Using Modern Business Communication Technologies to Completely Replace PSTN Service
The publicly switched telephone network has lasted an unbelievably long amount of time, at least as far as most communication tools go. Many popular customer relationship management apps are around for only a few years before they get replaced, but the PSTN has been in service since at least 1885. Small business owners who want to finally take the leap and move away from this venerable yet dated system will find that there are more than enough tools on the market to help them make the switch.
Forward-thinking companies that want to adopt experimental new solutions won’t want to move too quickly, since there are just over 8.5 billion cellular phones in use. Information technology department staffers will instead want to explore ways that allow them to reuse what they already have while not losing a traditional number.
Creative Applications for Existing Technology
Bluetooth connectivity probably isn’t something that most people would think of when they think about business communications, and it’s existence certainly isn’t news since it’s been around in some form since 1998. Modern adapters can pass data at around three megabits per second, however, which makes it an excellent choice for those who want to connect point of sales devices to a cellular network and bypass the need for traditional PSTN service. Some firms have issued physical cellular phones to every single person in their employ, which works the same way but physical customers might get the wrong idea about this.
After all, it might superficially look as though staffers were standing around chatting on their own personal phones. Sales representatives who take calls on a physical handset look professional. High-tech firms that have a cloud-based phone system may want to explore the possibility of connecting these devices to an in-house exchange to connect all of their phones together, eliminating the need of running extra lines altogether.
Visual Voicemail and Unified Communications
By unifying all business communications through some kind of voice over Internet Protocol system in this way, companies that can reduce the amount of hardware needed to stay in touch with their clients. Newer business phone systems act as switches and nodes as well as endpoint devices, which means that people should be free to check what’s happening on any line regardless of their physical proximity to it.
Remote dialing systems are often built around conventional network appliances, so there’s no need to invest in additional infrastructure to get them up and running. Corporate IT departments can connect these directly to a broadband modem and then get access to their voicemail from any other Internet-connected device. The biggest use case example for this kind of technology is businesses that are moving as many people as possible over to a remote environment.
Firms that already have a sizable portion of their workforce telecommuting to their jobs may want to configure a private branch exchange to accept incoming calls from remote workers who can then access an inbox. As education and healthcare sector employees move to an online workplace, this will likely become more popular.
Direct-access voicemail that offers a graphical user interface is perhaps the most important of several related technologies that make these communications possible. Users who have access to a secured visual inbox can play their voicemails back and forth the same way they would podcasts, which gives them the freedom to annotate messages and send them back to their coworkers. New security measures may even make it possible for these tools to debut at some smaller groups.
Transitioning Away from the PSTN
Security has long been a problem when it comes to conventional phone service, with area code 657 attacks and other related problems having taken over large parts of the network. Phreaking attacks are often focused against small businesses, since these organizations are less likely to have invested in sophisticated network security infrastructure. Working with a VoIP service or another type of unified communications provider can go a long way toward ensuring that the system is secured even if the local premises may not be.
Point-to-point encryption and related tools can make it so that any calls placed through this sort of equipment remain secure in any situation. Businesses that want to explore secure communications are encouraged to deploy specialized equipment at every point of contact to reduce the risk of a potential data leak.
PSTN devices have certainly had a big impact on the world, but solutions like these prove that small businesses don’t have to feel beholden to them any longer.
