‘Best Use of Telephony / Unified Communications in Cloud Computing’ Award

Who should enter the ‘Best Use of Telephony / Unified Communications in Cloud Computing’ category?

The ‘Best Use of Telephony or Unified Communications in Cloud Computing’ award honors an organization or solution that has effectively leveraged cloud-based telephony or unified communications (UC) to transform business operations, enhance collaboration, and improve customer interactions.

In an increasingly remote work environment, robust communication tools are essential for maintaining productivity and ensuring seamless collaboration across teams and with customers. Entrants should exemplify how cloud-based telephony or UC can overcome traditional communication challenges by offering a flexible, scalable, and cost-effective platform that adapts to the needs of modern businesses.

Whether through the deployment of a cloud-based contact center, the integration of voice and video conferencing into everyday workflows, or the implementation of advanced features like AI-driven analytics and real-time translation, the award recognizes solutions that deliver exceptional value and user experience.

This award recognizes innovative implementations that seamlessly integrate voice, video, messaging, and collaboration tools into a cohesive cloud-based system, driving significant improvements in communication efficiency, scalability, and flexibility.

Examples

Cloud-Based Contact Centers

Enables businesses to manage all customer interactions – phone, email, chat, and social media – from a centralized, cloud-hosted platform.
Offers advanced features like automatic call distribution, interactive voice response (IVR), and real-time analytics, allowing organizations to optimize customer service operations and improve response times.
Contact centers can scale easily to accommodate fluctuating call volumes, integrate seamlessly with CRM systems, and support remote agents, all while maintaining high levels of security and compliance.

Video Conferencing Platforms

Offers HD video and audio, screen sharing, and real-time collaboration features, delivered through a cloud infrastructure.
May also include AI-powered features like background noise reduction, automatic transcription, and virtual backgrounds.
By using the cloud, video conferencing solutions can quickly scale to accommodate large meetings or webinars, integrate with calendars and other productivity tools, and provide secure communication channels for sensitive business discussions.

Cloud PBX Systems

A Cloud PBX (Private Branch Exchange) system provides a complete telephony solution hosted in the cloud, replacing on-premises PBX hardware.
This system manages incoming and outgoing calls, voicemail, call routing, and other telephony functions through a cloud-based platform.
Cloud PBX systems offer businesses the flexibility to add or remove users easily, integrate with other communication tools, and maintain business continuity with built-in redundancy and disaster recovery features.

Unified Communications-as-a-Service (UCaaS)

UCaaS provides a comprehensive suite of communication tools—including voice, video conferencing, messaging, and collaboration—delivered via the cloud.
UCaaS platforms consolidate multiple communication channels into a single, integrated solution that can be accessed from any device, anywhere.
This approach enhances collaboration within teams, simplifies communication management, and reduces costs by eliminating the need for multiple, disparate systems.

VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) Solutions

Cloud-based VoIP systems offer features such as call forwarding, voicemail-to-email, and virtual phone numbers, enabling businesses to manage their phone systems with greater ease and efficiency.
These solutions often integrate with other cloud services, such as CRM or UC platforms, to provide a seamless communication experience.
VoIP is especially beneficial for businesses looking to reduce telephony costs, support remote work, and maintain high-quality voice communications.

Cloud-Based Contact Centers

Enables businesses to manage all customer interactions – phone, email, chat, and social media – from a centralized, cloud-hosted platform.

Offers advanced features like automatic call distribution, interactive voice response (IVR), and real-time analytics, allowing organizations to optimize customer service operations and improve response times.

Contact centers can scale easily to accommodate fluctuating call volumes, integrate seamlessly with CRM systems, and support remote agents, all while maintaining high levels of security and compliance.

Video Conferencing Platforms

Offers HD video and audio, screen sharing, and real-time collaboration features, delivered through a cloud infrastructure.

May also include AI-powered features like background noise reduction, automatic transcription, and virtual backgrounds.

By using the cloud, video conferencing solutions can quickly scale to accommodate large meetings or webinars, integrate with calendars and other productivity tools, and provide secure communication channels for sensitive business discussions.

Cloud PBX Systems

A Cloud PBX (Private Branch Exchange) system provides a complete telephony solution hosted in the cloud, replacing on-premises PBX hardware.

This system manages incoming and outgoing calls, voicemail, call routing, and other telephony functions through a cloud-based platform.

Cloud PBX systems offer businesses the flexibility to add or remove users easily, integrate with other communication tools, and maintain business continuity with built-in redundancy and disaster recovery features.

Unified Communications-as-a-Service (UCaaS)

UCaaS provides a comprehensive suite of communication tools—including voice, video conferencing, messaging, and collaboration—delivered via the cloud.

UCaaS platforms consolidate multiple communication channels into a single, integrated solution that can be accessed from any device, anywhere.

This approach enhances collaboration within teams, simplifies communication management, and reduces costs by eliminating the need for multiple, disparate systems.

VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) Solution

Cloud-based VoIP systems offer features such as call forwarding, voicemail-to-email, and virtual phone numbers, enabling businesses to manage their phone systems with greater ease and efficiency.

These solutions often integrate with other cloud services, such as CRM or UC platforms, to provide a seamless communication experience.

VoIP is especially beneficial for businesses looking to reduce telephony costs, support remote work, and maintain high-quality voice communications.

Hall of Fame: Previous Winners

Winner of the 2024/25 Cloud Award for 'Best Use of Telephony / Unified Communications in Cloud Computing'

Quote from Technical Director, Annabelle Whittall:

“Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise’s innovative approach to unified communications with their ‘Rainbow’ solution showcases how tailored cloud technology can transform enterprises across diverse sectors. By delivering secure, sustainable, and flexible solutions that adapt to customer needs—whether in the cloud, on-premises, or hybrid—ALE has redefined connectivity in the digital age.”

Winner of the 2023/24 Cloud Award for 'Best Use of Telephony / Unified Communications in Cloud Computing'

Quote from Lead Judge, Annabelle Whittall:

“Call2Teams is a cloud-native, middleware product that sits between any phone system, and Microsoft Teams. What impressed the judging panel at The Cloud Awards the most is that it is easy to buy, quick to deploy, and enterprise-grade. No hardware or software is needed – there is no need to port numbers, change carrier, or throw away an existing phone system. What an impressive offering. Congratulations, Dstny!”

Winner of the 2022/23 Cloud Award for 'Best Use of Telephony / Unified Communications in Cloud Computing'

Lead Judge Jason Ford said:

“At The Cloud Awards, we were particularly impressed by LineLeader’s seamless integration of voicemail into a CRM system. It is a unique functionality and an excellent, thoughtful, and much-needed innovation in childcare management. Congratulations on your win, LineLeader by Childcare CRM.”

Areas to highlight in your submission

A strong entry for the ‘Best use of Telephony / Unified Communications in Cloud Computing’ category should include details on some, or all, of the following areas that the judges will be looking for:

Seamless Integration:

The entry should showcase a seamless integration of telephony and unified communications services within a cloud computing environment.

It should highlight how the solution effectively combines voice, video, messaging, and collaboration tools to enhance communication and collaboration among employees, teams, and customers.
Mobility and Remote Work Enablement:

The entry should highlight how the solution supports mobility and enables remote work.

It should showcase the ability to seamlessly access telephony and unified communications services from various devices and locations, empowering employees to stay connected and collaborate effectively regardless of their physical location.
Reliability and Quality of Service:

The entry should highlight the reliability and quality of the telephony and unified communications services delivered through the cloud.

It should demonstrate robust infrastructure, redundancy measures, and service level agreements (SLAs) that ensure high availability, call quality, and minimal downtime.

Security and Compliance:

The entry should address the security and compliance aspects of telephony and unified communications in the cloud.

It should emphasize the implementation of robust security measures, encryption protocols, data privacy controls, and compliance with relevant regulations (such as GDPR or HIPAA) to protect sensitive communication data.
User Experience and User Interface:

The entry should showcase a user-friendly interface and intuitive user experience that makes it easy for employees to navigate and utilize the telephony and unified communications services.

It should highlight features such as presence management, contact directories, call routing options, and personalized settings that enhance the overall user experience.
Business Impact:

The entry should provide evidence of the positive business impact and results achieved through the use of telephony and unified communications in the cloud.

It should include metrics or case studies that demonstrate improved communication efficiency, cost savings, enhanced collaboration, increased productivity, and customer satisfaction.

Next Steps to Enter The Cloud Awards

To enter this Cloud Awards category, or any other category in The Cloud Awards, please follow these three simple steps:

Download the entry form. Open up the ‘Cloud Awards Simple Form’ document.
Complete your form. You only need to complete the form once, even if entering multiple Cloud Awards categories.
Submit your entry. Head to the ‘Submit Now’ section on our website, select ‘The Cloud Awards’ and the category/categories you are entering from the list, upload your form and any other materials you would like the judges to review, and process your fees.

Download Entry Form

Since 2011, The Cloud Awards been helping organizations across the globe gain the recognition they deserve for market-leading innovation in the cloud computing and software sectors.

For a detailed breakdown of all the benefits you receive as an awards entrant as either a shortlistee, finalist or ultimate winner, please see our “Why Enter?” page. The many benefits are replicated across all international awards programs. If you have any questions about this category, please contact us.