With remote and hybrid workplaces on the rise, technologies like cloud phone systems offer companies invaluable ways to maintain solid business communication. If your business phone system needs a revamp, you might want to invest in a new way to communicate.

But how do you figure out which product will suit your business best? In this article, we’ll go over the must-have cloud phone system features to look out for when shopping for a solution. Read on to find out more!

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Article Roadmap

• What Is a Cloud Phone System?
• Primary Benefits
• Key Features
  • Auto Attendant
  • Video Conferencing
  • Call Recording
  • Toll-free Numbers
  • Call Forwarding
  • Voicemail
  • Call Monitoring
  • Call Analytics
• Final Thoughts

What Is a Cloud Phone System?

A cloud phone system or service is a program that enables you to make and receive calls using the internet. Unlike traditional analog phones that use optical fibers or copper wires, your cloud phone system uses a VoIP-based PBX solution to transmit your calls over the web.

Though some internet-based phone systems can be installed on-premise, generally, cloud phone systems work over the cloud, meaning they don’t require any on-premise hardware or recurring maintenance and are managed off-site by a third-party vendor. You can access the service from any network-connected device, including smartphones, laptops, desktops, tablets and even regular deskphones.

Primary Benefits

1. Reduced Costs

Since your telecommunications are happening over the internet, you don’t have to pay for additional phone service — just your internet connection and a subscription fee, which is usually more cost-effective. You also save money on hardware and equipment and maintenance costs.

2. Increased Flexibility

Web-based business communications allow your employees to stay in contact no matter where they are, whether they’re in the office, at satellite offices or working from home. All they need is a stable internet connection to stay in touch with colleagues, clients and other important contacts.

3. More Reliability

Since cloud phone systems are hosted in multiple locations and on multiple servers, you’re less likely to be affected by an outage or other connection issue. This means you can operate without interruption and provide continuous service to your customers no matter what’s happening. This also protects you against data loss in the event of server failure.

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Key Features

There’s no one-size-fits-all solution to business communications. However, some cloud phone system features are beneficial to pretty much any business. Here are the top features to consider in your software search.

1. Auto Attendant

Customers don’t like to be kept on hold when they call a business. A recent report by Salesforce found that 83% of customers expect to engage with someone immediately when they call customer support.

That may not always be realistic for your agents, which is where an auto attendant system can really help out. It’s an automated answering service that greets your customer and can either direct their calls to the appropriate agent or, for simpler queries, resolve them through interactive menu options.

An overview of the auto attendant dashboard.

This allows you to serve your customers at all hours, even when agents aren’t available, and reduces missed calls and wait times. It also helps your company maintain a more professional image with customizable greetings and hold music.

2. Video Conferencing

Video conferencing builds on your calling function with a visual element. It allows you to communicate and collaborate with colleagues, clients and other important business contacts in real time, and enables you to meet face-to-face no matter where you’re calling from.

Video conferencing often comes with built-in collaboration tools, like screen sharing, file sharing, presenting and group chats, so you can have effective conference calls without the need for a dedicated space.

3. Call Recording

This feature enables businesses to record conversations between employees and clients. Employees can manage, store and share the recordings, which are later used for training or reference.

Reviewing recordings of your calls helps you maintain quality control, because you can hear exactly what happens between your agents and your customers. This allows you to gain greater insight into where your employees’ weaknesses are, and what you can do to address them moving forward.

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4. Toll-free Numbers

With a toll-free number — one starting with 800, 888 and 1-800, to name a few — your business becomes more credible and recognizable. It also makes it easier for customers to contact you, because toll-free numbers are free to call and easy to remember.

Personalizable vanity numbers, like, for example, 1-800-FLOWER-SHOP, instantly show current and existing customers what your business is all about.

5. Call Forwarding

With call forwarding, you can automatically send incoming calls to another phone line, like an employee’s personal device, another staff member’s phone or another department. Calls are forwarded simultaneously or sequentially, depending on what works best for you and your agents.

You can forward calls based on different criteria, like who the caller is and what time of day they’re calling. You can also set the amount of times the phone can ring before the call is forwarded to another line.

By letting staff take calls while away from their desks, or by sending them to another agent entirely, you can ensure that no customer call goes unanswered.

6. Voicemail

Voicemail lets callers leave messages for your agents in the event that no one can take their call. Employees can access voicemail messages from any device, including smartphones, desktops, laptops and tablets.

Most cloud phone systems have a voicemail-to-email functionality that transcribes voicemails into text form, sending both the audio and written transcript to your agents’ inboxes. This not only makes it easier to receive and respond to voicemail messages, but it also makes it far less likely that a message will get lost in the shuffle, especially if you’re dealing with high call volumes.

7. Call Monitoring

The call monitoring feature allows managers or administrators to listen to live conversations between agents and customers. With call whispering, they can even give suggestions to agents without your customer knowing.

Call performance dashboard showcasing various metrics.

If the call is challenging or they feel an agent isn’t doing their job, they can also use the call barging function to enter the call and take over.

8. Call Analytics

Call analytics gives you detailed insights into your agents and callers, including KPIs like agent productivity, peak call times, call duration, inbound and outbound call volume, and more.

Example of the working of business call analytics.

These analytics can be used to identify strengths and weaknesses in your departments as well as in strategic planning, so that you’re able to make more informed decisions.

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Final Thoughts

Finding the ideal cloud phone system for your business can be an uphill task, given the huge amount of competitive options available in the market. But having a sense of what cloud phone system features you need gives you a clear starting point.

Still need help? Check out our requirements template to get a better understanding of what your business needs.

Which cloud phone system features are most helpful for your firm? Are there any we didn’t cover? Let us know in the comments!