Unified communications (UC, UCaaS) are a modern solution for business owners considering simplifying their businesses and increasing employee productivity. Let’s review how it benefits your business.
Providing high-quality communication channels is crucial for any company. It promotes cross-department collaboration and faster exchange of thoughts.
Legacy phones are not suited for this; many business owners look for a modern solution, which leads them to unified communications.
But what exactly is UC?
Continue reading to discover the main concepts of unified communications (frequently referred to as UCaaS) and how you can join the ranks of many of our Portland and Vancouver area customers and use it to help your business succeed.
WHAT IS UNIFIED COMMUNICATIONS?
Unified communications is an all-in-one platform that unifies phone, video, screen sharing, chat, and file management into a single space. It’s a ready-to-use system that allows for seamless communication in numerous ways.
The system operates in a cloud, making it easily accessible to all team members with access to the internet.
But why should anyone consider switching to unified communications?
There are several reasons, but this is the most crucial:
Business leaders who adopt it would be able to impact their business every day and make it seamless for employees to interact with each other.
Lets break it down into five key features of this model to help you better appreciate how it can help you scale your business.
THE FIVE FEATURES
FEATURE ONE. MOBILITY
When connected to unified communications, all employees can stay connected at all times and from all locations. It doesn’t matter whether they’re working from home or sitting in the office. They’ll still be able to chat, receive VoIP calls, and much more.
FEATURE TWO. CONFERENCING
Whenever you need conferencing tools, you’ll have them in the palm of your hand. You can allow a group of colleagues or customers to connect and speak via video or audio from different locations.
FEATURE THREE. UNIFIED MESSAGING
This allows associates to handle different message types (for instance, chat and SMS) using a single tool.
FEATURE FOUR. FAX SUPPORT
Faxes received through unified communications are sent directly to users’ mailboxes.
FEATURE FIVE. PRESENCE
This feature lets other users know each other’s status. That means you’ll be able to see when someone is online, busy, or away.
HOW UCAAS HELPS BUSINESS LEADERS
Here at Svetek, we helped many Northwest customers realize the benefits of using unified communications.
Let’s discover the main ones below.
GREATER TEAM PRODUCTIVITY
A business owner needs to boost their team’s workflow and eliminate bottlenecks; as a result, productivity will significantly improve.
This can be done thanks to unified communications.
This type of communication makes it easier for team members to save time on various tasks, including:
· Faster file sharing that gets rid of email threads for teamwork
· Ability to receive calls from any location
· Ability to receive voicemails and faxes directly in the email
· Single-click video meetings for emergencies
Teams with access to such technologies can be more effective and complete more tasks in a single day. It also helps get rid of communication challenges.
REDUCED COMMUNICATION COSTS
Legacy phones and on-site communication tools often cost more than your IT budget should allow. Additionally, copper lines will soon be obsolete.
On the other hand, unified communication relies on the internet for all its activities. This means your phone system turns to Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and integrates with the rest of the tools. This approach eliminates or, depending on implementation requirements, drastically reduces the need for server and hardware infrastructure.
Unified communications also make it super easy to add new users. With the right permissions, you can simply do so via an easy-to-use dashboard without making service calls.
Finally, the cost of unified communications is the same every month. There won’t be any surprises to your budget.
SUPERIOR CUSTOMER SERVICE
Whether or not a company is successful greatly depends on the quality of its customer service.
You can also connect your CRM software to the platform.
For example, when a person contacts your business, the person in charge can see all the necessary information and notes related to that client, which means they can help them solve issues faster.
ENABLED REMOTE WORKFORCE
Thousands of companies have switched to remote work over the past few years due to the pandemic and other global problems. There are challenges but also plenty of benefits to this approach as well.
A constant concern is ensuring that remote workers have all the tools they need for work.
Thanks to unified communications, everything is included in a single platform. This means that all your remote worker needs to access your network, and all the features is an internet connection.
IMPROVED ORGANIZATIONAL AGILITY
When you increase your team's productivity, the same follows for the entire organization. The organizational agility reflects the strategic value of unified communications. And the results you achieve impact your business as a whole.
So, to see how this approach benefits your work, you must view unified communications from the management side as well.
Definitely, communication has a utilitarian role for management. But when that communication drives productivity, streamlines workflow, and leads to enhanced business results, it’s where you really get to see its value.
ENHANCED SECURITY
The security aspect is crucial for every business. And unified communications enhance the security of a business by integrating all applications into a single platform.
As a result, it becomes straightforward for the IT team to apply specific security policies across all apps. It’s also easier for them to manage security patches and compliance updates since all applications share the same protocols.
ACHIEVING THE POWER OF UNIFIED COMMUNICATIONS
Streamlining the processes inside an organization is extremely important in improving the overall performance of its employees. And unified communications allow you to do just that.
Enhance your customer experience and make your team more efficient by integrating your communications system into a single platform.
UCaaS will let your associates make calls, host meetings, send emails, receive faxes, and chat from a single space.
If you’d like to learn more about implementing unified communications or VoIP in your business, we’d be happy to help. Reach out to us for a 10-15-minute review of any questions you might have.
