Traditionally, senior living facilities resort to using a telephone system that is limited to the premise, whether it is hardwired phone lines that run off of old telephone companies’ copper wires or on-premise private branch exchange (PBX) systems. However, more companies have shifted their communications approach to leverage phone systems that are run on the cloud. That’s because it’s designed to save costs while providing support to reduce interruption in communication. These strategies all work to improve the efficiency of operations at your senior living facility. If your senior living facility has yet to move to the cloud, you may be missing out on important benefits that a cloud-hosted PBX can bring. Here are five reasons for moving your senior living facility’s phone systems to the cloud.
1. Enhanced Disaster Recovery
When disaster strikes, it’s vital to have a robust communication system in place. Power outages frequently occur after severe or catastrophic weather, such as tropical depressions, tornadoes, hurricanes and earthquakes. In fact, severe weather accounted for approximately 679 power outages in the United States between 2003 and 2012. These power outages can knock out communication that relies on routers to transfer communication. Routers have to be plugged into outlets to work, and even the backup batteries do not last beyond a few hours. This can cause an issue among on-premise PBX systems that rely on a wireless connection. A PBX system that is hosted in the cloud offers reliability in the event of a disaster, because it reduces the likelihood of service interruption by using a network of data centers that help prevent the loss of important data.
2. Improve Internal Communication Systems With Reliability
When you invest in technology to enhance your operations, it’s vital that it works and is reliable. However, on-premise PBX systems are often prone to higher downtimes than cloud-hosted PBX. That is because PBX systems that are hosted on the premises have a single point of failure. When one failure occurs, it affects the entire system. This hampers communication, which can adversely impact the support your staff can provide to the residents of your facility. However, you can support your senior living facility with unified communications solutions, such as a hosted PBX, to improve internal communication. Its robust support works to enhance reliability. Moreover, you can leverage a hosted PBX service provider that provides implementation and management support, such as the services provided by MIX Networks, so you can focus on running your operations.
3. Save Costs While Realizing New Revenue Streams
There is no doubt that on-premise PBX systems can be expensive. Much of this expense is attributed to the maintenance of the system. If a system failure occurs, you will need to call a specialist to fix the issue. When the PBX system is located on the premises of the facility, it can increase costs. However, cloud-supported PBX systems require little to no maintenance. This helps to make hosted PBX systems more cost-effective for your senior living facility. Additionally, it can be costly to update the software for on-premise PBX systems. On the other hand, a hosted PBX can be updated consistently with minimal or no costs. This helps you save time and money while keeping communication and data secure.
Moreover, when you use a hosted PBX system, you can leverage their features to realize new streams of revenue. For example, you can leverage a hosted PBX’s feature to provide international extensions and voicemail transcription so prospective residents who are traveling or currently live afar can communicate with you, ensuring that your team does not miss an opportunity to convert leads into paying residents. This helps to promote business continuity over time.
4. Enhance Security
Keeping your residents’ information secure is a standard when you’re running a senior living facility. Elderly individuals are often targets for identity theft, phone scams and other elder-targeted crimes. It’s also important to keep your business’s information safe from being tampered with or accessed by unauthorized users. Data breach and ransomware is becoming all too common. Small businesses and medical facilities are often targeted, too. Hackers can locate vulnerabilities in networks and compromise your system while accessing pertinent information and possibly tap into conversations. However, hosted PBX phone systems help to mitigate these security risks by with advanced encryption support. Messages are encrypted so that only the parties authorized in the conversations understand the message. Moreover, you’ll be able to monitor incoming and outgoing messages and information with the capabilities of a cloud-hosted PBX phone system. This helps to ensure the information you communicate over the phone is safe.
5. Get Mobile
Being able to move around and connect to mobile devices can improve the efficiency of your senior living facility’s operation. Unlike on-premise PBX systems, a hosted PBX allows your staff to answer phones and calls even when they are not on their desk phone. That is because a cloud-hosted PBX phone system has the capability to support mobile devices. By using a cloud-hosted PBX system for your senior living facility, you don’t have to limit your communication to one office.
Final Thoughts
Keeping the residents of your senior living facility safe and secure is essential. That’s why it’s vital to employee a phone system that offers a variety of features and capabilities that can support multiple lines and multiple devices whether you’re in a disaster or. With a hosted PBX, you can improve the efficiency of your communications and operations at your senior living facility.
