With so much “cloud-talk” across every industry—many presume that every company with serious telecom operations has already moved there—but they haven’t. In fact, 20 to 25% of global companies are still using legacy PBX systems and MPLS networks and waiting to replace them and move over to SD-Wan/mesh solutions. These advancements can be done successfully after an infrastructure audit has been conducted to identify operational weaknesses and threat vulnerabilities and measuring efficiencies of each feature for usage optimization and increased productivity. Telecom leaders will then ask if it will be possible to move the technology forward without tripping over endless costs and causing too many disruptions while being done fast enough to still be relevant.

The answer won’t be a simple yes or no, and here’s why. The amount of time it takes to secure approval for a new telecom investment budget to the RFP announcement and award to installation and training can be a very lengthy one. What started as an impressive cutting-edge technology upgrade soon becomes a system lagging behind the newer, faster and more efficient innovations. That is the cloud has become the answer to stay competitive and relevant with the least amount of disruption and the most in cost savings. Below are four reasons companies should transition to the cloud seamlessly and upgrade as technology advances:

1. Supporting a remote workforce. A cloud-based phone system has the capabilities of accommodating employees, outsourced teams, and customers. Upgrading to cloud technology means more network and bandwidth to enhance the overall experience. Cloud-based systems provide access from anywhere, at any time, solving what is often referred to as the “BYOD” (bring your own device) challenge. Additionally, unified communications offer connectivity to smartphones, laptops, tablets and other devices, enhancing your ability to operate and service.

2. Significant cost savings. Many companies are still working with legacy PBX systems and assume their telecom costs are lower than upgraded systems. They usually aren’t. That is because they require expensive equipment maintenance contracts. When companies switch to a hosted model, depending on the size and breadth of the system, they have the potential of reducing their payments by as much as 40% during the life of the service contract.

3. Centralized Management. One of the more significant challenges in managing any kind of premise-based application is scaling the administrative functions. This can include setting up new users, applying patches, or updating features. The tasks may need to be repeated many times, depending on the architecture of the on-premises solution. With a hosted cloud solution, the administrative tasks are centralized, allowing the administrator to perform tasks once and be confident that those changes will take place company-wide.

4. Disaster Recovery. Disaster recovery capabilities are some of the most persuasive reasons to consider unified communications. This allows companies to maintain uninterrupted communications. While large companies can build redundancy into their systems, this can be cost-prohibitive for smaller enterprises or those with tight budgets. Being cloud-based offers users access to communications from any location, eliminating the need for redundancy.

Turning to the cloud is a solution for now and later. That is because advances in technology across telecom departments move at such an exponential pace and only cloud capabilities make it possible to stay current and relevant while making your next upgrade.