Cost of Moving Your Business

Communication to
the Cloud

Whitepaper
The world has gradually moved to emails and other forms of electronic communication, however, one old player
still holds a firm position in business communication cycle - telephony. What started as a mere medium of con-
necting people has slowly evolved into a widely used technology of our time. Technology is growing with every
passing day, and so is the need for much more personalised customer experience.The advent of smartphones and
tablets have given today's customer the power to stay more connected with the business.

With more and more stress on being connected at all times, businesses have gradually leapt from their traditional
office phone system to a more advanced telephonic solution - cloud telephony. However, various factors are
influencing this technological revolution. Cloud telephony ensures businesses have scalable and reliable access to
unified business communication without any burden of setting up infrastructure or additional CAPEX. Even
though the traditional PBX phone system fulfils the primary goal of connecting the business owners and agents
with their customers,it lacks advanced features that a growing business demands.

Many businesses are becoming aware of the increasing need for cloud telephony but are reluctant to upgrade
either due to the primary assumption that the solution might burn the company budget or due to lack of informa-
tion. As a result,the businesses still running on traditional PBX system are missing out on telephony features that
could boost the productivity and stimulate personalised customer experience pivotal for business growth.

Cost of Moving Your Business Communication to the Cloud 01

 The benefits of Cloud Telephony over a traditional PBX system
More than lack of information, it is the fear of change that forces companies to continue with their ongoing process.
In a virtualized environment, all the existing telephony hardware such as cables, switchboards, desk phones are
replaced by a software, maintained and operated virtually by a third party - hence the term 'cloud telephony.' By
incorporating cloud telephony, all your business calls are digitally transmitted, routed and terminated via the internet.
Telephony
Cloud

No installation cost Quick setup Real-time updates Keeps you mobile In-depth reporting

vs
EPABX

High installation cost Slow setup Makes you dependant Chained to the desk No insights

Cost of Moving Your Business Communication to the Cloud 02

As compared to a traditional PBX system, cloud-based voice system allows businesses to take advantage of IP
telephony with minimal capital expenditure for deployment and implementation. Typically, you pay for what you
choose, which means no costly PBX maintenance or upgrades. Migrating to a cloud-based voice system might
appear as a complicated process, but in reality is a simpler transformation which takes lesser time and is cost
effective. While with a traditional phone system, you spend immense manpower and time to ensure your busi-
ness meets efficient uptime and depreciation, cloud telephony delivers the same connectivity saving your time
and resources on these extra issues.

All you need to get started with cloud telephony is a computer and internet connection. No additional hardware,
handsets or license required. A company simply needs to sign up for the service with a trusted cloud telephony
operator which typically charges you with a monthly service fee, depending upon the package chosen, the
number of activated lines and additional value-added services.

Cost of Moving Your Business Communication to the Cloud 03

03
 Hosted PBX Market, by Region, 2018-2023

The virtual development and setup segment is

expected to have the largest market size during the
forecast period in North America

Market with the

largest size for 2018
(estimated)
The protocol management services is expected to
Market with the have the highest growth rate during the forecast
highest growth rate period in the APAC region
for 2018-2023
(projected)

Cost of Moving Your Business Communication to the Cloud 04

03
When should an organisation consider cloud telephony?
Maintenance issues due to an existing communication system.
Extensive time spent on discovering skills and expertise necessary to maintain the ailing communication process.
Costly repairs and extended downtimes.
Difficulty in finding a scalable and reliable replacement as needed.
Tricky and time-consuming process associated with adding employees to the system.
Increased chances of a system failure caused by an outdated on-premise PBX system.
Lesser scope to add in-house system modifications owing to changing business needs.
Communication issues that result from multiple on-premise PBX systems across various office locations.
Inconsistency in meeting the needs of mobile and remote workers.
Rising costs of maintaining on-premise telephony systems.

Cost of Moving Your Business Communication to the Cloud 05

03
Critical cost-saving factors in moving to the Cloud
Cloud telephony has transformed the entire business communication cycle. The primary objective of companies
looking for cloud telephony solutions is to reduce the operational cost while improving the productivity and
customer experience. A recent Gartner report highlighted that cloud strategy enables companies to run their
communication process with higher speed, agility, and innovation.

Let’s get to reviewing vital cost drivers in more detail:

1. Upfront capital investment

A traditional PBX system involves an upfront capital expense required for the setup and maintenance of an
on-premise communication system. This includes your software license, routers, networking and various other
factors involved depending upon your current business communication need. In their early days of transition, few
companies prefer SIP trunking; although this may seem like a cost-saving option, it requires additional
investment in VOIP gateway, and the costs just don't end here.

SIP setup fees

Number porting fees
Purchasing IP-compatible handsets
Monthly service fee

On the other hand, with a cloud-based communication solution, there is no additional CAPEX involved but only a
one-time cost of implementation.

Cost of Moving Your Business Communication to the Cloud 06

03
2. Annual maintenance costs
The cost of upgrading licensed products, hardware maintenance, technical support, and troubleshooting
usually ranges from 17-22% of a customer’s software license fee. Growing business needs demand additional
"customisations" in the existing communication system, and can lead to higher maintenance costs with less or
entirely no scope for negotiations as companies generally deploy a third party vendor for these services. It comes
as no surprise that for most of these traditional third-party vendors, support and maintenance costs are usually
the cash cow with profit margins reaching up to 90%.

As mentioned earlier, for a cloud-based solution, the service and maintenance cost is transparent and is already a
part of the monthly service fee. This transparency helps companies pre-plan their communication budget with
greater control and clarity.

3. Scalability and adding new communication channels

One of the most significant universal benefits of cloud-based communication solutions is scalability. There is a
scope to mend your business communication process as and when your business grows. This is not the case with
the existing traditional PBX system. With on-premise solutions, adding or removing new lines implies your exist-
ing infrastructure might get affected to support the new growth. The misery doesn't end here if your PBX has
been there for a decade or longer, maintenance and repair will be much harder and a challenge to implement.

With cloud telephony, you can do much more - there are an array of additional features that can be instantly
added as per the business needs. Conferencing, mobility, interactive voice response (IVR), increasing/reducing the
number of agents in seconds are just to name a few.

Cost of Moving Your Business Communication to the Cloud 07

03
 Factors Cloud-based Solutions PBX System

Set-up Costs Low initial equipment Low initial equipment

& Set-up Cost & Set-up Cost

Maintenance Costs No maintenance cost Higher

(maintenance is part (all equipments is owned
of the package availed) by the company)

Upgrades Can be availed Needs to be purchased

on the existing plan separately

Scalability Scale with your Extra equipment,

business licenses make scaling difficult

Cost of Moving Your Business Communication to the Cloud 08

03
Why consider a hosted cloud-based solution?
1. Thorough Availability/ High Uptime
While PBX system fulfils the primary goal of communication, the higher stake of failing and maintenance makes
it vulnerable, thereby limiting the availability of resources. A hosted cloud-based solution ensures thorough
connectivity providing as much as 99.96% uptimes.

2. Reduces costs
A minimum set-up cost is involved with cloud telephony providers. You pay for what you use, depending upon
the package availed. While this is not the case with a traditional PBX system, and , in the event of adding more
channels the cost increases rigorously. A cloud-based solution provides the business with the flexibility of
scaling up or down as required by quickly adding or changing the communication lines. A minimum to nil CAPEX
is involved, and the transparency of the costs ensure that you are aware of the expenditure incurred on the
communication process as well as the additional features availed in your subscription plan.

3. Flexibility and Scalability

One of the biggest reasons for an organisation to shift to a cloud-based solution is the ease to upgrade which is
otherwise tricky with a PBX system. Once your business is on a hosted cloud-based solution, you can easily add
or remove extensions and features such as automated IVR calling, sticky agents, call queuing etc. with the
growing business needs. Even if your business is non-operational at a given time (due to any unforeseen
reason), you can easily facilitate home, and remote working for your staff and accommodate mobility.

Cost of Moving Your Business Communication to the Cloud 09

03
4. Inherent Disaster Recovery
Even if you have accommodated the upcoming challenges in your roadmap, you still cannot be sure about any
impending disaster lurking behind. Your PBX system does not provide you with a disaster recovery whereas
when you use cloud-based telephony, you are part of a system that has disaster recovery and ensures business
continuity throughout.

For a company that has offices in more than one location, cloud hosted solution ensures that your phone lines
are still ringing even if one of the offices is shut or temporarily out of service due to any unannounced situation.
All you need is a running internet connection, and the staff can be deployed to any location to make and receive
calls either via their mobile phone app or a desktop app. Cloud telephony gives your employees the power to
take their cloud connection and extension numbers with them wherever they are.

5. Predictable pricing - pay for what you use

When it comes to pricing, PBX system does not promise a clarity in pricing and and unforeseen hardware
repairs, capacity expansion, and any other issue that may require an on-site visit from the support engineer will
undoubtedly increase the cost to a much greater extent. However, with a hosted cloud solution, the pricing is
upfront. Apart from a minimal set-up fee, the rest of the pricing is transparently dependent on what you use and
for the services that you avail. No hidden costs!

Cost of Moving Your Business Communication to the Cloud 10

03
Assuming a company handles 100calls/day, the table below offers a breakup comparison
of the charges incurred for a cloud hosted solution and a PBX solution:

Factors Exotel Basic Plan Operator 1 (PBX) Operator 2* (PBX)

Initial Set-up Costs 4,999 65,000 0*

Rental Charges 5000 (Call bonus) 10,000 7,000
Call Charges 0.4 (Local) 0.65 (STD) 0.8 (Local) 1.0 (STD) 0.8 (Local) 1.0 (STD)
Total Annual Charges 36,000 300,000 168,000

Operator 1 and 2 are leading players offering PBX solutions in India

*Operator 2 has a conditional 2 year contract
Prices are mentioned in INR

Cost of Moving Your Business Communication to the Cloud 11

03
Standard Features of a Cloud-based solution
1. Call reporting and recording
For businesses that have their entire business model built around
customer communication, it is quite critical to understand how the
conversation is progressing. This is when additional features of a
cloud-based telephony system such as call reporting and recording
come in handy.

Your staff now have daily call reports which ensures that even if a
call is missed, the agent can check the incoming number from the
report and continue with the conversion. Call reporting enables easy
and quick report generation, adding custom information to data
elements, and more.

Cloud telephony enables a business to inculcate the power to

retrieve the call at a later date and playback at will. Most of the
businesses today, cater to a wider audience and invariably have
multiple locations. There are research and development centres,
sales office, support office and headquarters. The ability to access
recorded information is a big plus. And this where cloud telephony
makes a difference!

Cost of Moving Your Business Communication to the Cloud 12

03
2. Voicemail
What do you do about your callers during non-operational business
hours. A missed call implies just one thing - a lost business
opportunity. Cloud hosted solutions provides you with the option of
configuring your voicemail to your business number allowing you to
stay connected with your customer and also adds a professional
touch to your ongoing support services. Voicemail can be
connected/delivered to any device the agent chose including to the
email system.

3. API Integrations
Keeping your customer calls, support tickets, CRM, and the other tools
separate creates more problems than it solves. Rummaging through
multiple platforms, digging through various tickets to understand a
customer issue is not an ideal scenario for any business.

Cloud telephony provides you with a quick and easy functionality of

integrating your CRM and creating a single interface to access your
customer information. No more fragmented data across platforms.
The ability to integrate phone calls with all your other tools is one of
the most significant advantages of moving to the cloud.

Cost of Moving Your Business Communication to the Cloud 13

03
4. Call queuing
You can route the calls the way you want with a hosted cloud-based
solution. Call queuing allows you to receive multiple calls and
answer them in the order they are received or priority wise. The calls
are distributed to the next available agent once he completes a
current call. Call queuing helps in quick ticket resolution as calls are
automatically queued to the next available agent.

5. Sticky Agent
If your customer support agent has been dealing with a particular
customer, next time that customer calls, the call will first be routed to
the CS agent who spoke to him last. Only if the agent is unable to
attend the call will it be transferred to another person in the group

6. Remote working
This is fruitful for companies that have on-site teams or several
business locations. Your support staff can receive calls wherever they
are; this ensures continued customer-business availability. Calls are
directly routed to the designated number providing mobility.

Cost of Moving Your Business Communication to the Cloud 14

03
7. Cloud-based call analytics
A centralised dashboard ensures that every team member has
access to real-time data and analytics. This date includes call
reports, call recordings, phone call statistics for specific times of the
day or year, and more.

8. Efficient web administration

Even though your cloud telephony is hosted on your service provider's
data centre, as a business owner you have more control over the system
as compared to a traditional PBX system. In case you need to make any
changes, you can easily deploy using your central web interface.

Cost of Moving Your Business Communication to the Cloud 15

03
In Conclusion
Traditional PBX systems are becoming a white elephant with the emerging technological trends increasing
business needs. Less compatibility and maintenance difficulties are the primary reasons for lesser interest in PBX
systems. Cloud telephony is a cost-effective approach for streamlining the entire business communications; also,
the ease to scale is higher with a hosted system as compared to the traditional communication system.

Features such as IVR, call queuing, voicemail, automated calls/SMS, readily available real-time call reports makes
your business more approachable to the customers. With cloud telephony, you always have the freedom to
increase or decrease your communication channels, however, with PBX what has been installed is what you get;
which removes the scope of developing with the new technological trend.

Cloud telephony services boost customer-client collaboration through continued connectivity, higher uptimes,
CRM integration and much more without burning a hole in your company's IT budget.

REGISTER FOR A FREE DEMO NOW

Sign up for our 14-day free trial
and our ninjas would love to take your through the product.

Cost of Moving Your Business Communication to the Cloud 16

03