UCaaS (unified communications as a service) entered the world as the go-to cloud replacement for legacy PBXs. It took every communication and collaboration channel, including meetings, team chat, and voice, and put it on one platform.
Voice, however, is still vital in business communications. This leads us to the type of solution that elevates voice in the digital age, replacing its legacy counterparts and expanding communications beyond UCaaS. This is Continuant’s guide to Cloud Telephony.
In January 2025, Dave Michels wrote an article for No Jitter that makes a bold claim: unified communications as a service is stupid (UCaaSiS). Hot takes like that could start a war, but we’re not here to take sides. Agree or disagree with Michels’ conclusion, he makes very compelling points in the article.
A UCaaS platform includes meetings, team chat, and voice all at once. A convenient set up, but it doesn’t always mean that each component is the best-in-breed.
Beyond Microsoft, it’s no secret that for years now businesses have built their communications environments with disparate pieces. For example, a company may use Zoom for meetings while also using Slack for team chat. One selling point of UCaaS was that it eliminated the need for this, but for some businesses it may be better to manage communications in a more fragmented, old-fashioned way.
It may be a stretch to say UCaaS is stupid, but there’s another way forward. This is where it’s important to understand cloud telephony, and how it exists independently of a stack.
Cloud telephony takes features widely known from traditional PBX phone systems and moves them into the cloud. This provides the tremendous benefit of using call management, call queues, auto-attendants, and other essential telephony features without needing to rely on expensive hardware.
Certain UCaaS platforms, like Teams and Webex, offer their own built-in cloud telephony services, while providers like 8x8 and RingCentral provide standalone VoIP (voice over internet protocol) applications that can be integrated with just about any communications environment.
But enough generalities. Let’s get into the specifics. Here’s a list of cloud telephony providers for modern workplaces:
These platforms give organizations flexibility to build a communications environment that fits their needs—not just what’s bundled in a UCaaS package.
The best cloud telephony systems include a list of advanced features. These make them major upgrades over legacy systems.
Cloud telephony provides advanced calling features, giving it the full functionality one would expect from a traditional phone system. These include:
Many of the best modern cloud telephony solutions also include AI integration, adding intelligence and automation to standard calling. That, of course, will vary with each provider.
By moving voice to the cloud, cloud telephony gives its users opportunities to decommission existing systems, particularly devices like desk phones and PBXs. With this dramatic reduction in hardware and maintenance fees comes big savings.
Cloud telephony makes it easy for remote teams to make an answer calls from anywhere in the world. Overseas agents can do their job while relying on the same calling infrastructure as their team members in the office.
Best of all, it does all this through simple, easy-to-use cloud platforms. Even if you wind up using different solutions for voice, meetings, and messaging, they can all be brought together in a single window with help from applications like Continuant Connect.
Cloud telephony makes it easier than ever to track information such as:
For sales and customer service leaders, this information is invaluable, but it’s not meant to turn you into a CS agent taskmaster. Use it instead to find ways automation can help struggling agents, or to find where your customers need greater intervention.
For organizations that aren’t ready for or can’t afford a cloud migration, the hybrid route is the way to go. This approach enables them to transition at their own pace while protecting telephony investments, test cloud features without disrupting operations, and extend voice capabilities to better accommodate a global team.
While there are benefits to a hybrid environment, deploying one without proper consideration can be complicated, not to mention risky. This is especially true for organizations with an already heavy-laden IT team and no in-house telephony experts.
Continuant helps relieve IT teams, provide much needed expertise, and take the guesswork out of migrations.
Even as workplaces and the tools they use evolve, voice plays a critical role in customer support, high-stakes internal conversations, and any scenario where tone and clarity are essential.
Cloud telephony is the go-to solution for modern voice, and Continuant is here to help your organization get the most out of it. We’ll help you enable telephony within platforms like Teams and Zoom, or search for potentially better options from other vendors.
With 30 years of experience in the communications industry, we have unique expertise when it comes to legacy systems hybrid environments. If a solution combining the old and new is what you need, we can provide.
Our goal is to create a tailored solution that best suits your needs. We provide strategy, know-how, and support. You make the call.
Ready to bring clarity and consistency to your voice strategy? Let’s design your ideal solution—together.