Cloud Telephony for call center: Scaling CX with BICS

Modern contact centers are in crisis! With customer expectations at an all-time high and communication volumes increasing exponentially, traditional phone systems are struggling to keep up. Cloud telephony is increasingly being adopted as a scalable, resilient alternative, as businesses seek to modernise customer support.

According to Uptime Institute, 16% of data-center operators say their most recent outage incurred a cost of over $1 million. Whether it is dropped calls or system crashes during peak traffic, the limitations of legacy phone setups are no longer tolerable.

These systems, which rely on physical hardware and outdated PBX infrastructures, lack the scalability, visibility, and reliability to support a modern, omnichannel customer experience. 

This results in poor customer satisfaction scores, frustrated agents, and mounting operational costs.

The solution lies in the cloud. Specifically, cloud telephony offers call centers the agility, resilience, and intelligence needed to thrive in today’s digital-first world. At the forefront of this shift, BICS is leading with the enterprise-grade cloud telephony platform engineered to eliminate these pain points. 

We leverage global reach, carrier-grade infrastructure, real-time business phone analytics, and seamless integration with call center software to achieve this result.  

In this article, we dive deep into cloud telephony and what BICS offers businesses to streamline their communications. 

Legacy phone systems were never designed for the fast-paced, globally distributed call centers we have today. 

These call center software rely on outdated PBX hardware, rigid configurations, and isolated regional providers, making it hard to scale, integrate, or maintain basic voice reliability.

Even a single hour of downtime can cost enterprises millions,  making traditional, on-premise phone systems a risky liability for high-volume operations.

Traditional infrastructure cannot match customer expectations for 24/7, omnichannel, seamless support. 

You will face problems like:

• Dropped calls due to fixed capacity limits
• Lack of real-time visibility into voice traffic or quality
• Geographic inflexibility for scaling across regions
• High TCO due to hardware upgrades, maintenance, and fragmented vendor contracts

Cloud telephony is a phone system, a call center software that operates through an internet connection. 

It allows businesses to move their phone services to the cloud, eliminating the need for physical equipment like landlines and extensive on-premise hardware. 

This technology is often referred to as a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)-based hosted PBX solution.

Beyond just voice calls, cloud telephony is a type of Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS), meaning it integrates various communication systems and collaboration tools. 

This includes phone calls, video meetings, instant messaging, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) integration, and other business processes within a single, unified platform.

Cloud telephony leverages a virtual architecture that connects VoIP endpoints through the internet to a cloud communication provider, which manages all call routing, number provisioning, quality control, and compliance.

Here’s how a typical flow looks:

• Call is initiated via an agent, IVR, or customer device.
  
• SIP trunk connects the call to the cloud telephony provider.
  
• The provider routes the call globally, selecting the best path and gateway.
  
• The call reaches the recipient via PSTN, VoIP, or mobile networks.
  
• Call metadata and quality stats are captured in real time.

This means your business doesn’t need to manage physical hardware, carrier interconnects, or region-specific regulations; it’s all handled via call center software.

Top platforms like BICS Cloud Telephony exceed expectations even further with global routing, SIP interconnects in most countries in the world, and self-service portals like MyNumbers for provisioning.

Migrating to cloud telephony offers numerous advantages for businesses:

Companies can save significantly on traditional phone bills, potentially up to 50-65%. 

It eliminates maintenance contracts and reduces long-distance charges through direct extension dialing across locations. 

It also consolidates costs for various communication tools into a single, predictable fee.

Cloud telephony requires no on-site infrastructure, allowing businesses to get up and running quickly, often within days. 

Business providers manage the setup and configuration, minimising hassle and downtime.

Employees can access company phone lines and voicemails and manage call routing from anywhere with an internet connection. 

Hence, it becomes ideal for remote teams, satellite offices, or multi-location businesses.

Cloud telephony offers a wide range of call management features, including:

• Auto-attendant for routing callers to the right team.
  
• Call forwarding to direct inbound calls based on predefined criteria.
  
• Cloud contact center functionalities help customer support teams resolve issues faster with multichannel routing, automation, and analytics.
  
• Advanced IVR for conversational automated customer service.
  
• Video conferencing and screen sharing for productive remote meetings.
  
• Toll-free and local numbers to establish a local presence and make it easy for customers to reach you.
  
• Call recording for quality service and log maintenance.
  
• Authentication services for seamless customer verification.
  
• A2P messaging for timely SMS delivery. These features come with high-definition audio and video call quality.
  
• With programmable CPaaS, businesses can integrate messaging, voice, and verification APIs directly into their applications and workflows.

Cloud telephony acts as a unified communications platform, consolidating all communication information and tools into a single user interface. 

This streamlines workflows, making it easier to collaborate, manage customers, analyse data, and move projects forward. So there is no need to toggle between multiple disparate apps.

Reputable cloud telephony solutions boast high uptime, often 99.999%. 

They offer built-in redundancy, ensuring calls stay online even during power outages or connectivity issues.

At BICS, maintaining uninterrupted service is critical. That’s why we deploy globally distributed, high‑availability Session Border Controllers (SBCs) configured in active–standby pairs.

Each primary SBC is continuously mirrored by a standby peer (or redundant hardware module), enabling near-instant failover should any component go offline.

These SBC clusters also perform health checks via “heartbeat” signals over dedicated networks, ensuring rapid detection and switchover.
This architecture is combined with teams working in a 24/7 follow‑the‑sun model, ensuring our voice backbone is always resilient, scalable, and secure.

Cloud services provide clear insights into team communication and performance through business phone analytics features like call volume, call duration, traffic patterns, and missed calls. 

Real-time dashboards and automated reports enable proactive issue resolution and productivity boosts.

Cloud telephony platforms can integrate with CRM systems such as Salesforce, Zoho CRM, productivity tools like Google Workspace, and other unified communications platforms. 

This enhances employee productivity and improves customer experience by providing agents with the full context of customer interactions. 

BICS, for example, offers Operator Connect for Microsoft Teams to integrate calls into hybrid workplaces. 

This integration is powered through Microsoft Operator Connect, enabling direct routing, simplified provisioning, and enhanced voice reliability across Teams environments.

BICS Cloud Telephony is not just a VoIP overlay! It’s a full-stack global voice infrastructure solution built for call center software and regulated industries.

As one of the world’s largest global carriers, BICS operates its own global network infrastructure across 143+ Points of Presence (PoPs), offering unmatched quality, resilience, and global reach.

Here are the core capabilities:

• Global SIP trunking services with low-latency routing
• Phone number provisioning in 120+ countries
• Built-in compliance: GDPR, HIPAA, SOC 2
• Real-time monitoring and fraud detection
• 24/7 network operations support
• BYOC and Microsoft Operator Connect integrations

Businesses can also opt to bring your own carrier with BICS, enabling flexible carrier selection while retaining compliance and quality control.

Whether you’re centralising voice operations or launching in a new region, BICS provides carrier-grade quality with cloud-native flexibility.

The SIP trunking services we offer at BICS are a cornerstone of its cloud telephony solutions, designed to support scalable call center operations and global expansion. 

It allows businesses to scale across geographies and easily increase or decrease their communication channels in line with their business needs.

This flexibility is particularly beneficial for industries with high seasonality, where on-premise solutions are not cost-effective. 

BICS improves the reliability factor even further with direct cloud connectivity routes into hyperscalers and UCaaS platforms to reduce latency and improve call quality.

BICS’s SIP Trunking solution is fully compliant in every market with address management, emergency calling, directory services, and lawful interception. 

This extensive compliance and global footprint spans over 40 countries for SIP Trunking coverage and over 120 countries for number ranges with more than 10,000 area codes. 

It solidifies BICS as a reputable provider in global SIP Trunking, as recognised by Gartner®. 

Cloud telephony solutions provide powerful reporting and analytics features that offer clear insights into how teams communicate and perform. These insights can include tracking:

• Call volume: To understand peak call times and ensure adequate staffing.
  
• Call duration: To assess efficiency and customer engagement.
  
• Call traffic patterns: For both inbound and outbound calls, helping to refine support and sales strategies.
  
• Missed calls and response times: To identify and fix gaps, improve customer satisfaction and loyalty.

These real-time dashboards and automated reports allow businesses to stay updated on communication system performance and “address issues before they become big problems”. 

For example, businesses can proactively add staff or implement automated systems like IVR if calls are frequently missed during certain hours.

Cloud telephony platforms are designed for seamless integration with other business software. 

This is a critical aspect of Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS), which aims to bring various communication systems and collaboration tools together. 

Cloud telephony can integrate with:

• CRM systems: CRM platforms, such as Salesforce, Zoho CRM, or HubSpot, allow agents to quickly access customer history and context during interactions, which “improves employee productivity and helps you provide a better customer experience”.
• Productivity tools: Apart from Microsoft Office 365 or Google Workspace, it also includes Microsoft Teams integration, allowing organisations to centralise team collaboration and voice communication through one platform.
• Specific communication platforms: BICS, for example, offers Operator Connect for Microsoft Teams to integrate calls directly into hybrid workplaces.

These integrations streamline workflows, making it easier to collaborate, manage customers, analyse data, and move projects forward. It also eliminates the need to toggle between multiple disparate apps.

Reputable cloud telephony providers prioritise security and compliance, which is especially vital for regulated industries. 

Here are the primary security and compliance aspects:

• High Uptime and Reliability: Leading providers often offer a 99.999% uptime SLA (Service Level Agreement), ensuring business continuity and significantly reducing the chances of missing calls. This reliability often comes from redundant data centers equipped with uninterruptible power and gigabit fiber-optic network connections.

• Call Encryption: Providers ensure call encryption using protocols like Transport Layer Security (TLS) and Secure Real-time Transport Protocol (SRTP) to establish high-grade security for every call.

• Industry Compliance: Cloud telephony providers should meet various industry standards and certifications, such as:
  • HIPAA compliance: Essential for healthcare service providers handling sensitive voice and fax data.
  • ISO/IEC 27001: The global standard for security threat responses.
  • PCI compliance: For securely handling credit card payments.
  • SOC 2 compliance: Indicating incident response plans to protect privacy and data integrity.
  • GDPR compliance: Relevant for data protection in Europe.
• Fraud Prevention: BICS specifically highlights its 24/7 fraud prevention capabilities.

Migrating to cloud telephony offers significant cost efficiencies and a compelling return on investment (ROI). 

Businesses can save up to 50-65% on their traditional phone bill. This cost reduction is achieved by eliminating various expenses associated with legacy systems:

• No on-site infrastructure: Reduces significant upfront capital expenditures (CAPEX) for hardware and installation.
• Elimination of maintenance contracts: Providers handle all maintenance, reducing operational expenditures (OPEX).
• Reduced long-distance charges: When multiple locations are linked through direct extension dialing in the cloud, they no longer incur these charges.
• Consolidation of communication tools: Instead of paying for separate services like business SMS, video conferencing, fax, and file storage, cloud communications consolidate these costs into a single, predictable fee.
• Scalability: The ability to easily add or remove users and communication channels prevents overspending on unused capacity.

While scalability is one major benefit, global SIP trunking services from BICS also enable true operational unification. 

Many global enterprises struggle with fragmented communication systems, separate local carriers, and non-standardized infrastructure that slows response times and complicates compliance.

With BICS, you get a centralized SIP trunking services solution across 40+ licensed countries, backed by full number provisioning in 120+ geographies. 

With cloud numbers, enterprises can also localize communication quickly and establish regional presence without additional telecom contracts.

This means you can:

• Deploy services across multiple offices using one contract
• Avoid delays from managing regional telecoms
• Ensure consistent service and support globally
• Improve redundancy and failover across locations

This level of infrastructure harmonisation supports better service delivery and lowers IT overhead, making it a key differentiator in complex industries like BPO, finance, and travel.

The demands placed on modern contact centers will only grow. Legacy phone systems simply can’t keep up with global service expectations, remote work models, or omnichannel customer needs.

Cloud telephony represents a transformative shift in how businesses manage their communications. 

As an advanced unified communications platform, it bridges mobile and enterprise voice services into a single cloud environment.

Evidently, it is moving beyond the limitations of traditional systems to embrace internet-powered solutions that offer unparalleled flexibility, scalability, and integration capabilities.

BICS Cloud Telephony relies on its own infrastructure backbone to ensure enterprises can scale their call center operations efficiently and securely.

Whether you’re expanding internationally, seeking better voice reliability, or unifying fragmented infrastructure, BICS provides the compliance, resilience, and intelligence your call center needs to thrive.

• Why do our current phone systems keep failing during peak hours?

Legacy systems have fixed capacity limits and lack dynamic routing. Cloud telephony scales on demand, ensuring system uptime even during high traffic.

• How can we handle growing call volumes without constant system crashes
  

Using cloud-based SIP trunking, you can instantly expand voice capacity and distribute traffic across multiple routes with automated load balancing.

• What’s causing our high rate of dropped calls and poor call quality?

Common causes include insufficient bandwidth, poor routing, and lack of monitoring. BICS mitigates this through real-time quality analytics and global PoPs.

• How can we better route calls to the right agents with the right skills?

Use intelligent IVR and skills-based routing integrated with your CRM to direct callers to agents with the most relevant expertise in real time.

• Why can’t we get real-time visibility into our call center performance?

 Traditional phone systems don’t offer live analytics. Cloud telephony solutions provide dashboards and KPIs like ASR, latency, and call abandonment instantly.

• How do we reduce average handle time while improving customer satisfaction?

With integrated systems, agents access caller history instantly, while automation tools like IVR and call routing reduce call duration and improve outcomes.

• Can we integrate our phone system with our existing CRM and helpdesk tools?

Yes. Cloud telephony platforms like BICS offer out-of-the-box integrations with Salesforce, Zendesk, Microsoft Teams, and others via APIs or connectors.

• How do we unify our communication tools instead of managing multiple platforms?

You can unify communication tools by consolidating voice, messaging, video, and support tools into a unified communications platform (UCaaS), reducing silos and improving collaboration.

• What’s the best way to connect multiple call center locations?

You need to use a centralised SIP trunking solution with global routing to connect all sites under one platform, ensuring seamless communication and management.

• What’s the real cost of our current phone system versus cloud alternatives?

Traditional systems carry high CapEx and ongoing maintenance costs. Cloud telephony reduces spend by 50–65% by eliminating hardware and long-distance charges.

• How do we calculate ROI on a cloud telephony investment?

You need to factor in reduced downtime, lower IT overhead, faster deployments, improved agent productivity, and customer satisfaction scores. Get in touch with us for a call with one of our experts.

• What’s the business impact of our current communication limitations?

Poor call quality, downtime, and limited visibility can damage customer trust, increase churn, and inflate operational costs, affecting both revenue and brand.

• How do we ensure our customer data is secure during calls?

You need to use platforms that support TLS and SRTP encryption protocols, fraud detection, and access controls to protect sensitive data during voice communication.

• What compliance requirements do we need to meet in our industry?

 Depending on your industry and region, you may need to comply with GDPR, HIPAA, SOC 2, ISO 27001, and telecom-specific regulations.

• How do we maintain security without adding operational complexity?

You must choose a provider like BICS that embeds compliance and security into its core infrastructure, offering centralised control without extra tools or admin layers.

• What happens during a service outage? 

In the case of a service outage, BICS offers automatic failover and rerouting to maintain continuity.

• How long does it take to switch to a cloud telephony system?

Most enterprise deployments complete in 6–8 weeks with phased rollouts and minimal service disruption.

• What’s involved in migrating from our current setup?

The process typically includes number porting, SIP trunk provisioning, systems integration, testing, and training with provider-led support throughout.

• How do we minimise disruption during the transition?

You can use parallel deployment and pilot programs. BICS supports smooth transitions with onboarding teams, redundancy, and flexible provisioning.

• Can we retain our existing numbers? 

Yes. BICS offers full number portability and streamlined provisioning for the locations highlighted on the MyNumbers portal.

• What support does BICS offer? 

24/7 NOC, dedicated account managers, and proactive monitoring ensure enterprise-grade support.

• Should we invest in cloud telephony or stick with our current system
  

If your priorities include scalability, cost savings, better analytics, and remote-readiness, cloud telephony is the future-proof choice.

• Which cloud telephony provider can handle our enterprise-scale needs?

You need to choose a carrier-grade provider like BICS with global coverage, SLA-backed uptime, regulatory compliance, and seamless integrations.

• How do we future-proof our call center infrastructure?

You must adopt a flexible, API-driven, cloud-native voice platform with analytics, global SIP trunking, and built-in compliance to scale with evolving needs.