Think cloud computing is a passing trend? Guess again. More and more businesses - and yes, hotels - are beginning to take advantage of the cloud as a means of centralizing all of their hardware and software resources into one place, and to utilize only the services that they actually need. Because the cloud has proven itself to be dependable, the Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service industry has taken notice, and is ready to take advantage of all that it has to offer.
Since VoIP telephony is becoming a staple in the hospitality industry, and the cloud goes hand in hand with VoIP, it becomes very clear that hotels need to take notice of these ever-evolving technologies. In order to accommodate your guests' needs, impress them during their stay, and improve staff efficiency and productivity, you need to embrace the way of the future. The cloud is here to stay, and if you want your hotel to keep up, it's time to jump on board. Here's a look at how the cloud can enhance VoIP phone services and work to the benefit of your hotel's communications system.
4 Benefits of Cloud Computing for Hotel VoIP Phone Systems
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Reliability - For obvious reasons, reliability is the biggest concern to hoteliers. Your hotel's communications network needs to be up and running at all times, and you cannot risk an outage. When your phone system is based in the cloud, though, you can count on the fact that it is communicating with multiple backup networks that can help you to overcome any outages, critical crashes, or other issues. This ensures that you and your guests will always have reliable service.
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Costs - Everyone is looking for ways to save money, and cloud-based VoIP telephony is just the answer. When you attempt to maintain your own data center or on-site communications infrastructure, things can quickly become very expensive - especially in terms of manpower. After all, IT specialists can cost you a pretty penny. Cloud computing resolves this issue by allowing your network to run, monitored and maintained from a remote location, across the internet. Of course, in addition to the amount you’ll save on time and labor, you’ll also enjoy the significantly reduced long-distance phone bills that VoIP can offer.
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Maintenance - Maintaining a phone system can also be very costly. Any time your network requires system updates, or is experiencing a problem, you will either need to have your on-site IT staff handle the issue or hire your phone provider to come to your location and take care of it. This may require you to wait for an extended period of time before the work is completed, and could also result in a hefty invoice for labor. As mentioned previously, with a cloud-based phone network, your system can be regularly monitored for potential issues and required updates so that they can be addressed immediately. In addition, troubleshooting and repair can occur remotely. Also, a benefit of non-proprietary phone options are the cost savings involved with not being locked into a specific manufacturer for maintenance, upgrades, or replacements.
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Data Security - In some cases, a VoIP service provider might maintain data at multiple locations. This can increase threats to your data's security. With cloud-based phone systems, though, it becomes possible to store all of that data in one single location or data center. On top of this, data that is stored in the cloud is continuously being backed up so that it can easily be retrieved – even in the event of a major crash. Of course, this is highly unlikely, as cloud-based applications are hosted on very powerful servers.
The next frontier in hotel communications is here right now - are you ready to embrace the cloud?
