The Benefits of Unified Communications for Businesses
September 2nd, 2021 by Van Ausdall & Farrar
Efficient and effective communication is the backbone of any successful business. From phone calls, video calls, SMS and chat, your employees must have ways to properly communicate with one another, and most importantly, with your clients. But with so many different communication platforms available today, it can often become overwhelming to keep up with each platform.
According to Hanover Research, 70% of companies use two to five communications providers, or point solutions, in their communications stack. Twenty percent use six or more! That’s where a third-generation unified communications platform comes in.
What is Unified Communications?
The latest generation in unified communications technology consolidates all the following communication mediums in one, easy-to-use client interface:
- Voice calls
- Audio conferencing
- Chat
- SMS
- Video
- Mobile
As many businesses and industries continue to move away from physical workplaces and embrace a remote workforce, having effective ways to communicate with co-workers is of the utmost importance. Unified communications essentially integrate a variety of different communication methods into one single platform or service.
Unified communications allow your employees to effectively communicate with one another on a single platform from UCaaS (unified communications as a service) providers such as Mitel and 8×8. It doesn’t matter if your employees are using a combination of PC, Mac, iPhone, or Droid devices; you’ll be covered with an “all-one-client” that’s easy to use and simple to support.
Gone are the days when employees had to visit multiple platforms for instant messaging, calling, video conferencing, and collaborating with one another. Point solutions for a particular application are fine until you find yourself using half a dozen applications that have little to no integration with each other. The cost and time involved to train your staff on each application is excruciatingly painful, let alone the oversized burden you’re placing on your IT staff to manage.
Benefits Provided by Unified Communications
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INCREASED PRODUCTIVITY
Employees perform at their highest capabilities when they’re able to seamlessly collaborate and communicate among each other. There’s no smoother way to allow employees to communicate and collaborate than by providing a single communication platform.
Additionally, most unified communications platforms integrate file-sharing software to make it much easier for documents and files to be shared. Instead of emailing documents back and forth countless times, files can be quickly accessed by each user.
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REDUCED COSTS
A UC solution provides all of the necessary communication platforms that your business needs to succeed. Rather than paying for multiple expensive platforms, you only need to pay for one single platform. This presents the opportunity to save significantly on your communications costs and apply those savings to other areas of your business.
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IMPROVED PROCESSES
Employees have access to so many different communication platforms that it can often become overwhelming. It’s easy to forget where a conversation took place or where a file was shared.
Unified communications systems seamlessly integrate all forms of communication to significantly improve your existing processes. Additionally, the integration of multiple means of communication allows for multichannel sessions that significantly increase overall productivity.
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ENHANCED REMOTE CAPABILITIES
Unified communication systems are built around the idea of providing employees with better ways to collaborate. These systems empower remote workers to do their job effectively, no matter where they’re working from.
If your business is like many that are transitioning to a digital workplace, then you must provide your employees with the proper communication and collaboration tools that they need to be successful.
Contact Van Ausdall & Farrar for Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS)
The technology experts at Van Ausdall & Farrar know how important it is to provide employees with unified communications to improve communication and collaboration. Whether your business utilizes a physical or remote workplace, unified communications are a great way to ensure that employees can effectively communicate with each other.
To discuss your unified communications options, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us today. We’re more than happy to walk you through your options, as well as to answer any questions you might have. At VA&F, we support both premise and cloud-based unified communications platforms. One size does not fit all. Since 1983, VA&F has deployed over 5,000 communications platforms across the United States. Please contact us for a complimentary consultation. You’ll profit from our experience.
Posted in: Insights from VAF Blog, Communications
