What’s the State of VoIP in 2021?

As we enter the final quarter of the year, it’s normal for business owners to begin wondering about the future; the year to come, the business trends it will bring, which will last and how to stay ahead of the curve.

When it comes to your business communications, the future is fast approaching. VoIP is giving way to Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS). If you’re with a VoIP provider already, then you’re in luck; your provider’s platform, especially if your system is cloud-hosted, is likely developed programmatically. With forward thinking management and development teams, it should be easy for such providers to keep up with the changing times and provide you with other means of communication that businesses are fast coming to expect. Namely, corporate-minded, secure instant messaging and a reliable, intuitive high-quality video calling platform.

The first version of Yay.com’s enterprise chat will be with you before the end of the month and represents Yay.com’s evolution from VoIP provider to unified communications service. Most unique to us, it is fully integrated with our powerful, proprietary VoIP phone system, meaning you have flexibility in communication at the click or tap of a button; you can effortlessly pivot from text to voice directly within your chats.

More than ever, though, businesses need communications infrastructure that empowers their employees to work remotely. It is clear that the economy cannot support another full-scale lockdown, but infection rates are rising alarmingly quickly. Businesses need agility and flexibility to survive; there may never be a time for larger companies when at least a few members of staff are not required to self-isolate. However, it’s more than possible that some of these employees will be well enough to want to continue to work. With a VoIP phone system, this is possible, but with a unified communication service serving as your business communications infrastructure, you’ll find your staff continuing to thrive despite a dislocated and fragmented workforce.

Instant messaging enables the lightning-fast sending of files, images, URLs and more, making it easier than ever for staff to collaborate. If text and emojis aren’t enough to get the point across though and you find yourself itching to use some tone of voice, you can be talking to a team member with a single tap. It’s not difficult to see how such a feature is becoming integral to business communications the world over.

Moreover, given the sharp rise in Zoom stock prices since the beginning of lockdown, it’s clear that demand for video conferencing has risen dramatically. Great unified communications providers will provide a great, intuitive video conferencing platform that team members can use in conjunction with other UCaaS and VoIP phone system features to work and collaborate more quickly and efficiently than ever before. What’s more, with these features staff can work effectively no matter where they’re working from; more important than ever in the current business climate.

In summary, VoIP is firmly here to stay, but emphasis will begin to shift from voice-only to voice, video and enterprise chat, with integrations to break down the barriers of communication and collaboration between you, your team and your partners.