While researching business phone systems, collaboration, remote and hybrid working solutions, you probably come across the phrase “Unified Communications” a lot. But what is unified communications (UC)? What are the key business drivers and benefits of this solution? What are the top 10 questions businesses should be asking themselves to determine which UCaaS solution best fits their remote and hybrid working strategy? This blog post will help you understand the nuances around Unified Communications and what it means in today’s age of digital transformation.
Unified Communications or UC is everything that a modern business needs today to communicate and collaborate with their employees and customers. UC refers to a streamlined, often cloud-based, solution that brings video, chat, conferencing, file sharing and more together in a single platform along with voice services.
How? By bringing the voice communications to the Internet via VoIP – Voice over Internet Protocol. With VoIP (commonly pronounced ‘voyp’) the human voice becomes an analog data packet that can be transmitted via the Internet.
Thus, UC takes all of the tools the business uses on a given day and deploys them in a single service for easy user adoption. For example, employees can link their own cell phones (if you’re a BYOD, bring your own device office) to work phones and transfer calls seamlessly, to wherever they are, via UC, which also includes IM (instant messaging). At the same time, workers can work out of a single, unified inbox that collects email, fax, voicemail transcriptions and more — in one place.
UC integrates (or “unifies”) the phone system with multiple enterprise communication tools with the goal to improve end-user experience, increase productivity and to provide users with the flexibility to work from any location, on any device.
UC can be deployed on-premises, in a private or public cloud. The rise in remote and hybrid working has accelerated the adoption of cloud-based solutions. Cloud-based UC, also known as Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) frees businesses from the hassle of managing the IT infrastructure and datacenters. With UCaaS you partner with a vendor who can help customize your UC solution to your needs, integrating the platform with your existing applications and unique networking solutions.
A UCaaS platform is a suite of tools that includes the following features and more:
The pandemic has changed the way we work. We now live in an era where work is no longer tied to a physical location, phone or screen. This rise in remote and hybrid working, has given rise to a vast majority of communication tools that has overwhelmed most IT teams and employees. This is why, most businesses are re-evaluating their existing UC solution and are looking for a vendor that can deliver a long-term UCaaS strategy.
Here are the top 3 business drivers that we come across during our customer interactions for UCaaS:
The right UCaaS solution improves employee productivity enables better communication and collaboration. Employees can connect with their co-workers any time to collaborate on a project and solve customer issues faster. It improves employee engagement and customer satisfaction. The seamless integration between the telephony solution and other cloud solutions such as CCaaS and Microsoft Teams enhances user experience and visibility. UCaaS technologies reduces travel costs, provides employees the flexibility to work from office, home or on the road and use the device of their choice such as a desktop, mobile or laptop computer.
Top 10 Questions to Consider when determining the right UCaaS solution for your organization
Like most businesses, if your organization is looking for a modern UCaaS solution, here are the top 10 questions you should ask yourself:
Evolve IP’s Unified Communications delivers award-winning collaboration and crystal-clear voice services that integrate with the applications you’re already using today, on any connected device. So, if you’re curious about what we can do for your business, then reach out to one of our Technology Advisors and #JoinTheEvolution!