Here at GoTo, we’re seeing a lot of Australian business owners who need something more from their phone systems. They’re warming up to the simplicity and economy of the latest generation of cloud-based phones.
But is it worth going through the trouble of upgrading their business phones? Yes, the advantages abound! Cloud-based business phones can communicate on any internet-connected device, including smartphones, laptops, and desktop computers. Unlike legacy PBX systems based on hardware that’s complicated and expensive to install and maintain, cloud-based systems use the software-as-a-service (SaaS) model, which is typically more economical, easier to use, and can be managed from anywhere.
We’ve heard from customers and seen the move to cloud-based solutions first-hand. The pandemic forced remote work on most and caused a scramble to purchase more flexible solutions. We wondered how common these issues were and got together with market researchers at Frost & Sullivan to find answers.
Survey finds widespread need for IT simplicity and consolidation
The IT leaders Frost & Sullivan surveyed (1,000 respondents globally and 100 in Australia) said that the shift to remote work complicated their lives and made their operations less efficient. More than eight out of 10 respondents said their IT workloads were either significantly higher (38%) or somewhat higher (46%).
Thus, it was no surprise that nine out of 10 said reducing IT team workloads was either very important (59%) or somewhat important (31%).
They weren’t necessarily starving for funds to address these issues. Three-quarters of respondents enjoyed rising IT budgets, which were either significantly higher (40%) or somewhat higher (35%). Where did the extra money go? The top destinations were upgrading existing hardware (49%), hiring more IT specialists (47%) and buying new tools to improve IT team performance (45%).
Many companies added tools as needed during the pandemic to handle communication, collaboration, and IT management and support. In 2022, more than half (55%) want to consolidate these tools in a single platform. The respondents’ consolidations were either complete (38%), in progress (44%) or planned for 2022 (16%).
GoTo Connect in action
Like their peers worldwide, our Australian customers needed quick fixes when the COVID-19 pandemic forced them to switch to remote work and adopt new communication and collaboration tools. Before they moved to GoTo Connect, many of them had a tangle of bolted-on communication tools. This created messy technology environments that were crying for a cleanup.
GoTo Connect, our cloud-based phone, meeting, messaging and collaboration platform, is helping Australian businesses adapt to this new landscape by giving them tools to overcome inflexible legacy systems, streamline customer support, and clean up their technology stack. We’ve highlighted three Australian customers’ unique stories, detailing their challenges, solution, and results:
Umart, a family-owned and operated computer retailer in Brisbane, Australia with three major distribution centers and ten retail locations across the country. Umart prizes the advanced call-management features in GoTo Connect. “GoTo gives us a lot more control than what we had before,” says Evan Casey, Umart’s head of customer service. “Now we’re in a position to make changes to our IVR (interactive voice response) easily. Just recently, we needed to change how queues operated, and we were able to experiment with our options over the course of a couple of hours, something we would never have been able to do previously.” Read the case study.
PayChoice, a digital-payments provider based in Melbourne. PayChoice needed simpler technology and more expansive customer support. "We experienced many issues with our previous provider, including accessing support," says Tanith Buda, national operations manager at PayChoice. "It would be one minute past five o’clock and the support lines were closed. This was a big deal for us because we are national, working with different time zones, and also working on public holidays." New tools and 24/7 support from GoTo Connect resolved these challenges, emboldening the company to try new business opportunities. “This whole experience has really given us the confidence to be able to set up a whole new department based off GoTo Connect,” Buda says. Read the case study.
Y Whittlesea (previously known as YMCA Whittlesea), a local Not-for-Profit community organisation based in Melbourne’s northern suburbs. The pandemic forced many of Y Whittlesea’s employees to work from home. GoTo Connect helped Y Whittlesea adapt quickly. “It only took me a couple of weeks to learn the admin side of things and set up the dial plan, and staff training took another week,” says Carolyn Kleiman executive assistant at Y Whittlesea. “It gives our employees the flexibility to move about, making them happier and more satisfied with their jobs. With much of our staff still working from home, having GoTo has most definitely increased our productivity.” Read the case study.
A communication platform that supports business goals
Our survey with Frost & Sullivan noted the top three priorities of Australian businesses: raising revenues (31%), slicing expenses (29%) and boosting efficiencies (28%). As our customer case studies revealed, GoTo Connect can help with all three. Simple, efficient and economical communication tools give companies the freedom to stop fiddling with phones and start pursuing more opportunities.
