A Brazilian court has dealt a major blow to Apple’s tightly controlled ecosystem, ordering the tech giant to allow sideloading on iOS within 90 days. The ruling follows similar mandates in the EU, signaling a global push for more open digital marketplaces.
With Apple commanding nearly 60% of the U.S. mobile market and over 62% in Japan, the decision could set off a domino effect worldwide.
How does sideloading affect iOS users?
Sideloading occurs when a mobile smartphone user downloads an app from a source other than the official App Store. In this case, the App Store remains the sole distribution channel — a model that Apple is determined to protect.
It’s clear why Apple wants to restrict third-party apps. According to StatCounter, the tech giant accounts for less than 30% of the global OS market share as of February 2025. Forcing users to download apps from the App Store is a surefire way to keep them in the iOS ecosystem.
However, users do receive some benefit from downloading apps exclusively from the App Store. Since all apps undergo a screening process, users know they’re receiving authentic software that isn’t going to harm their device. If they ever do experience an issue, technical support is usually available.
These safeguards don’t necessarily extend to apps that are downloaded from developer websites or other sources, but many users still want the freedom to choose. Despite already making similar accommodations in other regions, Apple insists that sideloading will have a negative impact on all iOS users.
Judge Pablo Zuniga, who overturned an injunction that would have given Apple more time to consider their next move, said that Apple “has already complied with similar obligations in other countries, without demonstrating a significant impact or irreparable damage to its business model.”
What does this mean for other countries?
If the ruling stands, similar legal battles could emerge worldwide. With the European Union already setting a precedent, and Brazil potentially following suit, other countries may soon join the movement. While the case in Brazil could be a major catalyst for a future disruption in the iOS ecosystem, it’s still too early to tell.
Following the latest ruling, Apple now has 90 days to remove all restrictions on sideloading for all Brazilian iOS users. As expected, the company plans to appeal the decision.
This article was written by TechnologyAdvice contributing writer J.R. Johnivan.
Smart IVR refers to Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems that can recognize and respond to human speech. Unlike traditional IVR — which relies on rigid menus and keypad inputs — smart IVR can interpret spoken language, ask clarifying questions, and adapt its responses based on customer needs.
This creates a smoother, faster experience that leaves callers more satisfied and businesses more efficient.
Now — you’ll see terms like “smart IVR,” “intelligent IVR,” “conversational IVR,” and “natural language IVR” that are often used interchangeably. The distinctions usually stem from marketing and branding rather than significant technical differences.
In this post I’ll help cut through the marketing noise to explain what smart IVR is, how it works, and what it can do.
For practical purposes, a smart IVR has the following capabilities that go beyond traditional systems:
Conversational capabilities: Using Natural Language Processing (NLP) to understand and respond to natural speech.
Dynamic routing: Adjusting call flows based on real-time customer inputs and historical data.
AI-driven insights: Using data from past conversations and machine learning to improve interactions and refine responses over time.
Supplemental smart IVR features
In addition to core capabilities, some vendors offer supplemental features that enhance the functionality of smart IVR systems. These features can provide additional value and address specific business needs:
Customer feedback surveys: Automatically prompt callers to provide feedback after their interaction, offering insights for continuous improvement.
Visual IVR: Extend IVR functionality to a smartphone interface, allowing users to navigate visually instead of verbally.
Outbound notifications: Proactively reach out to customers with reminders, updates, or alerts via automated calls or messages.
Multilingual support: Offer advanced language capabilities for seamless interactions with diverse customer bases.
Integration with third-party tools: Connect IVR systems to CRM, helpdesk, or analytics platforms for a unified workflow.
Generally, the best call center software supports all of these capabilities — just bear in mind that some vendors offer built-in solutions whereas others rely on third-party tools to support visual IVR, multilingual support, and other features.
How smart IVR works
When a caller dials in, the system greets them and invites them to describe their needs in their own words. Unlike traditional IVRs, which rely on fixed menus, smart IVRs use Automated Speech Recognition (ASR) and NLP to interpret the caller’s intent, ask clarifying questions if needed, and route them efficiently.
Behind the scenes, smart IVR systems use AI to analyze spoken input and match it to the most relevant solutions. They connect with customer data through CRM integration to personalize interactions, such as recognizing returning customers or recalling past issues.
Smart IVR systems also dynamically adjust call flows based on context, ensuring that each caller gets the appropriate response, whether it’s self-service, detailed information, or a transfer to a specific agent.
The result is a streamlined caller journey that balances speed and satisfaction. Callers spend less time explaining their needs or waiting for the right connection, while businesses benefit from reduced call handling costs and more effective agent utilization.
By combining advanced contact center technology with a focus on the user experience, smart IVRs ensure that every step of the journey feels purposeful and productive.
In terms of the performance metrics associated with call centers, Smart IVRs offer a number of attractive KPI-related benefits.
Shorter customer wait times
With Smart IVR, you can offer a greater range of self-service features, which can significantly reduce call center queuing times for customers. The intelligent routing features also cut down on wait times by connecting callers to the right department or agent without bouncing them from one agent to the next. And, since callers are able to get moving in the right direction a lot sooner, this can lead to a lower call abandonment rate and a higher first-call resolution rate.
Increased productivity and decreased stress for agents
Since smart IVR systems provide more ways for callers to perform basic inquiries on their own at any time of the day, it lessens the burden on live agents. This not only lets the call center’s employees focus on more complex (and less repetitive) tasks, but it also tends to lower burnout rates and call center turnover — ultimately saving your business money in the long run.
Improved data collection and analysis
A Smart IVR system also makes it simple to collect and evaluate large amounts of customer data. This supplements traditional IVR analytics with additional data points to optimize call flows and customer journeys. This data can also be used to gain deeper insights into customer bases and their pain points, effectively providing implied feedback that can help companies improve their products and get rid of common issues.
In a traditional contact center without Smart IVR, manual call routing errors and long wait times commonly lead to negative customer experiences and call abandonments. Smart IVR, however, greatly reduces the risk of human errors, leading to a better customer experience overall.
Lower customer support costs
With Smart IVR’s self-service options and intelligent call routing, there’s less of a need for a large team of live agents. This cuts down on staffing costs for businesses and organizations to save big bucks over time.
First Call Resolution (FCR): A high rate indicates that the IVR effectively resolves issues without needing multiple interactions. Look for trends where resolution rates drop, which could signal ineffective routing or unclear prompts.
Average call abandonment rate: A low abandonment rate suggests the IVR keeps callers engaged. A sudden spike might point to overly complex menus or extended wait times.
Customer Satisfaction (CSAT): Often measured through post-call surveys. Watch for declining scores, which could highlight areas where the IVR’s conversational capabilities or routing are falling short.
Average Handle Time (AHT): A steady decrease in handle time may reflect that the IVR is efficiently routing calls to the right agents. However, if it’s too low, it could mean callers are bypassing the system entirely due to frustration.
Cost per call: Track whether the IVR reduces costs over time. Rising costs might indicate inefficiencies in how calls are handled or routed.
Agent utilization rate: A well-functioning IVR should free up agents for more complex tasks. If utilization rates are stagnant, it may mean the IVR isn’t offloading basic queries as intended.
By tracking these metrics shortly after implementing your Smart IVR, you can more confidently assess whether your system is working and reduce the risk of making poor decisions based on inaccurate data.
Tips for implementing smart IVR
Implementing a smart IVR system requires thoughtful planning to ensure it meets both business objectives and customer needs. A well-executed rollout can streamline operations and enhance the caller experience, but achieving this balance takes more than just deploying the technology.
Here are a few IVR best practices and rules of thumb to help you maximize the system’s potential and set the stage for long-term success.
Give customers the option to bypass your IVR
No matter what, always provide an option to speak with a live agent. Doing so can help reduce customer frustration if they feel your IVR system isn’t helping them get the answers they need right away. Even if people don’t use the option, offering it early is a way to build trust and establish credibility during the opening moments of the caller journey.
Provide multiple caller response options
One way to streamline IVR call flow and make it more user-friendly is to offer both touch-tone and voice command options for your callers. This gives them the freedom to interact in whichever way they feel more comfortable. Likewise, doing so also provides a way for callers with unique accents and dialects to ensure that they can communicate with your IVR system properly.
Make your call routing smart and seamless
Implementing intelligent routing in your IVR system lets you transfer calls based on the caller’s phone number, making it possible for callers to speak with the same agent that handled their issue before. It can also transfer callers to agents who speak a specific language and move important calls to the front of the call queue. All of this leads to a more seamless and user-friendly customer experience overall.
Always map out your menu beforehand to ensure that it’s user-friendly, intuitive, and simple. This makes it easier for customers to understand your IVR system and reduces friction along the customer journey.
Use a realistic-sounding voice
Although Smart IVR systems generally have realistic-sounding voice options, test out a few and decide which one is the best one for your customers. Using the most realistic voice possible will help put callers at ease, make conversation more natural, and improve the customer experience.
By including a customer callback option in your Smart IVR system, your customers won’t have to wait in a call queue for an unknown amount of time. This gives them the freedom to go about their day without losing their place in line, and it also gives you an opportunity to optimize your call management system for your live agents.
A mesh Virtual Private Network (VPN) is a secure, flexible way for remote teams to communicate over the internet.
Unlike traditional client-server VPNs that route traffic through a central server, a mesh VPN connects each device directly to others, allowing for faster, more efficient data transmission. This decentralized approach ensures that every team member can securely access the network without relying on a single point of failure.
Mesh VPNs can provide superior flexibility and security in certain scenarios, but they’re not always the best solution for every network.
Understanding the distinctions between these two networks will be easier if you are familiar with how a VPN works and basic network terminology. Let’s go through both in detail.
A traditional VPN (aka: client-server VPN or centralized VPN) runs on a main server that acts as a central gateway for all data. This is known as a hub-and-spoke model, where all of your data traffic — including files, emails, and VoIP calls from one team member to another — gets routed through the primary intersection point before reaching its destination.
The problem with this is that if the main server goes down, everyone loses access to the network. Likewise, if a cyber attacker gains access to the system, all user data becomes vulnerable.
Another major complaint regarding traditional VPN technology is its unreliability. Specifically, since every data packet must flow through one central hub, sudden increases in traffic can create bottlenecks that slow down performance. If this happens during peak hours, for instance, users will be battling for bandwidth and get frustrated by network latency as a result.
Of course, you can sometimes restore network performance by turning off your VPN, but then you leave your network open to outside threats.
A mesh VPN is decentralized. Each device acts as both a client and a server, enabling direct communication with other devices in the network. In this way, it spreads network access across the entire system by connecting multiple devices, each acting as a point in the network.
Originally developed for military use, mesh technology was created to solve the problem of spotty connectivity in the field, keeping team communication secure and smooth in any location. Categorized as a Peer-to-Peer (P2P) model, the strength of a mesh VPN lies in its ability to route information among multiple pathways — which is much more efficient than routing through a central managing server.
On a mesh VPN, each node is its own access point, ensuring continued internet access for all users even if one loses connectivity. Instead of routing information along one pathway from the main server to each user, data travels from node to node along the fastest route available at any given moment, supporting faster service even with multiple users on the network.
With the traditional hub-and-spoke VPN, your central server gateway sits in one specific location. The farther you travel from this central hub, the slower and weaker your connection will be — especially as more family or team members hop onto the network. The solution offered by mesh VPN implements more hubs and/or nodes, creating a stronger connection across a wider space.
Smart devices such as phones and watches can act as nodes — and so can routers, desktop computers, gaming consoles, and additional servers. Together, these can all help create a convenient wireless network capable of providing reliable coverage across all areas of a home, an office building, or a remote working location.
Mesh VPNs still use at least one central server, called a control plane, to handle system-wide configurations and updates. From there, admins can customize various network settings, implement security measures, and adjust which nodes can communicate with each other. Keep in mind that you don’t have to manage this system yourself, as the best enterprise VPN providers offer cloud-hosted options, so you don’t have to manage it yourself.
Full mesh vs partial mesh VPN
In a full mesh VPN, every device or node is directly connected to every other device in the network. This means that data can be transmitted between any two nodes without needing to go through a central point. This design offers redundancy and flexibility, as multiple communication paths are available between devices. However, it also requires more careful management of each node’s connections and resources.
A partial mesh network connects only specific nodes, coordinating which devices can communicate with one another based on network needs or roles. This approach can reduce complexity and resource use, as fewer direct connections are needed. Each node in a partial mesh can be individually programmed, which makes it an ideal setup for testing new software, security features, or configurations on a small scale.
Downsides to mesh networks
Despite how mesh VPNs address many of the issues associated with traditional hub-and-spoke networks, there are some notable trade offs:
Higher latency: Since data passes through multiple devices before reaching its destination, the network can experience higher latency, particularly with larger networks.
Scalability challenges: While mesh networks scale well, the number of connections grows exponentially as more devices are added, potentially leading to performance issues or management difficulties.
Security risks: More devices connected directly to each other increases the attack surface, requiring robust security measures to mitigate risks.
Resource usage: Mesh VPNs use more system resources due to the need for each device to handle its own traffic and data management, potentially impacting performance.
Let’s talk about a few of these downsides, as they might surprise readers.
With security, for example, we’ve talked about how the decentralization of a mesh VPN has advantages — but it also comes with new vulnerabilities to network security threats. With more devices connected directly, the attack surface increases — each device connected to the mesh VPN becomes a potential entry point for malicious actors.
Network latency can be an issue, as well, especially in partial mesh networks where data is forced along a specific route. On really large networks, this can be a big problem.
These downsides can certainly be addressed. To ensure low latency for employees relying on a mesh VPN, for example, admins can optimize routing paths to prioritize direct, low-latency routes between devices. They use network monitoring tools to identify issues early, prevent congestion, and maintain smooth data flow.
When to use mesh VPN
The introduction of mesh VPNs provided a useful stop-gap solution for the increasing number of businesses moving toward a hybrid work model. By setting up remote VPN access, team members could work from any location using their home or Local Area Network (LAN) and access all shared private network resources. Today, many organizations still rely on this P2P model — which works really well for large teams operating from various locations.
Mesh VPN can also be configured to support an existing hub-and-spoke system, siphoning off some of the data burden to streamline the user experience. In fact, a hybrid system known as Dynamic Multipoint VPN (DMVPN) combines both the traditional and mesh approaches. With a central server acting as the primary gateway for incoming traffic, all intra-network communication occurs on the P2P network.
While mesh VPNs focus on walling out external threats, both ZTNA and SD-WAN technology implement security measures within the network as well. These approaches treat even authorized users as potential threats, only allowing access to specific role-based files and pathways.
That said, mesh VPNs remain a comparatively cost-effective solution for companies who need to share a reliable network and aren’t particularly concerned about the storage of highly sensitive data. At the end of the day, mesh system complexity — while greater than that of a traditional VPN — is much more manageable and easily scalable than ZTNA and SD-WAN.
So, while those alternatives are directly designed to tackle latency and cybersecurity issues, they are probably better suited for businesses with robust IT budgets, high-risk privacy concerns, and tons of users.
VPNs are legal in the U.S. and many countries around the world. There are a few nations, however, that ban or restrict their use—such as China, Iraq, Russia, and North Korea. Be sure to double-check the regulations in your specific areas of operation before implementing this system.
2. Your team is small and centrally located
For home-based businesses and teams that operate within a smaller office space of around 5,000 square feet, a mesh VPN might be overkill. One central server may work just fine for your needs. The best VPN solutions for small businesses offer are fully-hosted, which means you don’t have anything to set up and zero maintenance moving forward — employees will just sign into the service.
3. You have many untrusted devices on your network
When you have a large number of untrusted devices on the network, such as contractors, or third-party vendors, using a mesh VPN can be risky. Any untrusted device can potentially compromise the security of the entire network. This makes it harder to enforce strict access controls and monitor user behavior, increasing the risk of unauthorized access or insider threats.
4. Your IT resources are limited
Setting up and maintaining a mesh VPN requires significant IT knowledge, especially when configuring multiple access points and managing the control plane. If your team lacks the expertise or time to properly manage these tasks, the complexity of a mesh VPN could lead to more challenges than benefits. In such cases, a simpler solution may be more appropriate to avoid ongoing maintenance issues.
Thinking about switching to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) so you can make calls over the internet instead of landlines? With a VoIP gateway you won’t have to replace your existing phones, fax machines, or other equipment.
This saves money on new hardware and avoids the hassle of retraining employees who are comfortable with the current phone setup. Any modern business phone service is going to have a range of gateways available to help companies make the transition to the cloud.
A VoIP gateway acts as a bridge, allowing older analog devices — or even an entire office of them — to connect seamlessly to cloud-based communication systems. By converting traditional analog signals into digital packets, a VoIP gateway enables your legacy devices to work with the internet-based systems powering today’s communications.
In this guide, we’ll explore how VoIP gateways work, the different types available, and practical tips for ensuring optimal performance and security. Whether you’re transitioning one device or an entire office, we’ll cover everything you need to know to make the process smooth and effective.
I wanted to speak to this quickly before we get into the weeds about VoIP gateways, because there is a little more nuance than I could fit into the headline.
Now, I’ve never personally encountered an analog phone that didn’t work with a VoIP gateway — but I know that they exist.
Typically, these non-compatible phones are specialty models that require specific voltage levels or use fancy signaling that’s not supported by the VoIP gateway. You may also run into proprietary digital phones designed for specific PBX systems that don’t work without special hardware or adapters.
To avoid problems, confirm that your VoIP gateway supports the specific devices you plan to use. I would double check if you have any older or specialized equipment, like DECT devices, for example.
In general, though, most analog phones equipment should work just fine with a VoIP gateway. After all, the technology is really not that complicated.
Think of a VoIP gateway as a bridge between different types of networks that allows organizations to integrate legacy telephony equipment with modern VoIP phone services.
Analog equipment was designed to send signals over the PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network). The signal sent by these phones and fax machines doesn’t transmit over an IP network like the internet — it just won’t work at all — unless you have a VoIP gateway.
A VoIP gateway converts analog voice signals from traditional phone systems into digital data packets that can travel over an IP network. A VoIP gateway takes the voice from a phone, digitizes it, and sends it as packets over the internet or private network to the destination.
On the receiving end, it converts the digital data back into an analog signal for the recipient’s phone, enabling seamless communication. This two-way conversion process allows different types of communication systems — old and new — to work together efficiently.
VoIP gateway example
Consider a hotel that wants to lower costs with a VoIP phone system, but doesn’t want to have to buy new phones for every room. The VoIP gateway allows the hotel’s existing phones to connect to the hotel’s cloud phone system by converting the analog signals into digital data that can be sent over the internet.
This setup also opens the door to add useful VoIP features such as easier call routing, better voicemail options, and enhanced customer service, all without the need for a major overhaul of the hotel’s phone infrastructure.
Types of VoIP Gateways
There are a few different types of VoIP gateways that range from analog telephone adapters (ATAs) that support a single device and solutions designed to work for busy offices with hundreds of devices.
Single-port VoIP gateways are compact devices that connect one analog device, such as a fax machine or phone, to a VoIP network. These are ideal for small businesses or home offices with minimal communication needs, supporting a moderate number of concurrent calls, typically 10-30 depending on the device. They offer a cost-effective way to integrate analog equipment into a modern VoIP system without overhauling existing infrastructure.
For larger or busier environments, enterprise-grade VoIP gateways are designed to handle high call volumes and complex networks, such as in call centers or large offices. These devices are scalable and support both inbound and outbound communication, with advanced features like centralized control, CRM integration, and omnichannel support for voice, fax, and even video.
FXS (Foreign Exchange Station) gateways are used to connect multiple analog devices, such as phones and fax machines, to a VoIP network. They support multiple VoIP and fax codecs to ensure clear communication. and are a good option for businesses with multiple analog devices that need to transition to VoIP without replacing all hardware.
Fax-ATA (Analog Telephone Adapter) gateways are a specialized type of gateway designed for businesses that still rely on fax machines. These devices convert analog fax signals into digital data that can be transmitted over a VoIP network. Ideal for industries like healthcare or legal services, where faxing remains a key method of communication.
Session Border Controllers (SBCs) are used in conjunction with VoIP gateways to enhance security and ensure quality. SBCs monitor and manage traffic between networks, protecting against threats like fraud and VoIP Denial of Service (DoS) attacks, while also ensuring seamless communication between different VoIP systems. They are especially crucial in large-scale deployments or when connecting to external networks like the PSTN, ensuring smooth and secure VoIP operations.
Tips for using a VoIP gateway
1. Match VoIP codecs to business needs
VoIP codec selection directly affects both audio quality and bandwidth usage. Select one that fits your network’s capacity and the quality of calls you expect. G.729 offers low bandwidth usage while maintaining decent sound quality, ideal for networks with limited capacity. On the other hand, G.711 delivers high-quality sound but uses more bandwidth.
There’s not too much to think about here, but I wrote a whole post about choosing the right VoIP codec because it is important.
You can usually configure VoIP codecs in the settings of your VoIP gateway, PBX system, or individual IP phones. Depending on the system, you can set different codecs for different devices, users, or call types based on factors like bandwidth and call quality requirements.
2. Use a VoIP-friendly router
Not all routers are built to handle VoIP traffic effectively. Make sure your router supports Quality of Service (QoS) to prioritize voice traffic over data and other applications. VoIP routers handle voice data more efficiently and provide better stability for high-quality calls.
If your current router doesn’t support these features, consider upgrading to one designed specifically for VoIP use. It will be simpler to set up, perform better, and in the event something goes wrong, a good router will probably make finding and fixing common VoIP issues a lot easier.
3. Ensure reliable internet connectivity
A fast, stable internet connection is essential for VoIP. Run a free VoIP speed test if you are unsure about whether or not your connection can support all the new lines your gateway will enable.
Once it’s up, you will need to implement QOS settings to prioritize voice traffic and avoid disruptions from other high-bandwidth activities like video streaming or large downloads, especially during peak hours. Consider running VoIP on a VLAN as another way to separate voice traffic from the rest of the network. These are two important ways to optimize your VoIP network that ensure that real-time communications like VoIP get the steady connection they need.
4. Secure your gateway against threats
Both traditional and cloud phone systems are targeted by cybercriminals every day. There are always new forms of VoIP fraud, and these attacks that cost businesses millions of dollars every year. You should make yourself as unattractive a target for hackers as possible by following basic network security best practices, such as:
Change default passwords and usernames: Always change default login credentials on your VoIP gateway and devices to unique, strong passwords to avoid common security risks.
Update and patch regularly: Ensure that your VoIP gateway and connected devices are running the latest firmware and software updates to protect against security vulnerabilities.
Limit access to the VoIP gateway: Restrict access to the VoIP gateway’s administrative interface by allowing only trusted IP addresses or through a secure VPN to prevent unauthorized remote access.
Monitor for fraudulent calls: Set up alert systems to detect unusual call patterns, such as international calls or long-duration calls, which may indicate potential VoIP fraud.
5. Be proactive about network monitoring
Use network monitoring tools to track key metrics like latency, bandwidth usage, and packet loss. Persistent high latency or packet loss could signal hardware malfunctions, improper codec settings, or interference from other network traffic.
Watch for warning signs like frequent dropped calls, audio delays (latency), or choppy sound caused by jitter. If you notice unexplained call disruptions or poor quality despite a strong internet connection, it may be time to inspect your VoIP gateway’s configuration, firmware, or even its physical condition.
6. Avoid using Wi-Fi for VoIP
While wireless technology has done magnificent things for telephony, its instability and unpredictability pose challenges for VoIP calls. Wi-Fi technology increases the chances of network communication and VoIP quality issues like latency, network jitter, and packet loss.
These factors can significantly impact the clarity and reliability of voice calls, making Wi-Fi less ideal for VoIP gateways.
Encourage employees to use wired Ethernet connections whenever possible. Ethernet provides a stable and consistent connection, reducing the risk of call disruptions. Wired setups are especially beneficial in offices where high call quality is a priority, as they eliminate the variability associated with wireless networks.
When wired connections aren’t feasible, focus on optimizing wireless setups. Equip employees with high-quality Bluetooth VoIP headsets and ensure they have access to a strong, stable Wi-Fi signal.
Tools like Wi-Fi extenders or mesh networks can help minimize interference and improve call reliability, making wireless solutions a viable alternative in certain situations.
Cloud contact centers connect agents with customers across multiple channels, including voice, email, SMS, social media, live chat, and more. Cloud contact center platform API management plays a critical role in maintaining all of these channels.
Unlike traditional on-premises phone systems and hosted contact center solutions, cloud contact centers aren’t bound by physical locations or servers. Instead, all of your reps can access the software they need from anywhere via a computer, smartphone, or other VoIP-enabled device.
When implemented and managed correctly, APIs improve customer personalization, ensure agents have anytime access, boost agent productivity, and deliver real-time data for improved analytics.
Cloud contact center APIs ultimately unify communication channels with other business-critical tools. This allows you to provide better support through custom applications so you can future-proof your contact center at scale.
Overview of API management in cloud contact centers
APIs connect two or more applications, expanding the functionality of one or both of the systems. In many cases, an API passes data from one program to another or embeds functionality of one application into the other.
In terms of cloud contact centers, APIs extend communication methods into other pieces of software. For example, you can add calling capabilities within Microsoft Teams.
You can also use APIs to enable inbound and outbound texting, chat, and calling directly within your CRM. This integration gives agents the ability to communicate without switching back and forth between solutions. It also means agents can see caller information while they’re talking to them.
It can work the other way too — you can pull CRM data into your VoIP solution, allowing agents to see critical details about the caller before they answer.
APIs are commonly used to automate outbound text or email reminders for things like upcoming appointments, balances due, and order status updates via rules-based triggers and custom settings.
Another popular way cloud contact centers use APIs is to centralize social media communication. You integrate various platforms into a single solution so your agents can manage all inbound messages from Facebook, X, Instagram, WhatsApp, LinkedIn, and more without having to navigate to each platform.
With API access, modern contact centers can truly customize the way agents interact with customers and each other.
Strategies for the cloud contact center platform API management cycle
Cloud contact center APIs are not plug-and-play, one-click setups that you can configure once and move on. They require ongoing developer support and IT resources for deployment and regular maintenance.
Think about the resources you’d need to build and maintain any other type of software, like a mobile app or web application.
The same applies here because you’re essentially creating custom software that requires ongoing attention.
It’s particularly important for you because disruptions or outages will have immediate consequences to many people on your team, or even your customers. If agents are no longer able to receive calls in Salesforce, for example, everything will come to a grinding halt until it’s fixed.
The following cloud contact center platform API management strategies can help you avoid these problems and ensure everything runs as smoothly as possible.
Development
Before anything else, you’ll need to define the scope of your project and get a team of developers to help you accomplish your goals.
Large organizations setting up complex integrations may need multiple developers working on this together. It should be treated like any other software development project run by a project manager with sprint planning and other agile project management practices.
Your developers will likely need to use documentation provided by each piece of software you want to connect.
They typically provide developer guides that explain exactly what you can do with their APIs and how to do it. They may even provide sample code for your team to start with, plus resources for various programming languages (JavaScript, Java, Python, PHP, C#, Ruby, etc.).
The best vendors also provide a complete SDK (software development kit) that contains more than basic instructions. These include a full collection of tools, libraries, and documentation to simplify the development process. SDKs ultimately make it easier for your team to access and utilize the API for whatever specific functionality you’re looking for.
Next, you need to ensure that the API works as intended. To do this, you’ll run various API calls to verify everything. You should also test more complex scenarios and situations in which the API should fail to validate that it works.
For example, you might have an agent answer a call from your CRM, send a text message, and set up an automated text reminder.
You can also test out more complicated workflows like real-time escalations to a manager, call transfers, handling duplicate contacts, screen pop, and more.
Beyond functionality, you’ll also need to test performance. At this stage, you should simulate high call volumes to ensure your setup can handle peak traffic. Many APIs have per-minute, per-hour, or simultaneous limits you have to comply with — this is often overlooked and can have frustrating consequences.
If something isn’t working properly or your team finds bugs, they should be fixed before you roll out the new solution to your entire team.
If everything’s good to go, you can roll it out. Depending on the complexity, this can take anywhere from a few minutes to several hours.
Even if you think it’s going to be a relatively quick deployment, I suggest doing this when most of your team won’t be using either piece of software. If you can’t avoid that, try to choose a timeline that’s historically low volume.
You can look back at historical data to determine specific days of the week and times you have the lowest usage. It’ll likely be in the middle of the night, on a weekend, or on a holiday.
Ideally, issues should have been resolved during the testing phase. But things don’t always go according to plan. Leave yourself plenty of wiggle room to identify and fix problems that arise before your team starts using it.
Monitoring
API monitoring should happen 24/7 whenever possible.
Developers and quality assurance agents can do this using third-party tools to gather data and analyze performance in real time. These are built to track different metrics, like API response time, error rate, availability, downtime, and more.
You can also set up automated alerts and ask your team or customers to let you know as soon as they spot something that isn’t working as intended.
Automatic alerts can help you stay ahead of potential problems before they start interfering with communication, so they should be your first line of defense.
Versioning
It’s important to track and manage changes to your cloud contact center APIs over time. There are several benefits of doing so, but the most common for contact centers is backward compatibility.
Cloud-based software can update at any time, and these updates can cause major problems with your APIs.
When updates happen, it’s important for your APIs to continue functioning as best as possible until you can resolve any unforeseen issues.
Versioning also helps your development team work on new features without affecting the version your agents and customers are actively using. It lets you test and make sure everything’s working without impacting anyone else.
Developers can release a beta or V1 so your team has something to work with while they focus on rolling out more features and putting together a more robust solution.
From data storage to business applications and beyond, companies of all sizes rely on the cloud for day-to-day operations and critical business processes. Protecting cloud-based infrastructures with robust security standards is crucial for modern organizations.
Cloud network security is a popular approach. But is it right for your business? Read on to find out.
Cloud network security is a broad term that covers all security measures a company uses to protect its private cloud network, public cloud network, or hybrid cloud network. It includes everything from the technology used to internal policies, processes, and controls.
It helps businesses defend against data breaches, cyber attacks, unauthorized access, service interruptions, and other threats to their infrastructure.
Network security (regardless of how it’s implemented) is just one of the many security layers that businesses use to protect themselves from vulnerabilities. But it’s arguably the most important, as your network is often the first line of defense against attacks.
Deploying cloud network security the right way can be the foundation of your company’s entire approach to IT security.
Cloud network security uses multiple defense layers between infrastructure components and devices on your network.
First, software helps set security policies and pre-defined rules for the network. From there, the software inspects all of the data packets and traffic on the network to enforce those policies.
For example, approved users can be granted access to digital assets through an application on the cloud network while unauthorized users are blocked.
It can also integrate with other security protocols, such as gateways and firewalls, to provide organization-wide control over the network. With APIs and other integrations, IT security admins can use cloud network security processes to monitor networks in real time, segment networks, and detect threats based on network patterns.
Many modern cloud security systems depend on AI and machine learning to help detect and block threats, which is something that might not always work with a rules-based security system.
Like any IT security framework or methodology, cloud security has its pros and cons. For most, the positives outweigh the negative.
Benefits and advantages
Centralized management — Cloud network security gives IT admins a single place to configure and monitor security policies, including the ability to integrate with on-premises solutions.
Automated security monitoring — Once configured, cloud security systems automatically protect against threats without straining IT resources.
Data protection — Deploying a cloud network security system helps protect data stored in cloud servers and applications on your network (both in transit and at rest).
Compliance — You can set up your network security systems to comply with regulatory standards, like GDPR, PCI DSS, HIPAA, and more.
Data encryption — While encrypted data doesn’t prevent breaches or attacks, most cloud network security companies include encryption, which makes it more challenging for bad actors to access data if they breach your network.
Real-time threat detection and prevention — When working properly, cloud network security systems automatically detect and block threats to your network as they happen.
Scalability — Robust cloud security allows organizations to confidently scale processes and applications using cloud resources, knowing that they’ll have reliable access.
Policy-based enforcement — System admins have a more granular level of control based on custom policies that scale with your organization.
Reduce risk of breaches and attacks — A cloud network security solution can drastically reduce security vulnerabilities while preventing hacks, malware, ransomware, and other malicious incidents.
Potential drawbacks and challenges to consider
Misconfigurations — It can easily be misconfigured and it’s prone to human error.
Speed of change — As cloud resources change alongside access controls of different employees, malicious users can exploit vulnerabilities before your policies are updated.
DDoS attacks — Advanced DDoS attacks, which can overwhelm servers and disrupt cloud-based services, could prevent authorized users from accessing your system.
Accuracy — At times, cloud systems can yield false positives. This can be dangerous if policies are changed due as a result, opening the door for real threats to slip through the cracks.
Cost — Advanced cloud systems are expensive to deploy and maintain at scale, especially those using AI technology to monitor network traffic and detect threats in real time.
Insider threats — Someone with privileged access could unknowingly (or intentionally) attack systems from the inside.
When it makes sense to use cloud network security for your business
Any business that has heavily invested in cloud infrastructure is a good fit.
This is especially true if you have a lot of data or run numerous applications in the cloud.
It also makes sense for hybrid cloud environments. Because you have a combination of on-premises and cloud infrastructure, a cloud-based security system can help you centralize everything across your network.
Another common reason why businesses use it is to comply with industry-specific or location-specific compliance standards. You can set up your cloud network security policies to adhere to security protocols for GDPR in Europe, PCI compliance for payment acceptance, HIPAA compliance in the medical industry, and more.
If your organization has remote employees who access your network through an encrypted connection, you can also use cloud security to authenticate them and their devices.
When you should avoid cloud network security
Cloud network security is a necessity for most, but it’s not for everyone.
It may not be enough if you’re dealing with sensitive data that requires the strictest security standards. Organizations working on government contracts or handling confidential information may have to meet DoD standards, and not every cloud security system stacks up to those conditions.
Cloud network security solutions may also not be a good fit if you’re using older, legacy systems that can’t easily migrate to the cloud. In this case, you’ll likely need to use an on-premise security solution instead.
Aside from those two scenarios, it’s tough to deploy a cloud network security solution if you have limited IT security resources or your team isn’t familiar with these systems.
They require a lot of fine-tuned configuration. If you don’t have the resources, you can outsource to a third party (which can get very expensive).
Network security best practices
There are a set of standards that are generally considered best practices. Adhering to them is not only great for deploying a robust cloud network, but it can also help you overcome some of the common challenges and drawbacks we covered earlier.
Some of those best practices include:
Zero trust network access — The zero trust model requires authentication of every user, application, and device before accessing the network.
Micro-segmentation within your network — Limiting communication between applications and services within a network can help contain or isolate attacks.
Identity and access management (IAM) solutions — IAM systems can block unauthorized access at the user level, ensuring that even authorized users only have access to the areas they need to do their jobs.
Misconfiguration monitoring — Use cloud security posture management (CSPM) tools to identify misconfigurations that could be the result of human error and ensure your configurations are properly set up for specific regulatory compliance standards.
Continuous monitoring tools — Rather than periodically checking for attacks, you can use continuous monitoring tools to identify threats in real time.
Regular penetration tests — Your IT team should regularly perform penetration tests on your network to identify vulnerabilities and weaknesses. From there, they should work to fix them as fast as possible.
Training — Make sure your team understands the risks associated with breaches and cyberattacks so they know exactly what to do in these scenarios.
Ultimately, cloud network security is an ongoing initiative.
It’s not something you can implement once and move on. There are always going to be changes to your network and systems that need to be addressed plus new threats that your team should understand how to handle.
Before choosing between a predictive dialer and a progressive one for your outbound call strategy, you should decide your business’s priorities. Are you looking to increase productivity? Do you want to drive up customer satisfaction scores? This tradeoff is implicit in the design of each system.
The key difference between predictive and progressive dialers is how they start a call.
A predictive dialer dials several numbers simultaneously, assigning each rep a number as soon as they end the previous call.
A progressive dialer only dials one number at a time, which gives the rep time to research the potential client who will pick up the phone.
In this post, we’ll cover the vital advantages and tradeoffs that come with using both dialers. Plus, we’ll look at alternative types of call center dialers, if neither a predictive or progressive dialer sounds like the right fit for your business.
Both types of dialers are available with the leading business phone services and call center software. Typically, auto dialing capabilities are available as an add-on feature. You may also find standalone auto dialer software that integrates directly with your CRM software.
Predictive dialers reach more people (with a catch)
A predictive dialer is highly efficient because it can reach more people and reduce the amount of time agents spend waiting. It uses algorithms and predictive analytics to anticipate when agents will be available for the next call.
The system automatically dials multiple numbers simultaneously and filters out unproductive connections, such as busy signals and voicemails, ensuring that agents are only connected to live calls. The system adjusts its dialing pace based on real-time call center metrics like agent availability and call success rates, which help to minimize downtime and increase agent productivity.
By anticipating when agents will finish their current calls, the predictive dialer moves quickly to assign the next call, keeping agents busy without requiring manual input. This means that agents spend more time talking to customers and less time waiting for the next call, which can significantly increase call volume compared to manual or progressive dialing systems.
Predictive dialers can lead to significant improvements in call volume, with some vendors claiming up to a 300% increase in productivity over manual dialing.
However, the actual impact depends on factors like the quality of the contact list and agent readiness. In general, predictive dialers help ensure that agents are always connected to live calls, leading to more efficient use of their time.
Hidden costs of predictive dialers
Despite the benefits, predictive dialers come with hidden costs, including:
Higher call abandonment rates: Due to faster dialing, there’s a greater risk of calls being dropped before an agent can answer, which may negatively impact customer satisfaction.
Potential harm to customer satisfaction: A higher call abandonment rate may be particularly detrimental to existing customers, as they may feel neglected in favor of reaching new prospects.
Compliance risks: The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) mandates that call abandonment rates must not exceed 3% over 30 days. Exceeding this threshold can lead to legal consequences, requiring businesses to carefully balance dialing speed and compliance.
While predictive dialers offer the potential for greater efficiency, businesses must weigh these productivity gains against the potential downsides, ensuring they maintain a positive customer experience and stay within legal requirements.
Progressive dialers have lower call abandonment (at a cost)
Unlike predictive dialers, which dial multiple numbers at once, a progressive dialer calls one number at a time. It waits until the current call is completed before dialing the next one, giving agents more control over the calling process.
One of the main advantages of a progressive dialer is its lower call abandonment rate. By dialing only one number at a time, it minimizes wait times for customers, making it more likely they will stay on the line. When customers hear a live agent right away, they are less likely to hang up.
In contrast, if they are met with a recorded message or a long pause, the chances of abandonment increase.
This improved customer satisfaction is another major benefit. With progressive dialers, customers are connected to agents more quickly, leading to a smoother experience and higher satisfaction rates. For businesses that prioritize customer relationships or work in complex sales environments, progressive dialers allow reps to handle calls more thoughtfully and attentively.
In addition to customer benefits, progressive dialers offer compliance advantages. Because they only connect agents to live callers, they lower the risk of violating telemarketing regulations. Progressive dialers are inherently more compliant with the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), which governs automated calling systems. These dialers ensure agents are always speaking to a real person, helping businesses stay within legal limits for things like prior consent and abandoned call rates.
For businesses that value personalization, deal with more intricate sales processes, or are looking to enhance contact center CX, a progressive dialer is a solid choice. Its lower call abandonment rate and higher level of control for agents make it ideal for creating a more tailored and compliant customer experience.
The hidden cost behind progressive dialers
Owing to the step-by-step approach to making calls, progressive dialers tend to exhibit lower total call volumes and productivity when contrasted with predictive dialers. The result is slower lead conversion rates and decreased operational efficiency for businesses that heavily depend on high call volumes.
So, predictive dialers may be a more efficient choice if you work in telemarketing or lead generation companies or any business that requires many outbound calls to be made in a short span.
Comparing predictive dialers vs. progressive dialers
Let’s compare these two systems side-by-side.
Predictive dialers work best for:
High call volume needs: It is ideal for businesses with many outbound calls that should be made within a narrow timeframe.
Automated call handling: It efficiently connects agents with live callers and maximizes how many calls can be made each day.
Data-driven decisions: It uses clever algorithms to predict call availability and optimize agent workloads.
Telemarketing and lead generation: It is particularly suitable for industries where high call volumes are essential.
Progressive dialers work best for:
Personalized interactions: It is specially designed to deliver hand-hewn and attentive customer experiences. It’s almost a premium option.
Complex sales processes: It is better suited for businesses with well-scripted sales procedures that require agent control.
Telemarketing regulations: It reduces the risk of compliance issues by only connecting agents with opted-in callers.
Lower call volumes: It is also better suited for businesses with lower call volume needs or those valuing quality over quantity.
Both systems aim to improve efficiency by automatizing the dialing process. But they rely on different mechanisms to achieve this goal. While progressive dialers emphasize maintaining high-quality interactions and providing agents with some control, predictive dialers focus on increasing the volume of calls handled per agent.
Three alternatives to predictive and progressive dialers
Here are three other types of dialers that offer a different set of benefits and tradeoffs than the two types we have looked at so far.
Preview dialers
Preview dialers give agents detailed customer information before each call, allowing them to prepare for personalized conversations. When integrated with a CRM, preview dialers can display a customer’s interaction history across multiple channels, helping agents deliver tailored service.
Unlike predictive or progressive dialers, preview dialers allow agents to decide whether or not to place a call, adding an extra layer of control.
Preview dialers are ideal for businesses focused on high-quality, personalized outbound interactions — especially when calling existing customers or handling complex cases where preparation is crucial. They’re a strong choice for teams prioritizing customer satisfaction over sheer call volume, offering a more thoughtful and deliberate alternative to other automated dialers.
Pros
Cons
Enhanced customer satisfaction due to tailored interactions.
Lower call abandonment rates as customers are more likely to stay engaged.
Better adherence to regulations, with fewer accidental calls to unapproved numbers.
Lower call volume compared to other dialers because agents must review profiles.
Requires skilled agents to analyze and adapt calls based on customer data.
Power dialers
Power dialers select numbers from a predefined call list and dial them one at a time. When a call is answered, the system immediately connects the agent to the caller, ensuring no time is wasted. If the call goes unanswered, the power dialer automatically moves to the next number on the list, keeping the process efficient.
You could think of power dialers as a simplified version of a predictive dialer, lacking sophisticated algorithms that anticipate agent availability and call abandonment rates. It’s an easy way to automate one of the most time consuming elements of a call center workflow.
Still, this streamlined workflow eliminates manual dialing and minimizes downtime for agents. By maintaining a 1:1 dialing ratio, power dialers ensure agents are always prepared to engage with the customer, making them a reliable tool for teams focused on steady, high-quality interactions.
Power dialers are suitable for businesses that prioritize high call volume, are concerned about compliance, but prefer a simplified dialing system. They are a useful option for companies that don’t want to deal with the compliance exposure of predictive dialers, but still need agents to make a high number of calls per hour.
Pros
Cons
Higher call volume than manual dialing, but not high as predictive dialers can achieve.
Guaranteed 1:1 dialing ratio means that customers will always be greeted by an agent.
Allows agents to leave voicemail, which not all types of dialers support.
Less efficient than predictive as agents may spend time waiting for calls.
Compliance requirements for automated dialing necessitate training and oversight.
Blended dialers
Blended dialers allow businesses to handle both inbound and outbound calls with the same system, maximizing efficiency and improving customer service. By automatically assigning outbound calls when agents are available and prioritizing inbound calls as they come in, these systems ensure that no time is wasted and customers receive timely responses.
The system works by monitoring call queues in real time. When an agent is free, the dialer connects them to an outbound call from the list. If an inbound call comes in while agents are busy with outbound calls, the system either places the call on hold or redirects it, depending on your setup. This allows your outbound team to jump in and help decrease call queue times during a spike in traffic..
This flexibility makes blended dialers a great fit for smaller teams or businesses looking to get the most out of their available agents.
Blended dialers are best suited for businesses that handle significant volumes of both inbound and outbound calls but need to optimize a smaller, unified team.
For larger call centers with specialized teams, separating inbound and outbound operations may be more effective. Smaller businesses often benefit most from blending calls, as it allows them to maximize efficiency without adding staff.
Pros
Cons
Maximized agent productivity allows a smaller team to handle inbound/outbound.
Minimal front-end complexity for agents who can use a single system for all calls.
Improved satisfaction with prompt responses and consistent outreach.
Complex to manage compared to other dialers, and requires ongoing adjustment.
Risk of agent fatigue from handling diverse responsibilities can increase burnout.
A virtual private network (VPN) is a marvelous tool for protecting people and their data while browsing the internet, especially when working from unsecured or weakly protected networks like those at public libraries and coffee shops.
From a business perspective, VPNs keep business data secure when employees work with sensitive material like trade secrets and proprietary information. VPN tunnels are also instrumental, as they provide users with an encrypted connection between their device and the internet.
However, given the enriched data flow and volumetric information brought on by VPNs, you and/or your IT team should still monitor them regularly. The technical feedback you can gather by doing so will help you finetune and configure your VPN connections for optimal performance.
As an alternative to VPNs, SD-WAN (Software-Defined Wide Area Network) offers businesses many more use cases. For instance, organizations that lean heavily on Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone services can use it to simplify enterprise-scale network management.
I’m assuming most people interested in this post are comfortable with networking basics, like WAN (Wide Area Network) that spans a large geographic area, connecting multiple local networks (LANs) across cities, countries, or even continents. So we’re going to skip the basics. If not, check out this guide on essential networking fundamentals before continuing on.
SD-WAN represents a logical progression from traditional WAN, providing benefits like dynamic traffic management with centralized control. It allows users to deploy different connection types interchangeably by using software to abstract the network layer.
The fundamental benefit of SD-WAN over traditional WAN is its ability to intelligently route traffic across multiple connection types, optimizing performance, reducing costs, and providing greater flexibility and scalability.
SD-WAN offers businesses improved network performance, cost savings, enhanced security, and greater agility by enabling dynamic, intelligent traffic routing across diverse connection types, making it a more scalable and flexible solution compared to traditional VPNs.
Let’s walk through why
Traffic optimization and improved network efficiency
A key advantage of SD-WAN is its ability to avoid vendor lock-in by using a virtualized architecture, allowing businesses to combine various transport services. Unlike traditional network infrastructure, which is often rigid and hardware-dependent, the best SD-WAN vendors give organizations the flexibility to optimize bandwidth across multiple connection types, such as broadband, mobile, Wi-Fi, and satellite.
This flexibility enables network administrators to prioritize critical traffic more effectively, reduce reliance on centralized data centers by eliminating backhauling, and create more efficient, direct routing paths to improve overall network performance.
Providing cost-effective solutions
Even though WAN connectivity has been around for a while, one of its peskiest challenges has always been figuring out how to connect widely dispersed data centers in a cost-effective manner. Technologies like MPLS (Multiprotocol Label Switching), for instance, provided a respite — especially for organizations operating in rugged environments—but MPLS often brings a huge cost disadvantage.
SD-WAN, however, is more practical (to deploy) and much less expensive than MPLS because it doesn’t require specialized equipment to conduct routing over the internet.
Another cost-effective aspect of using SD-WAN is its ability to aggregate multiple, less expensive internet connections (such as broadband, LTE, and Wi-Fi) to create a more reliable and efficient network. This reduces the need for expensive, dedicated leased lines or private WAN circuits, allowing businesses to use more affordable and flexible transport services while maintaining high performance.
Increased control through application-level visibility
Nothing jams up the efforts of network administrators and cybersecurity professionals more than a lack of control over their organization’s online traffic.
That said, the application-level visibility provided by SD-WAN allows you to control traffic more effectively.
For instance, SD-WAN allows administrators to fine-tune Quality of Service (QoS) by prioritizing VoIP traffic over less critical data, ensuring consistent call quality. With real-time monitoring and dynamic traffic routing, SD-WAN can adjust network paths to avoid congestion, and ensure optimal performance for VoIP applications even during peak usage times.
Centralized management
SD-WAN is the network tool of choice for enterprises with multiple office branches that want to maintain a centralized oversight.
In general, a ton of network administrators face the challenge of having to orchestrate a gauntlet of deployed devices and endpoints, so
SD-WAN is a logical choice because it makes networks more manageable and cost-effective. With centralized management to handle data packets and workflows between branches, network operations are simplified company-wide.
Cybersecurity administration
Because of its centralized network management, SD-WAN allows you to deploy uniform security measures including dynamic encryption tunnels, IP security (IPsec), and next-generation firewalls (NGFW) to ensure that all traffic is protected. Additionally, SD-WAN offers advanced features like network segmentation, which isolates critical parts of the network to reduce risk, and intrusion protection to detect and block potential threats.
These built-in security features work together to provide end-to-end encryption, making SD-WAN a powerful solution for defending against network security threats, especially in environments with remote or distributed teams. By simplifying the process of managing network security, SD-WAN makes it easier for IT teams to protect sensitive data and maintain compliance with industry regulations.
What Problems Does a VPN Solve?
A VPN safeguards online activity by providing a measure of intrusion protection against unauthorized third parties and other rogue actors. They use encrypted data transmission to prevent the intercepting and eavesdropping of connections that can occur via packet sniffing and other snooping tactics.
The best enterprise VPN services achieve this protection through VPN tunneling, which creates an encrypted connection between the user’s device and the endpoint or remote server they are accessing. If you are potentially in the market for SD-WAN, I’d start with the enterprise VPN tools first, though you may be able to get by with the one of the best VPN solutions for small business if only a handful of your employees require the extra protections.
On the private side of things, everyday consumers use VPNs for streaming and non-commercial purposes.
Privacy and anonymity
A major role of VPNs is to provide users anonymity by hiding their identity and online activity. To achieve this, a VPN creates a private digital network from a public connection to mask the user’s IP address, making it difficult for anyone to track their internet activity.
Avoiding censorship
A VPN allows users to view content from anywhere in the world. As a result, users can access forbidden websites due to censorship or geo-restrictions. VPNs are legal in the United States, but this is not true in all countries.
Avoiding censorship and surveillance is a common practice for dissenting individuals and journalists residing in authoritarian regimes. It’s also common for people who want to stream shows that are blocked or too expensive where they live.
In addition to hiding your identity anonymously, VPNs also obscure your location by redirecting traffic through encrypted, remote servers. A good VPN ensures the user’s online activity remains invisible to their internet service provider (ISP), but it doesn’t always happen that way with all VPNs.
Providing stringent cybersecurity requirements
VPNs encrypt all data that moves through your network, fortifying and boosting an organization’s cybersecurity profile. They also minimize the effectiveness of Man-In-The-Middle (MITM) attacks, especially when employees are working remotely outside of their corporate networks. This safeguards corporate data from falling into the wrong hands if a staff member unknowingly works from a vulnerable or insecure connection.
Lastly, besides ordinary marketplace uses, many (if not all) national militaries deploy some kind of VPN for secure communication as a foundational part of their tactical kit.
Remote access connectivity
Users working off-site can use client-to-site VPNs on their personal devices to access their organization’s resources from a remote server. Naturally, remote access like this typically requires them to provide authentication credentials before they are granted access to company resources.
Setting up a remote access VPN is beneficial because you can utilize it for personal and professional purposes.
Large and complex organizations often use site-to-site VPNs to scale their businesses. These VPNs enable them to combine and connect multiple internal networks across different locations within their organizations.
Intellectual property protection
VPNs enhance data security by preventing data interception in transit. This is key for safeguarding intellectual property such as trade secrets, industrial designs, and proprietary information — especially when companies need to share it with third parties and contractors.
Challenges managing access at scale with VPN vs SD-WAN
The biggest concerns with large-scale VPN deployments are performance bottlenecks from too many users, network latency issues caused by centralized traffic routing, and managing tunnels, as maintaining thousands of secure connections can overwhelm VPN servers and IT teams.
While VPNs have been a foundational tool for remote access, they face significant limitations as organizations grow. Here are the key challenges of scaling VPNs and why solutions like SD-WAN are becoming more critical for modern networks.
Scalability bottlenecks and tunnel overload:
VPNs struggle to handle large numbers of simultaneous connections, resulting in network congestion and degraded performance. Managing thousands of VPN tunnels can overwhelm servers and IT teams, creating bottlenecks that slow down critical applications and user access.
Performance and application latency:
VPNs route traffic through centralized servers, which introduces delays, especially when accessing cloud-based apps or services. This extra routing increases latency, reduces productivity, and impacts the performance of real-time applications like VoIP phone systems and video conferencing.
SD-WAN’s software overlay integrates well with modern security strategies like Zero-Trust Network Access (ZTNA) , offering a secure foundation for remote and hybrid workforces. Traditional VPNs rely on perimeter-based security models that don’t account for cloud services, IoT devices, or widespread remote work. They lack built-in tools like traffic inspection, micro-segmentation, and identity-based access controls, leaving organizations vulnerable to modern threats.
Connectivity flexibility and resource management:
Unlike VPNs, SD-WAN allows you to consolidate and control traffic across multiple networks, dynamically routing traffic based on conditions like bandwidth utilization to avoid congestion and packet loss. Its flexible, virtualized infrastructure lets IT teams make rapid changes within minutes, optimizing both performance and resource allocation.
What about both VPN and SD-WAN?
As organizations grow, the limitations of VPNs — like congestion, latency, and security gaps — become more obvious. While SD-WAN offers improved scalability, performance, and flexibility to meet the needs of modern networks, many businesses are combining both VPNs and SD-WAN alongside other security technologies. This approach helps companies balance the strengths of each solution, providing secure and reliable connectivity for remote and hybrid teams.
Looking ahead, cybersecurity trends indicate that organizations will increasingly adopt integrated network solutions that blend SD-WAN, VPNs, and advanced security models like zero-trust to stay agile, secure, and ready for future growth.
RPA stands for robotic process automation. It represents some of the most cutting-edge technological developments of the modern era with its ability to improve efficiency gains in business operations. RPA uses software bots to automate tasks, eliminating the need for people to perform manual labor and other tasks that involve rote, repetitive processes.
RPA is deployed in many IT settings and is ideally suited for contact centers, which are intensely customer service-focused environments.
RPA bots act in place of human operators, having first gained prominence in the manufacturing industry where low-skilled, labor-intensive tasks were highly prevalent. The introduction of RPA bots was not necessarily to replace human labor, but to displace and reallocate it for more productive endeavors.
In places like contact centers, for instance, they do a lot of the repetitive and boring tasks so that human agents are free to focus on more creative, value-adding tasks.
Typically, RPA bots work using an API, but they can also function and interact at a graphical user interface layer to execute complex workflows.
While RPA accelerates productivity, not all tasks, processes, or environments are ideal for process automation.
RPA is primarily used for the following:
Tasks with standardized processes and functions that are predominately rule-based.
Mundane tasks that are labor-intensive and time-consuming.
Jobs that operate in reliable, data-rich, and data-driven environments.
Workplaces that process high-volume, monotonous tasks and need consistent handling without experiencing diminishing returns.
Business processes that use well-defined, standardized data sets that are easy to structure and categorize.
Tasks that deal with a large volume of digitized data that’s adequately readable.
After selecting the right vendor, deploying robotic process automation requires capturing the steps you want to automate, executing the pilot process with your preferred vendor, and then implementing it.
When a contact center deploys one or many automated bots, it allows the center to scale its operations while delivering high-volume processes swiftly, accurately, and consistently without a downgrade in quality or efficiency. Moreover, RPA bots provide these benefits at significant cost savings compared to human agents who would otherwise be wasted on menial tasks. Ultimately, they allow human capital to focus on tasks requiring intuitive judgment.
For contact center employees specifically, RPA can automate numerous workflow tasks that are part of a typical workday. These tasks rarely have an impact on customer satisfaction outcomes, so contact center employees benefit from having more time to focus on activities that are more productive.
Additionally, RPA technology can also streamline certain tasks and fortify data security practices for the company, taking some of that burden off the employees.
At the same time, RPA bots don’t need to take bathroom breaks and can work all day long without experiencing diminishing returns.
Unattended and attended bots
For the most part, contact centers use unattended bots that execute processes behind the scenes. These unattended RPA bots are primarily provisioned to tackle rule-based processes automatically, which allows them to automate back-office services at scale.
Meanwhile, attended RPA bots require human intervention and/or instruction to perform tasks, as they typically do things that depend on the knowledge and expertise of a contact center agent. For instance, an attended bot can act as a virtual assistant that is manually triggered to gather customer information while the agent interacts with a customer.
Furthermore, an assisted RPA bot can even take the information it gathers from an agent’s computer and fill in forms with personalized customer details during a call. This makes RPA bots especially useful for agents who deal with various support chats, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) calls, and other routine data input processes.
The top opportunities for contact center RPA
Contact centers are filled with repetitive, time-consuming tasks that can drain efficiency and hinder customer satisfaction. RPA offers a powerful way to streamline these processes, reduce errors from manual entry, and free up agents to focus on more valuable interactions.
Here are eight key opportunities where RPA can drive significant impact and transform operations
1. Enhanced customer verification
While traditional IVR systems are effective for basic customer authentication — such as verifying account numbers or PINs — RPA goes beyond simple queries to handle more complex, dynamic verification processes.
For example, RPA bots can:
Pre-validate customer information: Pull and cross-check data from multiple systems, such as CRM platforms and payment records, to ensure accuracy before escalating to an agent.
Handle conditional logic: Adapt verification steps based on the caller’s issue or account status. For example, if a payment dispute is flagged, RPA can pre-authorize verification layers like confirming recent transactions or linking a verified email.
Initiate advanced authorization: Request sensitive approvals, such as confirming account changes or processing refunds, without requiring the customer to repeat details to a live agent.
Beyond traditional identity verification, RPA also supports tasks like appointment confirmations. For businesses offering in-home services, RPA bots can proactively reach out to customers, verify service windows, and update scheduling systems — all without agent intervention.
This enhanced approach saves time, reduces friction for customers, and ensures agents are equipped with verified, up-to-date information when they step in to assist.
2. Automated self-service
Contact centers are often flooded with basic customer inquiries, like asking about product returns or how to file a warranty claim. These tasks don’t need a live agent, so they’re great candidates for automation.
A simple IVR phone tree can handle simple tasks, like pressing a number to check your account balance. However, IVR is limited in what it can do — if a customer needs to update their billing information, manage a return, or track an order status, it often can’t access the backend systems or process complex requests.
RPA goes beyond that. For example, if a customer wants to return an item, an RPA bot can guide them through the return process, check the product’s return eligibility, and generate a shipping label — and this is all done without human assistance.
It can also assist with updating account details, processing refunds, or even tracking shipments by pulling data from multiple systems in real time. This not only makes things faster for customers, reduces the burden on agents, and helps you get call center queuing times down during peak hours.
3. Optimized agent support
RPA can greatly enhance the effectiveness of human agents in contact centers by streamlining repetitive tasks and providing valuable support during customer interactions.
For example, RPA can automatically route inquiries to the right agent based on their skills and workload, ensuring that customers are quickly connected to the best-suited person. This reduces wait times and helps agents focus on cases they are best equipped to handle. RPA goes beyond traditional skills-based IVR by automating both front-end and back-end tasks, such as gathering customer data and updating records in real time, while IVR systems focus primarily on routing calls or providing scripted responses.
Additionally, RPA can retrieve and display relevant call center knowledge base articles or troubleshooting steps in real time, enabling agents to resolve issues more quickly. It can also update customer records, log interaction details, and process back-office tasks like returns and refunds, all while the agent continues to assist the customer.
By consolidating data from multiple systems and presenting it in an easily accessible format, RPA ensures that agents have all the necessary information to provide fast, informed, and personalized service, improving both efficiency and the overall customer experience.
While report preparation is a simple task for a human agent, it nevertheless requires a certain degree of decision-making that can distract agents from focusing on their daily workload. The process is also prone to error and takes significant time to carry out. Furthermore, it often compels agents to switch between multiple systems to generate data and run reports.
RPA can automatically gather and analyze contact center analytics, such as call volume, response times, and agent performance, to generate accurate, real-time reports without manual input, saving time and reducing errors.
RPA bots can rely on quick, automatic, and rule-based provisioning to generate, analyze, and disseminate reports (often via email) to respective managers.
5. Integrating systems
Enterprise software applications are creatures of immense complexity. Only a few vendors have the expertise or resources to supply all the critical functionality needed, and no enterprise system is completely siloed. This means integrations with third-party apps are necessary for a unified system.
RPA can simplify this by automating data transfers and workflow automation between systems like CRM, ticketing, and payment platforms. RPA ensures real-time updates, reducing errors, saving time, and providing agents with accurate, up-to-date customer information, ultimately enhancing the contact center customer experience.
RPA’s ability to bridge system gaps allows contact centers to scale easily, integrating new tools or platforms without disrupting existing workflows. By automating system integration, RPA increases efficiency, reduces operational costs, and ensures a smooth, unified process across multiple systems, which leads to faster problem resolution and more personalized service for customers.
Although APIs make the task much easier, integrating various systems and workflows into your contact center is non-trivial. Using RPA, contact centers can integrate multiple systems without disrupting the underlying ecosystem.
6. Handling recurring and repeat calls
When a caller has to go through various transfers on a single call, it can be very irritating and detrimental to the overall customer experience.
RPA is a good resource to mitigate these occurrences, as it can keep track of particular issues surrounding a customer problem and relay that information to agents automatically. This helps agents understand the context surrounding a customer’s call or issue right away.
If necessary, RPA bots can also provide agents with a comprehensive customer profile at the click of a button so they can get a sense of an individual customer’s previous interactions.
This leads to a more personal and expedited communication process for the customer while also shortening the average call duration for the agent. This means customers are happier and agents aren’t wasting time transferring or answering calls they don’t need to.
In the end, RPA is an important contact center technology that streamlines routine call handling and improves operations. By automating tasks such as data retrieval, record updates, and providing real-time information to agents, RPA allows human agents to focus on more complex customer issues. This reduces wait times, enhances call efficiency, and ensures smoother interactions across channels. Additionally, RPA handles administrative tasks behind the scenes, enabling agents to resolve issues more quickly and creating a more seamless experience for both agents and customers.
Key phones are traditional desk phones with a central unit and handset. Able to support up to 50 users, they’re often used by small to medium-sized offices. They have a dial pad and special buttons that let users route calls to other extensions or access features like hold or transfer.
A key phone system has been ideal for companies with employees who need to be reachable at their desk and behind the counter. These systems are easy to manage compared to a traditional PBX — and excel at the core competencies of a basic phone system.
For many businesses, this trusty technology has been the silent backbone of communication since before the internet became a regular part of our daily lives. Key phones made offices more efficient and productive with features like call transfer, hold, conference calling, direct inward dialing, and paging.
Key phone systems are generally easy to use, and more than anything, they’re familiar. Since most adults have used a key phone system at some point in their careers, there’s not a huge learning curve when you need to onboard new employees. With a quick explanation of how to access voicemail and what extension belongs to who, you can get most new hires up to speed by the end of their first day.
This makes it hard for a lot of businesses to let go of their old school key phone systems — even if they know that modern business phone services offer a ton more functionality.
In short, key phone systems once had all the advanced functions you’d expect from a business phone, and they were easy to use, with predictable costs and straightforward maintenance. These strengths made them a mainstay in business communications.
But now, after over 50 years of usage, this technology is slowly sunsetting. And businesses today should look at modernizing their phone systems sooner than later.
Using a VoIP gateway with a key phone system
A VoIP gateway or Analog Telephone Adapter (ATA) allows traditional phones to make calls over the internet. The ATA acts as a bridge between your old phone system and the internet.
Plug your regular phones into the ATA, connect the ATA to your internet router, and you are ready to start answering calls as before. ATAs support fax machines and multifunction printers, as well.
This is a budget-friendly way to modernize without replacing your phone system, minimizing disruption to employees. Typically, you can access basic VoIP features like voicemail-to-email and call forwarding while staying with familiar hardware.
This approach is ideal for businesses that want to gradually transition to cloud, phase out old equipment, or simply want to ride out their old phone system contract for a few more years.
Are all key phone systems compatible with an ATA?
Most key phones will work with an ATA, but not all.
If your phone says “analog” or connects with a standard phone line, it’s probably compatible.
If it’s labeled “IP” or “digital,” you may require special adapters or need to take another approach entirely. Always check your system’s compatibility before investing in an ATA.
Challenges with moving to the cloud
Migrating to a cloud phone system comes with a lot more versatility for businesses and their employees — but it’s not without challenges. Here are some of the important issues you will have to address over the course of transitioning from a key phone system to the cloud:
Compatibility: Can your existing handsets work with a cloud system, or do you need to invest in new equipment? You may need to buy new handsets or softphones to use modern VoIP services.
Replicating functionality: Can you replicate features like DID and intercom in the cloud? Chances are you can, but be sure to choose a provider that supports the features your business relies on.
Soft key programming: Cloud systems often rely on “soft keys,” which are on-screen buttons that can change dynamically. You may need IT support to configure changes manually.
Training: This is a big one, as you may have employees who are resistant to change. Do you have the time and resources to teach your employees how to use these new cloud-based systems? You’ll need to train employees how to use new features like call parking in order to put callers on hold.
Any upgrade naturally presents challenges, but the key is to ask yourself whether the benefits outweigh the costs and whether now’s the right time to upgrade.
Benefits of replacing a key phone system before it fails
If your key phone system is still working, you may be hesitant to replace it. But there are risks to keeping an old system that doesn’t have an infinite lifespan — what if your phone system fails or your hardware becomes unsupported before you have a backup in place?
Today, most businesses use a hosted PBX, where the vendor manages all of the infrastructure and software — employees simply log into their account and make calls. It works perfectly whether they are in the office or working from an airport bar — the vendor secures the network, allows remote employees anytime access, and you never have to worry about the main office network being up 24/7 ever again.
VoIP phone systems are relatively inexpensive — most businesses save money switching by eliminating most hardware maintenance costs associated with traditional phone setups. It’s not an incredible savings, but it’s nice.
The real draw is the functionality you gain from connecting your phones to other business software. This enables advanced call administration, simple call recording, Interactive Voice Response (IVR), in-depth analytics, and potentially much more. Premium systems support CRM integration, which allows reps to pull up customer files, view previous conversations, order history, and more on a single dashboard.
Migrating to the cloud is a great way to future-proof your business phone system, as the software is continuously updated, patched, and improved. If you’re thinking about switching to a remote or hybrid setup, cloud-based phone systems can make the switch easy. Even if some employees are working from home and others are onsite, they’ll all have the same communication capabilities.
Yes, there are challenges with updating your systems to new technology — this is inevitable — the downsides of staying with you an old key phone system will probably get worse over time.
But by choosing to upgrade your key phone system to a cloud-based system, you get to navigate those challenges at your own pace rather than being forced into them later on.
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