Top Virtual Cloud Telephony Trends to Look Out for in 2022

Over the last two decades, the global VoIP market has grown exponentially. With technological advancements, government support, and business adoption, this industry does not seem to slow down anytime soon.

Over the next few years, remote working will continue to grow the VoIP industry despite the uncertainty over the pandemic. As a matter of fact, it seems to be gaining market share, revenues, and usage faster than ever before.

Today, more businesses are using virtual cloud phone systems to communicate with each other. And it’s crucial you stay up to date on these trends to ensure your business is taking full advantage of this technology.

In the coming years, all kinds of businesses can maximize their investment in this technology and capitalize on these shifts in the industry.

Over the course of 2021, the top virtual cloud telephony providers continued to experience growth. The stock price of Zoom suffered recently due to the Five9 acquisition, but various other providers have been showing steady growth as 2022 approaches.

Business phone system providers have much to look forward to in 2022. And in this article, we will discuss the top 10 virtual cloud telephony trends that are likely to happen in 2022.

10 Virtual Cloud Telephony Trends for 2022

1. Smaller Businesses Adopting Virtual Cloud Phones

Recent years have seen VoIP become more attractive for small businesses due to better sound quality, cloud access, and low costs. Small businesses looking to keep contact records in sync with CRM can use cloud phones to make cheap international calls and keep this information seamlessly connected with their records. VoIP technologies are likely to become more affordable to SMEs by 2022.

2. Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS)

With the advent of COVID-19 lockdowns in March of 2020, communicating seamlessly has been the key to normalizing routine operations for organizations of all sizes and types, whether they utilized analog or virtual phone systems, video conferencing or calling, and whether their staff was in contact with clients (or patients, students, contacts).

With UCaaS, VoIP, and applications such as Microsoft Teams becoming such a universal need across businesses, governments, education, and healthcare, and service-based operations, the integration of these technologies has increased.

As this grows, these organizations will be able to seamlessly use a secure, remote environment to continue their communication-based operations.

3. Rise of Mobile Unified Communications

In terms of optimizing productivity and efficiency, mobile devices have opened up new opportunities for businesses. Mobility has thus become a key factor for companies to succeed in their respective fields. A rapid rise in the demand for mobile solutions is thought to be the result of the pandemic effect.

The launch of 5G networks has resulted in investments in mobile VoIP solutions. VoIP functionality on mobile phones is set to improve with the launch of these networks.

Due to the embedded app support offered by several VoIP providers, businesses will take advantage of mobile-enabled virtual numbers more than before. Mobile virtual numbers will soon be adopted by professionals for business calls, team meetings, and conferencing.

4. Increased Adoption of Virtual Phones in Academic Institutions

As a result of the pandemic, remote work became more popular than ever–and not only among employees. Remote learning has also affected academic institutions, requiring them to quickly find a method to deliver education. Education institutions found virtual cloud phones an ideal choice because they provided a reliable backbone for interactive software use.

In academia, virtual cloud telephony will deliver long-term benefits long after the pandemic is over:

• Virtual cloud telephony can reduce costs and enhance communication between multiple locations.
• With virtual cloud telephony, users can communicate quickly, securely with large populations (such as text alerts), making it a valuable security tool.
• Learning relies on collaboration, and virtual cloud telephony facilitates that collaboration among students, educators, parents, and administrators. 

5. Artificial Intelligence

We are surrounded by artificial intelligence. It’s on Netflix and tries to recommend shows that are right for you. You get updates from people who relate to you because of the use of AI from your social media platforms. You’ll also see it on sites you visit where you can chat with an agent about what you need help with.

There is no reason to expect virtual cloud telephony to be different in the coming years. A recent study by IDC found that automated customer service agents are among the biggest investments, along with automating sales processes and technologies focused on preventing threats.

2021 has seen a significant change in investment for AI-based startups, increasing its use across a wide range of industries. We expect that this virtual cloud telephony trend will continue into 2022 and beyond. Professionals have quite a few advantages with this technology.

Customer self-help options have improved service delivery in the call center industry by allowing customers to quickly find solutions, which allows agents to tackle more challenging issues. Using AI through bots will also provide businesses with invaluable insight into customer behavior.

6. Increased Attention to VoIP Security

Thanks to the nature of VoIP, which sends voice packets over the internet, virtual cloud phones have increased vulnerabilities.

According to Accenture research, nearly 70 percent of business leaders think cybersecurity is becoming a major issue, and small businesses usually bear the greatest impact when it comes to cyberattacks.

DDoS attacks have been reported against at least three VoIP providers, including large providers such as Bandwidth.com, since August 2021. Virtual cloud telephony services such as RingCentral and Twilio are affected more by these attacks because they use the same servers.

The number of DDoS and ransomware attacks are only expected to increase in the coming year, according to research published by MSSP Alert (Managed Security Service Provider).

Security risks, including DDoS and packet sniffers, which track, log, and steal voice data packets as they travel, also pose a significant threat. In an era when VoIP-based systems are becoming more ubiquitous, many providers are making security a priority.

A multi-layer security solution needs to offer solutions to both protect data on remote servers around the world and facilitate communication between remote workers and colleagues using personal devices.

We can expect smaller businesses to take additional steps when it comes to encryption and data protection practices in the New Year. When it comes to VoIP security, it is often better to handle it at the business level rather than strictly at the provider level.

The business world will be improving password policies and protocols, as well as implementing end-to-end encryption for external devices employees use.

More and more virtual meetings and team collaborations occur via the internet due to the emergence of a distributed workforce. Now that so many data packets are going to places that are traditionally unprotected, like your employee’s home, it is time to consider how you will safeguard your data in 2022.

7. Incorporating VoIP & WebRTC Applications

Over the next few years, WebRTC with VoIP and other online communication platforms will continue to grow in importance as organizations transition to post-COVID workspaces and team-based dynamics and communication.

Businesses and organizations can ensure that their teams are always up to date and informed about operations with the integration of real-time media and notifications available through any web browser (e.g., desktop notifications for emails, phone calls, chat apps).

By combining WebRTC with VoIP phone lines, users can receive calls through a web browser or a desktop or smartphone application rather than requiring additional phones or devices. This also eliminates unnecessary forwarding of phone lines or minutes.

8. Contending With Video Chat Services

As video chat communications services such as Facebook Messenger and FaceTime compete with VoIP providers, virtual cloud telephony providers are facing stiff competition.

Virtual cloud telephony providers are upgrading their technology platforms in an effort to compete with the industry’s stalwarts.

Virtual cloud telephony solutions, for example, support a variety of communication networks, so you don’t have to use multiple platforms in business communication.

Video chat solutions can also be integrated with VoIP solutions, allowing you to seamlessly use both services. 

9. VoIP Support for IoT

As VoIP devices evolve, they’ll do more than send voice and video packets. VoIP will remain relevant as long as it ensures that the endpoints, such as cameras and speakers, will be able to communicate with each other. VoIP and IoT go hand-in-hand here.

The Internet of Things enables all internet-connected devices to exchange data more efficiently. As technology advances, VoIP will become increasingly important in the IoT data collection and transmission process.

By combining VoIP with IoT, businesses can achieve a breakthrough inefficiency. A smart office, for instance, enables companies to boost productivity. In this way, employees have access to all of the information they need wherever they are at any time. You can also have voice-activated workspaces that record meetings for you if you ask the VoIP to do so.

10. Telephony Data for Business Performance

By using VoIP, you can automatically get many useful insights regarding the frequency and length of your communication with your customers, as well as where you need more call center resources.

Make sure you integrate cloud telephony service and CRM software. This will allow the apps to interact with each other in real-time, be in real-time, and receive automatic updates.

Conclusion

The benefits of virtual cloud telephony are tangible for businesses. Compared with traditional phone systems and communication methods, virtual cloud telephony can be a cost-effective solution for small businesses. In the meantime, businesses can utilize it to conduct sales transactions and business-related calls.

Business communication via virtual could phone will very well become the standard technology over the next few years. However, these systems are still evolving, as with any modern technology.

A few years from now, disruptive technologies like 5G networks, UCaaS, and artificial intelligence will undoubtedly alter the industry’s landscape.

Additionally, more and more companies are trying new strategies for communication, such as mobile technology, smart assistants, and video conferencing.

In the virtual cloud telephony and Unified Communications (UC) industries, the year 2021 has been marked by significant changes. New technologies are making business communication even more convenient – from anywhere.

Companies are consolidating, partnerships are forming, and new technologies are enabling companies to communicate more effectively. The future of virtual cloud telephony and UC proves to be promising in 2022 and some truly unique developments are likely to change business communications.