SMEs and small businesses are sometimes tempted to eliminate fixed lines for employees in favor of mobile numbers. However, in 2023, professional fixed telephony is fully integrated into the digital transformation of businesses. While on-site PBX systems are still common, fixed Cloud telephony is now firmly establishing itself in SMEs and large enterprises. It offers a multitude of advantages that make it more than just a tool for receiving and making phone calls.
In Belgium, Belcenter’s Flow Cloud Phone solution aims to blur the lines between fixed and mobile telephony with the launch of a convergent mobile offering on a 4G/5G Premium network. This offering is called Belcenter Mobile.
What is known as the professional fixed line is now a communication hub capable of providing presence, calls, support, messaging, and integration with business applications. This is an opportunity for us to discuss, in this theoretical and practical guide, the benefits of Cloud telephony for Belgian SMEs and to present a new solution available immediately to all businesses, regardless of their size. Cloud telephony is a hybrid telephony, accessible on both fixed and mobile networks.
Cloud Telephony for Business: What Are We Talking About?
Cloud fixed telephony is a fixed telephony with a cloud-based telephone system and communications that exclusively pass through the internet, unlike traditional phone lines installed at a client’s location. We have already discussed this in our guide on evolutions in business fixed telephony.
Features can include virtual phone numbers, voicemail, video conferencing, call forwarding, or integration with the company’s business tools (including CRM).
Cloud Telephony: What Are the Benefits for Businesses?
By opting for cloud telephony, businesses can enjoy numerous benefits and improve their productivity.
- First and foremost, cloud telephony uses the IP network to route calls, eliminating the dependence on traditional physical infrastructures such as analog phone lines.
- Another advantage of cloud telephony is its flexibility. Unlike traditional phone systems, cloud telephony allows businesses to easily scale their telephony needs as their business evolves.
- Thanks to the virtualization of phone systems, businesses can quickly add or remove phone lines, phone extensions, and other features based on their needs.
- Cloud telephony also offers better integration with other communication tools and business systems. For example, it can be integrated with CRM software, allowing employees to access real-time customer information and improve efficiency during phone calls.
- Cloud telephony ensures seamless integration between phone communications and email, instant messaging, and other communication tools.
Why Switch from On-Site Fixed Telephony to Cloud Telephony in a Business?
Several reasons lead Belgian businesses to opt for cloud telephony instead of on-site telephony, particularly in SMEs:
- Greater flexibility by allowing employees to communicate and access their phone system from any device with an internet connection (fixed or mobile).
- Cost reduction, especially in the absence of expensive equipment installation and infrastructure.
- Maintenance and automatic updates: these are managed by the cloud telephony operator rather than the company.
- Scalability: SMEs can easily add or remove phone lines without having to invest in new equipment or incur losses.
- Access to advanced features: presence, voicemail, online chat, call forwarding, video conferencing, CRM integration, integration with Microsoft Teams.
Cloud telephony (Cloud PBX) proves to be more flexible, scalable, and cost-effective for SMEs, allowing them to focus on their business and productivity. Fixed telephony shifts from the old traditional landline to all devices connected to the internet, on-site and on the go.
Securing Cloud Telephony: How Does It Work?
Securing cloud telephony can be achieved quite easily by adopting some best practices:
- Strong authentication: complex passwords and one-time use codes against intrusion and hacking risks.
- Encryption of voice communications to prevent interception.
- Access management: administrators define access rights to sensitive functions.
- Service level agreements with availability and security guarantees.
Like any other cloud-based activity, cloud telephony security should be considered a priority to protect the privacy of data and internal and external exchanges within the company.
As we’ve understood, Cloud Telephony is the ideal answer to replace on-site fixed telephony.
Which Cloud Telephony Solution to Choose?
The line between fixed and mobile telephony disappears thanks to cloud telephony (and what is now called Cloud PBX). In early 2023, Belcenter exclusively launched a new convergent business telephony solution based in the Cloud for Belgium. Sophisticated, reliable, flexible, and secure, it centralizes your PBX and communication needs into a single intuitive application, Belcenter’s Flow.
Belcenter uses, customizes, and secures the world’s most advanced platform from Telavox to offer you smarter fixed telephony, connected to your Cloud work environment (Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Odoo). Flow connects to your calendar and adapts to your workday. Intelligent routing adjusts to your schedule. Hours, calendar, contacts: you import, synchronize in real-time.
If you use the CMS Brio de Portima, even before you pick up the phone, a notification appears on your computer. Your client is identified (name, file, record).
Belcenter has been named “Service Provider 2023” by Telavox for its exceptional integration of the solution.
Key Features
What are its advantages? Belcenter’s Cloud Phone solution is a comprehensive offering, including:
- Cloud PBX management
- IP communications through your desk phones
- Enriched messaging via an interoperable application on all your devices
- Integrations (CRM, ERP, invoicing, collaboration)
Self-Service Administration Portal
The web administration portal allows you to manage users, licenses, costs, and security through a single interface. Network integration allows the mobile terminal to function like a phone closely integrated with a PBX.
The intuitive web portal enables management of users, PBX services, phone numbers, licenses, hardware, as well as the directory of applications, address book, and an intelligent chat widget.
Integrated Chat Support
The Cloud PBX allows you to create a chat widget for your website (WordPress plugin). This enables you to add an instant messaging solution (customer service, sales, quotes, support) to your website. This native function is fully integrated into the Belcenter interface.
Intelligent Routing
Automatic call distribution (ACD), interactive voice response (IVR), and skill-based routing intelligently match the customer with the right agent. This enhances customer satisfaction and productivity. By connecting the API to your existing CRM or ERP system, you can create personalized automated workflows for call handling, including routing calls to dedicated account managers.
Advanced IP Telephony
Affordable, flexible, and with superior sound quality (HD), the Cloud Phone solution allows for IP calls from various types of devices, without distinction:
- Desk phones or wireless DECT phones
- From a computer (Windows, macOS)
- From a smartphone (iOS, Android)
- From a tablet (iPad OS, Android)
Instant Messaging
With Belcenter’s Flow, you can use a single application on the web, mobile, and desktop for all your communications:
- Voice calls
- Rich text messages (images, documents)
- Private or professional conversations
- Conferences with colleagues or clients
Fixed-Mobile Convergence (SIM Card)
Belcenter Mobile offers businesses a converged mobile solution via the Premium Proximus network. This offering, launched in 2023, is highly customizable by fleet managers. Calls and SMS are unlimited in Belgium. Calls made to other EU countries are unlimited within Europe. Users can receive 7, 20, or 50 GB of mobile data per month in 4G and 5G (temporary or permanent 50 GB boost option for up to 100 GB per month). This data is also available for roaming throughout the European Union (including the UK, Norway, Liechtenstein, and Iceland).
The SIM card is connected to Belcenter’s Cloud and Flow, the mobile telephony application. It is possible to make calls from the mobile line and/or the Flow mobile application, ensuring cost-effective communication worldwide when employees travel. To ensure optimal quality, Belcenter offers technologies like VoWiFi and VoLTE at no extra cost, allowing calls over Wi-Fi when the mobile network is less efficient (e.g., in well-insulated buildings). Benefits include transparency, flexibility, and cost savings.
Integrations
Belcenter’s Cloud Phone system allows you to connect your professional fixed telephony to Microsoft Teams, Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics 365, Lime CRM, Brio, Hubspot, Odoo, Power BI, Zendesk, Google Workspace, or Microsoft 365. Your Microsoft 365 license from Belcenter, regardless of the type, can also be integrated with the Cloud telephony solution.
Documentation and User-Friendliness
The ease of installation is astounding: you can configure the PBX more quickly. We also offer a series of tutorials dedicated to the new Cloud telephony solution, including activation of the application, Flow Softphone configuration, user creation, Flow configuration on PC or Mac, and management of groups and queues, among others.
For Whom?
Belcenter’s Cloud Phone Flow solution caters to all types of businesses in Belgium, regardless of their size, due to the modularity of its features: PBX, collaboration, conferencing, directory, licenses, and integrations with professional tools.
It is an extremely flexible offering capable of meeting the needs of various types of structures:
- Small businesses (SMEs): artisans, architectural offices, accountants, liberal professions, lawyers
- Medium-sized businesses (SMEs): construction, catering, transportation
- Large corporations
Cloud Telephony in Belgium: Conclusion
Previously reserved for SMEs and startups, Cloud fixed telephony is now suitable for any type of organization (small businesses, large corporations). It eliminates the costs of maintaining and updating on-site PBXs. It is also at the core of digitalizing businesses: voice communications, fixed-mobile convergence, messaging, integration with business applications, chat support, and intelligent routing. In summary, Cloud telephony is the future of professional fixed telephony in Belgium.
Cloud telephony is flexible: it is accessible from any internet connection, whether fixed or mobile. Belcenter offers Flow, a comprehensive solution including an intuitive Cloud PBX (web) and a mobile/desktop application. The B2B operator also allows businesses to opt for a secure converged mobile offering. Calls and SMS are unlimited, whether from the mobile line or the Flow application. The offering utilizes the Premium Proximus network and is connected to Belcenter’s Cloud.
