All you need to know about cloud communication platform software in India 

Businesses in India are rapidly adopting cloud-based communication platforms to power their phone systems, conference calls, instant messaging, and other communication needs. The cloud communication platform software in India offers significant benefits in cost, scalability, and flexibility compared to traditional on-premise communication hardware.

As more companies shift their technology infrastructure to the cloud, cloud-based phone systems have emerged as viable unified communications solutions encompassing voice, video, and collaboration features in a single platform. This has led to double-digit growth for the cloud telephony market in India, which is estimated to reach $4.2 billion by 2028.

In this comprehensive guide, we explore everything Indian enterprises need to know about evaluating, selecting and implementing cloud communication platforms to meet their unique needs.

What is Cloud Communication?

Cloud communication refers to solutions where software applications manage audio/video calls, instant messaging, SMS text messaging, voicemail services, interactive voice response systems, contact centers, and telephony features like auto-attendants, call routing, switching, recording etc over the internet rather than using onsite private branch exchange (PBX) equipment.

 

By leveraging the internet and moving infrastructure to third-party data centers, cloud platforms offer easier scalability to accommodate business growth and seasonal peaks. Multiple office locations can also be connected on the same system without extensive hardware installations and maintenance.

 

Cloud systems also enable work from anywhere through web and mobile apps. Employees can use smartphones, laptops, desktops, and tablets to seamlessly communicate and collaborate while in the office, at home, or on the go.

Key Benefits of Cloud Telephony Solutions

Some top reasons Indian businesses are adopting cloud communication platforms include:

 

1. Cost Efficiency – Cloud platforms significantly lower infrastructure, maintenance and upgrade costs by renting hosted services instead of large hardware investments.
2. Flexibility – Cloud software supports BYOD policies and mobile workforces. Employees can connect from anywhere instead of relying on office internet and LAN availability.
3. Scalability – Cloud-based software allows calling capacity to scale up or down based on usage without expensive hardware. This supports changing business needs.
4. Resiliency – Hosted on remote geo-redundant servers, cloud systems have built-in failover support to minimize downtime risks.
5. Advanced Features – Cloud platforms offer more advanced and integrated communication functionality versus premise-based PBX systems.
6. Latest Innovations – No hardware upgrades necessary to adopt new features. Cloud providers regularly add innovations to their offering.

Understanding Cloud Telephony Solutions

Core components of cloud communication and cloud telephony platforms include:

 

1. Virtual Phone Numbers – Also called Direct Inward Dialing (DID) numbers, these are the phone numbers customers can dial to reach your company. Numbers are selected based on preferred location prefixes.
2. Auto attendants – Automated interactive voice response (IVR) systems that answer calls and provide prompts so callers can route themselves to the right departments or agents without a human operator.
3. Voicemail – Cloud voicemail systems take messages if employees are unavailable. Messages are accessible via phones, web portals or email integrations.
4. Call Monitoring and Recording – Live call monitoring for training purposes and call recording for improving customer service, compliance and analytics.
5. Call Routing Features – Intelligent call direction and distribution based on caller location, type, menus selected, agent availability, wait times, skill levels and other rules. Improves efficiency and customer satisfaction.
6. Contact Center Tools – Features specifically tailored for call centers like automated call distribution (ACD) to route calls to appropriate agents. Includes omnichannel interaction management across other digital channels like email, live chats etc.
7. Unified Messaging – A single interface to manage and reply to customer inquiries coming from multiple channels like voice, email, SMS, social platforms, live chats etc. Provides a 360-degree customer view.
8. CRM Integrations – Customer relationship management (CRM) systems linked to the phone software provide screen pops with caller info so agents deliver personalized service.
9. Mobile Apps – Native apps to use calling, messaging, conferencing features on smartphones and tablets from anywhere.
10. Admin Portal – Web-based admin software to manage users, phone numbers, call routing logic, voicemail, settings and analytics dashboards.
11. APIs and SDKs – Application programming interfaces (APIs) and software development kits (SDKs) enable custom integrations with helpdesks, databases, payment processing and other backend software.

 

What to Look for in India-based Cloud Telephony Vendors

 

Keep the following criteria in mind when selecting cloud communication platforms for Indian businesses:

 

1. Reliability and Uptime – Look for financially stable providers with strong operational expertise in India. Check for uptime SLAs ensuring optimal availability.
2. Compliant Infrastructure – Verify communication infrastructure and servers reside within India to adhere to Indian regulations around data protection and privacy.
3. Data Protection – Encrypted networking across the platform with no ability for third parties to access call data and conversations.
4. Scalability – Dynamic and flexible calling capacity with options to scale up or down instantly based on usage spikes or dips.
5. Carrier Interoperability – Seamless connectivity and call quality over all major Indian telecom carriers.
6. Business Continuity – Infrastructure and features supporting resiliency and business continuity in case of internet outages at office locations.
7. Omnichannel Options – Support for adding digital channels like live website chat, Facebook Messenger integration etc alongside voice.
8. CRM Integrations – Pre-built connectivity with popular CRM software.
9. Customization – Ability to easily customize everything from greetings and IVR menus to hold music based on brand identity.
10. Ease of Use – Intuitive web and mobile interfaces for non-technical employees and admins. Simplified configurations minimizing deep telephony expertise.
11. Local Support – India-based technical support plans for account management, new feature rollouts, troubleshooting and user training.

Pricing and Cost Considerations

 

Cloud telephony represents a cost-effective alternative to legacy on-premise systems requiring expensive PBX equipment, maintenance, electrical wiring and real estate.

 

Cloud communication pricing in India varies based on:

 

1. Number of Concurrent Calls – Per minute rates based on peak concurrent calls required to support all employees.
2. Number of Phone Numbers – Additional recurring fee for each virtual number bought from local Indian exchanges.
3. Number of Users – Some providers charge per named user set up in the system.
4. Toll-Free Minutes – Pay per use pricing for inbound toll-free services.
5. Outbound Minutes – Monthly allotments with overage charges apply for outbound regional, national and international calling.
6. SMS Units – Transactional fees for high volume outbound SMS text blasts.
7. Customizations and Integrations – Additional one-time and recurring fees ranging from IVR buildout to dedicated servers for large scale deployments.

 

Calculating total cost of ownership (TCO) over 3-5 years helps demonstrate savings over conventional systems requiring large Capex. Comparing pricing models across shortlists vendors is advised.

Implementation Strategies and Change Management

 

Migrating an entire phone system to the cloud requires careful planning and change management for smooth execution.

Key steps Indian enterprises should take:

1. Set Objectives – Define goals, KPIs and metrics aligned to business communication needs.
2. Create Inventory – Catalog existing infrastructure, integrations, call flows, phone numbers, contracts with telcos/ISPs etc.
3. Map Users – Classify users, available devices, calling profiles and use cases for each employee role.
4. Select Vendor – Issue RFP, evaluate demos and trials and select platform based on technology, capabilities, experience and TCO.
5. Assign Resources – Appoint project managers and internal IT/telecom admins that will own implementation and ongoing management.
6. Create Rollout Plan – Phase pilot groups, schedule training sessions, finalize cutover windows, vessel fallback options and internal support processes.
7. Test Integrations – Ensure new contact center, CRM and backend software integrations work as expected compared to legacy systems.
8. Train Employees – Conduct hands-on training workshops to align users on new desktop and mobile interfaces, features and policies.
9. Simulate Traffic – Run high volume call traffic simulations to validate performance and stability before going live.
10. Iterate Post Launch – Continuously refine configurations, workflows, scripts and integrations based on real user feedback in the weeks after go-live. Actively solicit end user input.

Conclusion

 

Transitioning from outdated conventional phone systems to top cloud communication platform signals meaningful transformation for Indian enterprises. Adopting cloud software powers digital initiatives, remote work and modern customer engagement models.

By taking the time to match robust solutions to their unique environments, Indian companies can derive significant long term gains in productivity, efficiency and competitive differentiation.