The Internet. An innovative disrupter. Since the rise of Voice of Internet Protocol (VoIP) many single-service telephony providers have been rendered obsolete.

As a result, legacy telcos have seen their value propositions deteriorate substantially. Most voice callers opt for Internet-based telephone services due to wider product offerings which include voice, video and data capabilities, as well as added convenience.

Competition between VoIP providers is strong, especially since tools and apps offering communication functionality have saturated the market.  

All in all, this comes at an interesting time. The fundamentals of business are changing. It was inevitable the price of voice would fall and continue falling, especially as capabilities are often given away as a side-deal to data.

Greater customer expectations in recent years do also not complement struggling business models. Increased demands but little profits mean legacy telco providers must do more with less. This is proving almost impossible in the current climate.

So how can telephony providers survive in the age of IP? The first thing would be to leverage existing selling points.

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Work with technology, not against it

Voice is still a crucial part of business. Every company needs a phone number, and traditional telephony infrastructure is much more reliable than Internet-based alternatives.

As long as internet connections are flawed, your industry needs your business because your customers need a phone number. Not everyone has shifted to VoIP because simply enough, traditional infrastructure still works. But that’s not enough.

Although new technology may have been what got your business into this mess, embracing new tech will put you in good stead to deal with current issues. That’s why you need automation.

Sure, you’re worried about robots replacing people, about modern technical requirements that cost a fortune, and maybe dystopian stories. But the things is, you don’t need to invest in extreme tech, like machine learning or artificial intelligence, just to stay in the game. Automation presents you with a solution in just lines of code – and you can certainly use automation to enhance your workforce rather than replace it.

Automation is a tried-and-tested method for improving business in any industry; everything from internal processes to public-facing marketing has benefitted from automation. Forbes noted that adopters have so far been only enterprise-grade companies. But going forward, small businesses will begin to adopt robotic process automation. It’s time for telephony providers to do the same.

Want to reduce staffing numbers? Or enhance your current team’s capabilities? Improve customer service while cutting costs? Develop a more efficient and effective business model without costly overheads? Sure you do.

Software solutions like automation can drastically cut your outgoings by performing a range of routine work more timely, effectively and efficiently than people, cutting expense while also ridding chances of human inconsistency.

The simple answer to telephony’s decreasing profits, declinining business model, and increased customer expectations is to implement automated strategies.

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Process automation is important for any C-level’s toolkit

Your new automated business model will consistently deliver high-quality services due to the removal of variables. It delivers a standardized process that is performed identically while also managing customer expectations, resulting in better customer service and thus loyalty.

There are also two time-orientated benefits:  not only are tasks performed at a much quicker rate than they would be manually, but turnaround times are also reduced. This is done through the removal of process steps which optimizes your production, service, and billing flow.

By using less time to do such tasks, you’re also using fewer resources. This, again, means you’re spending less.

Companies can implement automation as much or as little as they want, and there’s plenty of room to streamline once in place. So even in the age of VoIP, your telephony company can not only survive but thrive.

This is all particularly true for automation solutions like SpeakIntelligence’s telephony widget, which removes providers’ need for a back office entirely. The widget allows you to reap the benefits of automation whilst simplifying international phone number ordering, offering custom call routing packages.

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