By Chris DiMarco, TMCnet Managing Editor

The way that people work has changed dramatically over the last decade. Cloud computing options and virtual offices have made the workforce more flexible, and the proliferation of smartphones and tablets have made that same workforce more mobile. Needless to say, the days of eight hours behind a desk are no longer the norm, and with constant connectivity there’s no reason that they should be. Taking advantage of the ability to work from anywhere is the natural progression of tech like this, and the best is surely yet to come.

Phone.com provides virtual office utilities for business of all sizes and will be presenting at this year’s Cloud Communications Expo collocated with ITEXPO (News - Alert) East in Miami. The Phone.com panel, titled: “Does Your Business Have a Social Media Strategy?” will take place on Friday Feb. 3, 2012 from 9:00-9:45AM. Recently TMC had an opportunity to catch up with Phone.com CEO, Ari Rabban (News - Alert) to discuss some of the immediate and emerging trends coming out of the cloud space.

How has cloud computing changed the communications landscape over the past year?

One of the major thrusts over the past year has been the proliferation of tablet computers and the use of smartphones for increased communications. The gap between a phone and a computing device are becoming more and more blurry. For these devices to become smaller but also more powerful, they will need to rely on the cloud. Last year saw the explosion of these methods, and this trend is likely to be with us for at least the next several years – if not longer.

What are enterprises looking for from their communications providers and how can those providers leverage the cloud to deliver those expectations?

Enterprises – businesses of all sizes – are looking for the same things: value, performance, effectiveness, and ease of use. One of the challenges is to find new, innovative approaches to business issues that may not have been possible before. As an industry, we need to educate enterprises on how cloud-based communications can be of value rather than simply delivering an IP replacement of the archaic phone system. There is so much more that a business can do with this technology and it would be a mistake for our industry to presume that businesses already know what this can do for them. Our mission is to educate, inform, and assist our customers as they migrate to the cloud.

Cost savings is always the first thing mentioned when it comes to benefits of the cloud. Aside from cost, where is the value proposition in cloud communications?

The cloud has many benefits beyond just cost displacement. One of the first that comes to mind is disaster recovery. By using a reputable cloud-based service provider, enterprises can incorporate the cloud into their business continuity and disaster recovery plans. Critical information repositories are maintained off-site. Cloud-based phone systems have highly sophisticated queuing that allows for calls to be routed to other phones, such as mobile phones or soft phones, or other people. This ensures that the business continues to operate despite any unexpected emergencies.

How has your own business benefitted from cloud-based communications?

Phone.com uses our own services extensively. We have employees in many parts of the United States, but to someone calling into our phone system, it looks as if we are all in one location. One of our newer features is the ability to record calls and store them in a digital format. This has allowed us to record training sessions held via conference calls and then combine the recording with the PowerPoint presentation for a complete session archive.

Will cloud serve to fragment the industry or strengthen existing ecosystems?

For those that believe in Darwin’s theories, business and technology will always evolve to serve the needs of the market. Some existing ecosystems – such as the traditional landline telephone service – will be rendered obsolete by the cloud in the not-too-distant future. Is this fragmentation something to be avoided? Change is inevitable, and the cloud is just one more chapter in how our use of available technology is evolving.

Is cloud communications primarily an SMB service? How can enterprises benefit equally?

Cloud communications is here. It is being adopted the fastest by those with the greatest needs and the least risk in accepting the new technologies. These are small to medium businesses and especially those entrepreneurs with no embedded infrastructure to be replaced. As these technologies continue to proliferate, larger businesses will begin to incorporate them in an evolutionary way. As older systems or offices need updating, newer technologies such as cloud-based systems will be considered. It will not happen overnight, but it will happen. Just as the Web was adopted very quickly by smaller businesses so that they could compete on a global basis with their larger brethren, so too have these smaller organizations been the vanguard for cloud communications. And just as with the Web, larger businesses will see the successes of their smaller colleagues and competitors and follow suit.

What will be the greatest growth area as a result of cloud (e.g., mobility, video, social media, CEBP, etc.)?

All of these areas will experience growth. Mobility is already a reality with the incorporation of iPhone (News - Alert), Blackberry, and Android apps as part of virtual office phone systems. Video is still somewhat handicapped by available bandwidth but as more and more organizations are connected with robust broadband connectivity and wireless broadband offers more and more throughput, video will become much more commonplace. Social media has had a much greater impact on business than most of us imagined, but that is here to stay as well. We will need to learn how to use all of these techniques to the advantage of our businesses. Cloud-based business processes will also be a major growth area. Access to resources such as business planning, financial analysis, legal assistance, and expert coaching will be much more available than ever before. Just imagine a start-up entrepreneur who is now able to get assistance from a business advisor that also consults to executives from Fortune 500 companies. That was unthinkable in the past but it is real today.

One of the greatest growth areas as a result of cloud is embedded multimodal communications in applications such as Skype (News - Alert) and Facebook. What impact do third-party communications apps like these have on business communications providers?

Understanding whether Facebook and Skype are “just” an application (a communications app) or a communications service provider? In the long run we may indeed see a complete change in the way we all value service providers and distinguish completely between wholesale and “pipe” providers which will serve as utility companies (whether wireline, wireless or other) and all voice and data services will be some form of an application that can be used on independent devices that are not related to the utility or the application provider.

Can Microsoft make a splash with its promised integration of Window Phone and Windows 8?

Microsoft may help to legitimize the marketplace because of its scale but history tells us that Microsoft is unlikely to succeed as a phone company, just as AT&T failed when it attempted to compete in the computer field. The potential marketplace for businesses requiring cloud-based communications is enormous, and there will be room for many successful competitors. That is one of the beauties of the cloud. Businesses are not captive to any one service provider due to geography. They have the ability to choose the best provider for their needs.

When will cloud make the on-premises PBX (News - Alert) obsolete?

Without a crystal ball, this is a hard question to answer. Nonetheless, it will probably be quite a long time before premises-based PBX systems are a thing of the past. There are a variety of reasons for this. Larger businesses will want to retain control of their systems as long as possible, so these may be the last to go – if ever! Equipment vendors may be able to make a case that premises-based systems are less costly after a period of time. Lastly, there are many in the current generation of telecom managers that are simply not comfortable with outsourcing to the cloud and may see the cloud as a threat to their employment status. The next generation of business managers may not be as tied to the physical PBX. This is an evolution that will take place over the next twenty years at a minimum.

Why is Cloud Communications Expo a must-attend event?

Information is one of the keys to success in today’s business world. Having the ability to listen to the leaders in the industry and gather information to incorporate into your strategic plans will be essential. Communications is more important than ever. Those that master the ability to communicate effectively in a timely and precise fashion will likely be the winners.

To find out more about Ari Rabban and Phone.com, visit the company at ITEXPO East 2012. To be held Jan. 31- Feb. 3 at the Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami, Fla.  ITEXPO is the world’s premier IP communications event. Ari Rabban is speaking during “Does Your Business Have a Social Media Strategy?” Don’t wait. Register now.

Stay in touch with everything happening at ITEXPO… Follow us on Twitter.

Chris DiMarco is a Managing Editor for TMCnet. He holds a master's degree in journalism from Quinnipiac University. Prior to joining TMC Chris worked with e-commerce provider Suresource as a contact center representative and development analyst. To read more of his articles, please visit his columnist page. Follow him on Twitter @cpdimarco.

Edited by Stefanie Mosca