All businesses need communication tools. Whether you’re a customer-focused service industry or have a high level of internal comms, you need the right solutions to keep your team connected and productive.
Businesses across Northern Ireland need to understand the latest trends in business communication to make sure they’re using the best solutions for their needs and keeping ahead of emerging technology.
In today’s article, we’ll explore the latest trends and popular tech, focusing on advancements in phone systems and mobile plans, and how they can benefit businesses in Northern Ireland.
The evolution of business communications in Northern Ireland
Business communication has changed a lot over the past decade. Traditional landlines are being replaced by more flexible and cost-effective solutions. The shift towards digital transformation has led businesses to adopt modern communication tools, and the end of legacy telephony is just around the corner.
Cloud-based telephony has erupted onto the market, offering everything from efficiency and flexibility to increased productivity and predictable costs. Then there’s business mobile solutions, which have become increasingly popular, integrating with phone systems and helping roaming and remote staff feel connected with their team.
Whilst all these changes are helping businesses to stay connected, regardless of location, there’s a lot to choose from to create your perfect agile work environment. Let’s dig a bit deeper.
Why telephony still matters in modern business communication
Despite the rise of digital communication platforms, including CRM tools and email, telephony remains an important communication tool. We all know voice calls provide a personal touch that emails and messages often lack, and you can get answers quickly, alongside offering a great customer experience.
Modern telephony systems offer features such as call forwarding, voicemail-to-email, and integration with customer relationship management (CRM) tools.
For businesses in Northern Ireland, it’s important to have reliable telephony solutions to support communications with clients and partners. Now is the time to invest in advanced solutions, such as cloud phone systems, which are scalable to help your business grow.
Cloud phone systems: the backbone of scalable business communications
Move over, traditional telephony, cloud phone systems are taking over. By leveraging the internet to manage calls, these systems are perfect for teams of all sizes. Offering scalability, flexibility, and cost savings, businesses can easily add or remove lines, access advanced features, and integrate with other digital tools. It’s a big upgrade from old legacy telephony.
In Northern Ireland, transitioning to a cloud phone system allows businesses to operate efficiently across multiple locations – particularly beneficial for hybrid teams.
The Big Switch Off – what it means for you
Have you heard about the ISDN/PSDN switch off? Well, as we touched on earlier, legacy telephony will soon be cancelled. This includes any ISDN an PSDN products such as landlines and fax machines.
Any businesses still running a landline must migrate to an alternative solution, otherwise you’ll end up without a connection. The deadline for the switch off is currently January 2027, and whilst that might feel far away, you’ll need to research the right alternative products, such as cloud hosted VoIP or on-premise VoIP, and get these set up ahead of the deadline.
If you’re not sure where to start or want to discuss your switch off options, our team can help.
The rise of business mobile plans for flexible workforces
Nowadays, mobiles aren’t just personal devices, they’re being rolled out across businesses. Helping teams stay connected and access work on the go, business mobile plans are tailored to your needs, providing employees with a range of tools. With Barclay mobile, you can expect features such as shared data pools, international roaming, and mobile device management, all essential for mobile productivity and security.
Barclay Bounce: discover the flexible business mobile tariff
Modern businesses need flexibility, and Barclay Bounce is designed to offer just that. Our flagship product and flexible tariff is your mobile’s new best friend.
No more being tied down to a single network for your entire contract, Barclay Bounce lets you switch between EE, Vodafone, and O2, all under one simple bill, penalty free. It offers choice, 99.9% coverage and convenience for your entire team, with the ability to switch networks once a year for free. Think of it as network-hopping freedom, with all the admin handled behind the scenes by us.
Barclay Bounce is all about network flexibility, contract stability, and billing simplicity. No need to juggle multiple bills and no getting stuck with poor coverage. Chat to us about Barclay Bounce.
Key trends shaping the future of telephony and business communication
There are a number of trends influencing the future of business communication, let’s take a closer look:
- Integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI): AI-powered tools, such as virtual assistants and chatbots, are on the rise, helping internal workflows.
- Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS): combining various communication channels into a single platform, UCaaS boosts efficiency and user experience.
- 5G connectivity: the rollout of 5G networks promises faster and more reliable mobile communication, useful for businesses with high data demands.
- Advanced security measures: as communication becomes more digital, strong security protocols are needed to protect sensitive information.
Choosing the right business communication solution in Northern Ireland
All the options can feel overwhelming, and selecting the best communication tools for you requires careful consideration, here’s some important factors to consider:
- Assess business needs: identify your communication requirements, perhaps remote access, scalability, and integration capabilities.
- Support and reliability: choose a provider with robust customer support and reliable service uptime (hint – Barclay offers all of the above)!
- Budget and cost-effectiveness: look at the numbers – cost of ownership, including setup and maintenance, and potential savings from upgrading your solutions. (We can help you find a cost-effective solution!)
Ready to onboard cloud phone systems, VoIP or business mobile?
You can’t escape the advancements in technology and the evolving digital world we live in, but with productivity-boosting tools and business mobile plans like Barclay Bounce, why would you want to?
Cloud phone systems and tailored business mobile plans aren’t just important tools to stay ahead of things such as the ISDN switch off, they’re also tools for companies to compete against their market.
For businesses in Northern Ireland, staying informed about emerging trends the latest communication tools is a great start, but chatting to specialists can really help you find your feet.
Contact us today to explore customised solutions that meet your unique needs.
