Unified Communications refers to much more than just the telephone system that your office uses.
Within UC falls many options, and more that has to do with office communications, encompassing a large range of devices spread over a multitude of connection formats. Because of this widespread functionality, unified communications can act as an all in one upgrade when your office is looking to improve its connectivity and devices. You may even be using many of the devices and software which unified communications seeks to integrate, which is why it’s unfair to call it a system upgrade. Instead, it enhances the existing processes in place, ‘unifying’ them as the name suggests. In fact, unified communications may hardly cost any more than your existing services, simply because it doesn’t look to introduce any new applications generally, other than a hub that is typically viewable over a range of devices.
Gauging the functionality of unified communications goes well beyond just looking at the numbers, because standard ROI metrics are not quite applicable to a non-hardware based service. Perhaps the best way in which to understand the benefits of unified communications is to view real office examples.
- Employee Productivity
Your employees are most involved with communications, either when speaking to you, or speaking to customers, or even communicating amongst themselves. For this purpose, the platform of unified messaging may be the perfect choice for complete integration. It will allow your employees to communicate in one central messaging hub, eliminating the need for various mediums and devices (if the user desires). This hub is accessible though mobile device and desktop, meaning that not a single fax, email, text, or video call will be missed by them again.
Unified messaging helps your employees work effectively from any device and any location, greatly speeding up the rate at which your office operates without adding any new tasking or stress. This will increase productivity, and you’ll see your employees working more effectively and working faster, but with no increased load. Quite often, there is an increase in available time for them, and you, to be more productive, as typical communication time back and forth (turnaround time) decreases.
- Team Productivity
Employees aren’t just a collection of workers; they’re part of a bigger team, and should be able to function as an effective team. But while one or two employees can easily meet for a discussion, it’s usually difficult to get the entire team to meet in person all at once. But by using unified communications technologies, you can easily eliminate this problem, by using something as simple as video conferencing services.
Obviously, nothing will beat an in person meeting. However, video conferencing can act as a suitable replacement, and will allow for easier planning of any necessary meetings. You can quickly sub in employees when they’re needed for meetings, or shoot off quick communications to find out information. Seeing everyone on video will also be a powerful substitute for in person meetings, and will reduce the need for bringing in employees into a physical location.
Unified communications will speed up your overall office operations, making impromptu meetings a cinch to engage.
- Business Benefits
What’s good for your employees is good for your business, and so far, it’s looking like unified communications can do quite a bit for your business. Because unified communications is proven to increase productivity and enhance employee operations, it’s justifiable for management to implement it business-wide, as it will have a positive impact on the business’s ease of operation and return on investment.
The more flexible the business is, the easier the job of management, as more tasks can be fulfilled by employees, with less stress, with customer needs ultimately being better fulfilled. Unified communications resolves issues that any business management will have, through a natural and streamlined process.
- IT Simplification
Ultimately, the IT department will have to deal with the repercussions from implementing unified communications, even if they don’t do the initial set up. Luckily, the singular environment in which unified communications operates makes doing so extremely simple, reducing the need for IT to continuously monitor network usage and employee processes.
Unified Communications is the all in one solution that your business has been yearning for, and that your employees will thank you for implementing and streamlining. When planned and implemented properly, by trained and qualified technicians, not only will you see business productivity increasing, but your employee performance will also improve, with greater workflow outcomes.