RingCentral Salvation Army's Communications Weapon of Choice

No army marches without communications functions ready to go, and though the Salvation Army isn't an army in the traditional sense, its need for communications options is no less pronounced. To that end, the Salvation Army recently announced it would be bringing in RingCentral's line of cloud communications systems to help drive better internal communications and collaboration functions.

One of the biggest reasons to make that move, reports noted, was that it worked well with a variety of other cloud applications, particularly the Microsoft Office 365 system. With RingCentral Office in place, it was now possible for Salvation Army staffers to readily connect and collaborate on a variety of devices, with little regard for physical location. Since the group was originally using a legacy private branch exchange (PBX) system, much of that integration capability RingCentral could comfortably offer just wasn't available.

Since the Salvation Army, or elements therein, is often required to go out into the communities that need help, a way to effectively communicate on a mobile basis was required, and RingCentral's cloud-based nature helped ensure that that mobility was on hand.

Those who want to get a look at RingCentral's mobile capabilities hands-on will need only go to this year's ITEXPO, running February 8 – 10 at the Broward County Convention Center in Fort Lauderdale. RingCentral will not only be exhibiting at the event, but it will also have some programs on hand. Wednesday morning, for example, will feature RingCentral's David Lee detailing how “Without APIs, There is No Unified Communications.” Later that same day, RingCentral's Curtis Peterson will offer a keynote on the connection between AI and the cloud in business communications.

RingCentral is increasingly proving itself a force to be reckoned with in terms of communications. Landing a major client like the Salvation Army, whose name  and indicia are known worldwide, is an absolutely choice piece of marketing leverage. Hesitant clients the world over can now be hit with “if it's good enough for the Salvation Army, how is it not good enough for you?”, and have it stick. It's not as though that's even RingCentral's first client; the Salvation Army just joins a flood of previous clients and offers  greater potential for RingCentral to move forward.

This is a welcome development for both sides; the Salvation Army gets powerful new communications tools that can go where it goes, and RingCentral gets a new feather in its cap few can ignore. The end result should be positive all around, not to mention for all the people the Salvation Army might be able to help better with new and more powerful communications tools. 

Edited by Maurice Nagle