How to Make Unified Communications Work for You

May 3rd, 2018 by admin

Though it is at the forefront of any business, productivity is often hampered by a lack of tools that connect the different devices or capabilities an enterprise requires for efficient operations. However, unified communications (UC) provides a solution for enhancing productivity. In fact, UC has gained popularity over the years. At least half of all employees working with companies with these capabilities use UC, according to a 2017 IDC survey. There are several critical parts to UC, including collaboration tools, call control, video conferencing, and even instant messaging. Business process integration software, unified messaging and presence are also important components of UC. You can make it work for your business by leveraging critical UC components in unison, too. Here's how to do just that.

1. Video Conferencing Software

Video conferencing software gives you flexibility in the way your organization communicates, both internally and externally. With the tap of a few buttons, you can effortlessly put yourself or your team into a face-to-face meeting.

Being able to conduct video conferences in a fast and cost-effective way is important for saving time on meetings and closing business deals. You’ll reduce travel costs and boost relationships in an efficient manner.

2. VoIP Programs

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) programs are essential to the call control component of UC. VoIP services provide an important piece of the foundation required to enable UC solutions.

With VoIP systems, you can conduct audio conferences, use intelligent softphones to answer client calls, and even use mobile applications to say connected at all times. With VoIP as a critical tool in your UC arsenal, you can greatly improve mobility and productivity.

3. File Sharing Systems

As part of the collaboration aspect of UC, file sharing systems help to push projects forward. For instance, your employees can share documents and files and work on them simultaneously to avoid having multiple copies of the same document and reduce confusion. By leveraging file sharing systems that can communicate with other forms of collaboration tools, you can help your employees to become more efficient.

4. Chat Applications

Chat applications work to improve business processes so that workers can answer questions in real-time. When you use chat applications as part of UC, you can also leverage the power of accessing your communications all in one central location. This helps to support mobility within the enterprise and leverages the presence component of UC. Presence technology lets employees know when a co-worker is available for instant messaging based on selected status updates within the chat application. The messages used for enterprise-level chat applications can also be encrypted for enhanced data security, too. Secure messaging improves collaboration and facilitates doing better work.

5. Unified Messaging

Leveraging unified messaging is important for answering client inquiries as soon as possible. That's why email (in collaboration with voice and fax capabilities) helps to push business processes forward.

Thanks to unified messaging, workers can answer messages regardless of their physical location or the devices they use. For example, your employees can receive missed calls that were left as a voicemail in the form of an email to their inbox. Moreover, information that requires faxing can be done leveraging unified messaging capabilities right from email. It’s a better way to interconnect various applications and services.

Unified Communication for Your Business

Taking advantage of crucial UC components, such as video conferencing software and chat applications, is paramount to enhancing productivity and optimizing operations for your business.

While each component benefits businesses in different ways, unified communications ties all of these advantages together. Have any questions on UC, or how it can help your business? Contact us to learn more.

Tags: managed services, Phone System, unified communications

Posted in: Blog