Have you been wondering how telecommunications have been changed by cloud computing? Or, more specifically, how toll free numbers have been changed by these recent developments in telecommunication? If so, we’ll take a look at modern toll free numbers in this article, including how modern toll free number work and the many benefits that are available.
How Modern Toll Free Numbers Work
Toll free calling is a relatively simple concept: When a caller decides to call your business (ex. Using an 800 number in the United States), the caller isn’t charged for making the call. Instead, the business foots the bill in order to facilitate communication and accommodate its customer base.
However, as you may or may not know, when an international caller dials a domestic toll free number, that call is no longer toll free – which defeats the purpose. Instead, international callers may be billed a long-distance fee or they may be blocked by their telecom service provider.
That’s why toll free numbers that use cloud computing technology circumvent this problem by offering UIFN and ITFS numbers (Universal International Freephone Numbers and International Toll Free Service numbers, respectively). These phone numbers not only enable international callers to call your business toll free, but they also are identical to toll free numbers within those countries.
It should be noted that these modern toll free numbers use the cloud, not landline technology, to place callers in touch with one another. The technology behind this is cloud-based, with the most prominent aspect being Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). Essentially, when a caller dials your toll free number, the call is instantly redirected to any phone number of your choice, anywhere around the world.
Benefits of Toll Free Numbers
Because toll free numbers can be cloud phone numbers, there are a wide variety of functionalities and add-ons that can be utilized to greatly exponentiate how your business functions. For instance, let’s take call recording – one of the most popular add-ons available from qualified service providers. Just as the name implies, call recording records conversations made to your toll free number between your employees and the public. While the most immediate benefit is that your business has a record of calls for quality control and liability concerns, there is also the ability to bring your organization into compliance with international regulatory legislation, which is particularly important for industries such as finance, investing, banking, and more.
Toll free numbers powered by cloud computing also come with a versatility that traditional landlines fail at. First, setting up a toll free number has never been easier, especially considering that most service providers offer unlimited tech support and intuitive dashboards to control your communications. Second, any device that has audio capabilities and the ability to connect to the Internet can use these toll free numbers with ease. Organizations no longer have to pay for proprietary software and hardware (i.e. headsets), which can significantly increase overheads as you scale your operation.
Toll free numbers also have the benefit of helping your business establish a worldwide presence at minimal cost. Consider, for instance, the amount of capital and time that it would take for a new business to enter international markets. This includes the time spent setting up the business, analyzing markets, hiring and training foreign staff, leasing property, and a multitude of other concerns. With toll free numbers on the cloud, your business can test the waters by simply pairing its service with outbound calling, an add-on that enables organizations to call out from their destination phone numbers and have the caller ID of the recipient reflect a toll free number that they’re familiar with.
As you can see, toll free numbers have vastly changed due in large part to the advancements made in cloud computing. Be sure to investigate service providers that offer toll free numbers with various add-ons and variety to ensure that your company is in line with how businesses run in the 21st century.
Author’s Bio: Tom Senkus is a telecom writer that specializes in popularizing the newest functionalities in cloud computing to bring value to new businesses and startups. For more information and a list of his published work, visit www.tomsenkuswriter.com
