When was the last time you upgraded your phone system? 7 years ago? 10 years ago? Or was it so long ago you’re not quite sure?  Your aging phone system may be costing more than you think. Not only do you have higher resource costs, higher maintenance costs, infrastructure costs – you also have outdated features, limited mobility capabilities, and fragmented applications and tools.

So you’re considering making the move, and you know that your competitors may already be ahead of you, but did you know 74% of companies are already evaluating Unified Communications (UC) in the cloud? Additionally 51% of companies plan to increase their cloud spending in 2016. It’s not just any cloud phone system that you need - you need a cloud system and provider that gives you the speed and agility to drive more business, gives you advanced capabilities, and isn’t complicated.

The continual advancement of technology as an integral part of the majority of businesses has meant an expanded role for CIOs. With that territory has to come a necessarily closer working relationship and shared understanding with the CFO as well. In fact, 42% of IT departments report directly to the CFO (that number is a whopping 60% at smaller businesses). Clearly, a relationship must exist between the CIO and CFO that supports active communication and effective collaboration.

Today’s business environment is fast-paced and competitive. Technology makes it possible for you to know your customers and your customers to know your business within moments. A customer can give feedback about your business then let others know about their own experience within a few easy clicks.

Remember the days when the only way you could empower your team to collaborate was in face-to-face meetings that required time and travel that were planned far in advance? That brings up not-so-fond memories of securing landlines, delayed flights, flip charts, windowless meeting rooms and maybe even slide projectors!

Of course in today’s business world, this is an outdated and impractical proposition.

Most office managers are hearing a lot these days about Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), it’s a service that allows telephone users to make and receive calls using the Internet instead of conventional phone lines and analog phone systems. VoIP services provide a number of benefits for businesses, starting with the enhanced modern conveniences and cost savings.

Companies today understand the many benefits of changing over to a Unified Communications (UC) solution, but many are unable to do so because of the one-size-fits-all approach. They need something that’s easy to manage and control but is also cost-efficient and robust.

Here’s the good news. Business is booming and you’re ready to grow your employee base to meet the increasing level of customer demand. And in today’s business environment that means your employees need to be available anytime, anywhere and on nearly any device, which requires a business phone system with flexibility, mobility and scalability.

It seems for most companies today, everything they utilize is hosted somewhere in a cloud instead of a data center or server. You may be wondering why changing over to cloud-based services is so popular? Or, perhaps you like the way your business is structured, and you just don’t understand the benefits of having a cloud-based infrastructure.

There are many reasons organizations are turning to cloud technology. It’s flexible, scalable, offers cost savings and has the mobile features to meet your business and employee demands. But what about your phone system?

You may be considering updating your phone system to the cloud, but have concerns about security, control and risk.