Natalie van der Merwe, Vox

Cloud PBX (Private Branch Exchange) is not a new concept and is the evolution of unified collaboration technologies. It combines the reliability of traditional telephony with the flexibility of cloud technology, and should assist businesses in navigating hybrid work complexities. According to a recent Forrester report, 70% of telecommunications decision makers are either adopting or planning to adopt UCaaS (Unified-Communications-as-a- Service) solutions, with cloud PBX being a critical component of this change. By moving to cloud-based telephony, businesses can eliminate the maintenance burden of on-premises PBX systems and achieve up to a 30% reduction in total communication costs, says Forrester.

Natalie van der Merwe is the head of telephony at Vox. She’s been working in the PBX area for over two decades, and says it’s only been in the last four years that there’s been a marked acceleration in adoption. “The only thing stopping a business from moving to cloud PBX is if it doesn’t have a smart infrastructure available,” she says.