In today's world, customers interact with businesses in a multitude of ways. Social media websites and online collaboration tools give people a direct line to your company and can be used to quickly resolve issues. It's true that cloud-based applications have upended the way business is done, but no matter how many apps and new technologies develop, the best way to communicate is still via a good 'ol fashioned phone conversation.

Where business interactions are concerned, several conversations are even better. Especially when data from those calls is saved, analyzed, and then parsed to any front- or back-end business application that can use it. The only way to do that is to integrate a flexible voice-over-IP (VoIP) telephony system with your customer-facing, back-end systems, especially customer relationship management (CRM). Having an IP-enabled and feature-filled telephone system is still highly important for any business, particularly one that's capable of being fully integrated into your sales, marketing, email marketing, and general business initiatives at a software level.

A key indicator that the phone is still a must-have is the helpdesk industry. According to multiple vendors of helpdesk and IT service desk software, their customers report that the telephone is still the most popular method for their users to reach out for support even when email, social media, and live chat options are enabled.

By : Paul Venezia