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Cloud Communications Can Help Businesses Boost Profits While Going Green

April 28, 2016

By Laura Stotler - Virtual PBX Contributing Editor

Embracing green business practices doesn’t have to be a losing proposition for any business. With careful planning and consideration, organizations can steadily implement green practices and technologies while also realizing increased revenues, and cloud communications can be a major asset in achieving these goals.


By their very nature, cloud communication solutions have a smaller carbon footprint than their legacy predecessors, simply because they require less equipment. Hardware is one of the main culprits when it comes to energy consumption and waste, generally having a large physical presence and eating up giant amounts of power to keep running. And manpower is another factor when it comes to legacy hardware, with many machines and servers requiring routine management and maintenance by human workers, who carry their own wasteful carbon footprint.

According to a recent blog post from cloud communication experts Nextiva, only two items are truly necessary to power a cloud-based phone system – a quality VoIP provider and reliable Internet service. Desk phones aren’t necessary since users can install a softphone on their desktop or use their own mobile devices.

Cloud systems eliminate the need for specialty phones on every desk along with cumbersome PBXs and servers that take up entire closets and create massive energy drains. This enables companies to save money while simultaneously going green. Most cloud communication solutions also include virtual faxing, further eliminating the need for hardware fax machines and their associated accessories.

Getting back to the manpower required to run complex legacy hardware and software, cloud communication solutions also eliminate the need for on-site tech support. Traditional phone system updates are tedious and require extensive labor from in-house IT departments or outside consultants. Cloud solutions may be managed and updated remotely and tech support is provided the same way, via phone, email or chats with service providers.

Cloud solutions are a perfect fit for the BYOD trend, enabling workers to get their jobs done from anywhere, at any time and typically using any device. That means that productivity is automatically increased and workers are spared the hassle of being physically present in an office when it’s just not feasible. Enabling employees to work remotely some or all of the time automatically cuts done on pollution, the expense of maintaining a dedicated physical work space and all the associated energy costs.

Finally, cloud communication systems are easily scaled to meet fluctuating business needs. New users and softphones may be easily managed on the fly, without the need for massive expenditures for hardware and IT support. It is this flexibility that makes the cloud an ideal fit for any business interested in embracing green operations and technologies while also cutting costs and boosting revenue.




Edited by Maurice Nagle

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