Large companies like Zillow, Twitter, and Square have announced plans to employ a remote workforce even after the pandemic ends.
Even if you aren’t a global organization, you still need a plan to support a remote or hybrid workforce short term or long term.
Collaboration requires attention because it is one area of corporate technology significantly affected by having employees out of the office.
Your users need to make and receive internal and external phone calls regardless of their office’s location during the workday.
As a company of IT professionals, The KR Group understands the demands a remote workforce places on IT departments in all organizations.
Both first-hand and as an IT consultant, we have found ways to help remote employees collaborate. One of the most effective ways to empower these users is to configure softphones.
Softphones extend business phone capabilities to your users’ remote devices, such as laptops or smartphones, and can empower your workforce in the following ways:
- Increased mobility aids user availability.
- Intuitive features make softphones simple to use.
- Redundant nature reduces phone downtime.
- Cost-effectiveness makes softphones an accessible option.
All of these functions aid in user productivity and benefit the organization as a whole and users individually.
Softphone mobility aids user availability
Since your users’ laptops or smartphones can operate anywhere with an internet connection, softphones can provide business phone capabilities regardless of where your user is.
This means you don’t have to worry about cabling and adaptors for employees working from home, and they are free to work at their favorite coffee shop.
It’s also beneficial for users who travel for services. They can take their business phone with them, and as long as they have Wi-Fi or cellular data service, they won’t miss any calls.
When it comes to softphones’ technical aspects, mobility is powered by Cisco Expressway or a VPN connection. Having these options makes it simple for users to connect their smartphones to your business phone system.
If you are using a cloud-hosted call system, this mobility is already a central part of the configuration, so you don’t need any additional solutions to make softphones work.
Intuitive features make softphones simple to use
At this point, the majority of your users are accustomed to simple applications. Softphones expand on the expectation of intuitive use.
Having integrated contracts and intuitively knowing to use the dial-out extension can cause less confusion and save time.
If you have users whose jobs are making or answering phone calls, the time saved will add up, not to mention that it make those users’ jobs easier.
Redundancy reduces phone downtime
If a desk phone stops working and you don’t have softphones configured, your users are left without a way to make or receive phone calls.
Having softphones prevents this scenario because your users aren’t tied to a desk phone.
Even if you opt to only provide your users with softphones on their laptops or smartphones, you can switch between devices if one stops working.
Cost-effectiveness makes softphones accessible
One of the most significant reasons to consider softphones is the cost.
Often, the cost of physical desk phones is prohibitive to implementing a new phone system.
By using softphones, you can eliminate or minimize this cost.
If your employees already have desktops or laptops, then you can configure a softphone with minimal gear. (Your users will still need a quality headset for audio.)
You can also use smartphones (company or employee-owned) as softphones. Purchasing smartphones or reimbursing users for their own is still less expensive than Cisco desk phones.
Use cases for softphones
The use cases for softphones are endless, but there are a few examples we’ve seen that are worth sharing.
1. Eliminating desk phones
As we mentioned earlier, one of the ways we’ve seen other businesses benefit from implementing softphones is by getting rid of physical desk phones.
From a cost perspective, quality headsets are much less expensive than a desk phone. Even if you decide to purchase smartphones or reimburse employees for their personal devices, it is still generally more cost-effective to encompass this cost than purchase a slew of desk phones.
With the money you save, you can look into options for boosting your network speeds, which benefits multiple parts of your IT environment.
2. Shop floor manager
Another option for using softphones is for users who work in your office but aren’t seated at a desk most of the day.
We see this commonly with shop floor managers at manufacturing plants. While they need to have a business line to make and receive calls, they are likely on the shop floor more than their desk. They may even share their desk with managers of other shifts.
A softphone can travel with them away from the desk, which aids in mobility and productivity.
3. Remote or mobile workforce
Of course, softphones are a powerful tool for remote or mobile users.
As long as your users have Wi-Fi or cellular data, they can make and receive calls on their laptops or smartphones.
While it is possible to set up remote users with a desk phone, softphones are generally more straightforward and user friendly.
What do you need to implement softphones in your business?
Overall if you’re looking to improve your users’ experience with business phone calls, softphones are an effective way to do that.
You can improve the mobility, redundancy, and intuitiveness of your business phones. Plus, softphones are more cost-effective than traditional desk phones.
However, there are a few things you’ll need to make these work for your company:
- Quality headset
- Wi-Fi or mobile data connection
- VPN, Cisco Expressway connection, or cloud-hosted calling platform
- Laptop, desktop, smartphone, or tablet
With all of these components in place, your employees can make and receive phone calls from almost anywhere.
To learn more about moving away from traditional PBX systems, check out this free infographic from Cisco.