The transition from on-premises telephony systems to scalable cloud-based contact centers is happening. No question about that, the need for an omnichannel customer service experience that meets a customer on their preferred channel isn't in question. But the element that is still difficult to solve is how to choose the right connectivity provider to support the vision of your modern contact center.
Why Is Connectivity Important?
For decades, the traditional telco-operated public switched telephone network (PSTN) was the only option to make or receive phone calls, by using a trunk to connect a contact center to the carrier. Today, the global shift to mobile calling and VoIP services makes landlines almost obsolete, and it’s become more expensive than ever before to manage and update legacy connections to PSTN equipment.
The contact center of the future will be built to connect with customers in any way they choose. Moving away from legacy connectivity and adopting SIP trunking ensures that contact centers can build the digital communications experiences that customers expect.
Advantages of SIP Trunking Over Legacy Connectivity
SIP trunking offers several advantages over legacy connectivity. Here are five important reasons why you should pick SIP trunking:
- Cost — With SIP trunking, you don't have to maintain separate networks for data and phone calls, so the cost of infrastructure is much less than with legacy connections. Plus, IP hardware has a much longer lifespan than devices needed for legacy connections, so investments made into the technology bring a higher ROI at a lower price. All you need for SIP trunking is sufficient broadband Internet bandwidth, which means contact centers can operate virtually from anywhere without the need for investing in a physical office space or building.
- Flexibility — Because SIP trunking relies on data transfer rather than physical equipment, implementation and usage are more flexible than legacy connectivity. Installing and upgrading SIP trunks can be done quickly and easily without the purchase of expensive new hardware.
- Global Coverage — A SIP signal is controlled like data, so phone numbers aren't determined by the location of equipment. A company headquartered in Tokyo can have local phone numbers for satellite offices in Los Angeles and London. Similarly, callers can be reached regardless of location.
- Reliability — With SIP, your company can have two or more predetermined IP addresses or phone numbers for failover of incoming calls. Since calls are typically forwarded to a public Internet connection, there isn’t a limit on the number of simultaneous calls that your company can forward with SIP trunking.
- Simple Maintenance — Legacy connections are harder to manage and maintain. SIP trunking offers easy-to-use administrative portals for on-site management, including actions like adjusting call routing, changing extensions, or adding phone lines fully on demand.
At Twilio, we have enabled so many businesses to unlock global scale and all of these benefits by moving their legacy connectivity to Twilio Elastic SIP Trunking. If you’re interested in learning more,
read our ebook.