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Arnold, Jon. "Why businesses need to think differently about cloud communications", Focus, April 16, 2010.
  2. ↑ New Web-based VoIP Product launched Archived 2012-10-14 at the Wayback Machine www.networkworld.com
  3. ↑ Whitemore, James. "Unified communications for the enterprise: hosted VoIP or cloud communications" Archived 2010-05-22 at the Wayback Machine , Smoothstone IP Communications, June 4, 2009.
  4. ↑ Morisy, Michael. "Cloud-based unified communications could reduce costs and hassle" Archived 2010-07-22 at the Wayback Machine , SearchUnifiedCommunications.com, April 9, 2009.
  5. ↑ Thornycroft, Peter. "Moving communications into the cloud", Phone+, April 1, 2010.
  6. ↑ Cloud Services - Cloud Computing Solutions Archived 2012-06-16 at the Wayback Machine . Accenture. accessed 2014-01-29.
  7. ↑ "Traditional Phone System or Cloud Telephony: Which is Right for Your Business?". Communicationsdiversified.com. 2012-08-02.
  8. ↑ "What does the future hold for cloud communications?". www.solgari.com. Solgari.
  9. 1 2 Heavy Reading IP Services Insider. Heavyreading.com. accessed 2014-01-29.
  10. ↑ "What is Cloud Telephony ?". Ivrsworld.com. 2011-08-26. Retrieved 2014-01-29.
  11. ↑ "How Cloud Communications is Making Businesses More Agile". www.solgari.com. Solgari.
  12. ↑ "Gartner Glossary". www.Gartner.com. Gartner.
  13. ↑ Higginbotham, Stacey (2008-07-01). "10 Reasons Enterprises Aren't Ready to Trust the Cloud". Gigaom.com. Retrieved 2014-01-29.
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