How Has Communication Technology Evolved? 3 Key Examples in Business

Effective communication has always been a vital part of business. From delivering presentations that map out future plans to negotiating with stakeholders in a firm, communication is a part of the regular operations of an organization.

In recent years, there have been a wide range of developments that have shaped communication in commerce. Many of these rely on the latest advances in technology to deliver improvements in this field of business and can offer companies a range of benefits. Some modern communication methods serve to streamline and simplify the communication process, whilst others can help to reduce costs and allow productivity gains to be achieved.

In this article, three specific examples of recent developments in communication technology will be described in detail.

The use of internet-based phone lines

Traditionally, businesses needed to rely on old-fashioned copper wires and physical phone lines to build their communications capabilities. This system is known as primary rate interface (PRI) trunking and was common in most businesses a few decades ago. The key downside to this older technology is that these phone lines need to be physically upgraded when extra call capacity is needed (by installing new PRI circuits). In addition, the costs for making calls are often considerably higher when compared to more modern methods of phone-based communication (especially when making international calls).

Today, businesses are moving over to the SIP trunking method for their phone lines. This method uses the internet to make and receive calls and is far easier to scale when additional phone lines are required.

Instead of making physical changes to the phone network, software can be deployed which increases the phone line capacity for the business. The only limitations on this are bandwidth considerations, so it is important for businesses to have fast and reliable internet connections.

The development of chatbots

In recent years, chatbots have become an important part of the customer service experience that is offered to customers and clients. Today, there are a range of specific chatbot services which can form a vital part of the sales and customer service functioning.

Chatbots are commonly used to direct customers to specific web pages that provide the answers to their questions and queries. They can also be used in the sales process to help when placing specific orders.

This technology can help a business to lower its customer service and sales costs by automating some of the more common processes of communication between the business and the client. However, it is important to recognize that human customer service and sales teams will still be required to assist customers with complex queries or to deal with feedback and complaints.

The rise of AI in communications

Artificial intelligence (AI) has evolved at a rapid pace in recent years. One of the most notable developments is the advancement in AI platforms that can create content for a business.

ChatGPT is one of the most well known forms of this type of AI and can be used to generate content for websites (such as blog content and article creation) as well as communicating with customers.

The potential for this type of technology in communication is impressive as it can be used to increase business productivity by saving time in creating communications content. However, as with chatbots, there will always be a need for human staff to undertake more complex communication roles and to liaise directly with other customers and business stakeholders.

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