How can a company quickly and easily grow its international footprint while navigating complex telecoms regulations? How can scores of employees working remotely in different countries effectively communicate and share ideas? And how can consumers in one geography seek advice from a brand (and avoid racking up huge bills) when it’s based on the other side of the world?

The answer is cloud based communications services enabled by a global SIP Trunking solution. This is a topic I discussed at UC Expo in London recently, where I highlighted the importance of global SIP Trunking in enabling the cloud telephony component of UCaaS, CCaaS and CPaaS. Virtual numbers and cloud-hosted infrastructure are replacing on-premise hardware in every global market, as businesses in almost all vertical sectors pursue digital transformation strategies.

The opportunities and benefits are great, and many. I’ve condensed these down to three, in order to best answer those all-important opening questions.

Global brand, local presence, happy customers

As businesses grow, so too do their customer bases. Yet establishing a physical presence – a contact centre, for instance – in every region in which a company gains customers is timely and expensive. On the other hand, asking customers to call a contact centre based in another country (an international call) will do little to enhance customer relations and brand image. To solve this challenge, BICS offers a variety of ‘cloud numbers’, via a pay-as-you-go model, which are interoperable with all types of communications hardware and software platforms.

For example, toll-free numbers provide inbound calling services, which is ideal for consumers as they pay no charge for the calls. It’s also ideal for multinational businesses with reach in multiple geographies and which manage consumer support via contact centre located in specific geographies. This is because calls are collected over toll-free numbers from all served countries/locations and handed over to the contact centre located in the specific geography. This all supports the customer care outsourcing model for numerous multinational businesses, helping to keep their OPEX in check.

In addition, local numbers that support both inbound and domestic outbound can help businesses boost their customer service credentials by offering a more convenient way for users to engage. This could include a ‘call me’ function on the business’ website, which integrates with its communications platform, prompting a representative to contact the customer directly.

With numbers in more than 200 countries, BICS allows its customers to expand its communications and market presence on a truly global scale. The cost savings are huge, and the local support offered to customers is priceless.

Remote working support

The UK’s Office for National Statistics has estimated that by next year, half of the UK’s workforce will be working remotely. Improvements in the quality and availability of network infrastructure, as well as the desire for a better work/life balance has helped drive this trend. Effective, consistent communication is critical to ensuring the success of remote working strategies, and maintaining the productivity of both employees and businesses.

Cloud-based unified communications and collaboration technologies provide an easy means for companies to launch or extend remote working practices. Based on pay-as-you-go subscription models, solutions can be trialled easily – and, without the need to install on-premise hardware, cost-effectively – and scaled up and down depending on demand. BICS’ SIP Trunking solution enables two-way voice connectivity for unified communications services. SIP trunking allows domestic and/or international outbound calls to be made via unified communications numbers, receiving inbound calls over these numbers, and listing them in directory services within each country.

Navigating a complex regulatory environment

Expanding your presence and communications capabilities into new regions presents another challenge: overcoming complex and often wildly different regulatory environments. Licenses must be acquired, applications made, and new relationships forged with mobile and telecoms operators; failure to comply can result in significant fines. Telephony services must be integrated with a businesses’ existing technology architecture, and must deliver consistent, reliable and secure communication.

Most organisations are not telecoms experts, or cloud experts. Fortunately, BICS’ expertise covers both of these fields! Our SIP Trunking solution over cloud numbers are fully compliant with local regulations and lawful interception requirements. They also allow users to make emergency calls using the country’s short code, ensuring that safety regulations are met and users are kept safe.

Choosing a single SIP Trunking delivers countless benefits, and opens a world of opportunity for businesses looking to grow internationally, improve customer relations, boost collaboration and further transform their organisation into the digital era. UC Expo was a great opportunity to discuss all of these ideas and more – we hope to see you again in London in 2020, or at any of the global events we’re attending this year.