Unified Communications is changing the way we do business.
Thanks to its ability to consolidate phone systems and online processes into one easily-manageable solution, it’s gaining an increased presence in the workplace, with benefits including lower costs, improved productivity, better mobility and enhanced customer service.
To show you how UC can enhance your business, here are just a few of its most valuable uses…
Presence
What UC gives you in droves is a way for your business to be consistently present.
With real-time notifications, knowledge of when a user is available or unavailable, and fast, effective ways to communicate with both your employees and clients, it can help optimise your time and improve your productivity in doing so.
According to research conducted by Chadwick Martin Bailey, 49% of UC users saved up to 20 minutes per day due to being able to reach co-workers on the first try. Additionally, 50% of users saved up to 20 minutes per day by escalating IM chats into web conferences via easy-to-use UC systems.
With such a fast, responsive presence, UC ensures that all methods of communication work together so that no calls are missed and not returned, no customer is overlooked and no message sits idly in your inbox unread.
Instant messaging
While instant messaging isn’t uncommon, instant messaging through UC offers a secure, private channel that public IM services such as AOL or Yahoo can’t match.
Intended to be used by any employee who has access to your system, it’s a crucial component of UC that can help you work faster, more collaboratively and more efficiently.
Unified messaging
By integrating voice, fax and email communications, unified messaging allows users to access messages at any time, from anywhere, as long as they’re connected to the internet. Most UC solutions offer a variety of advanced call and message management functions, including desktop call screening, live reply or call return and cross-media messaging, to make communication between employees easier than ever.
These new capabilities not only work to enhance your business’ presence but also offer a more efficient, real-time connectivity that can save time and money across the board.
Conferencing and collaboration
Speaking of communication between employees, UC provides a way for staff members to collaborate more effectively.
According to Chadwick Martin Bailey’s research, an impressive 75% of users experienced improved productivity between employees who were based in different locations, all thanks to having access to voice and video conferencing through their UC system. In addition to this, 64% of users saw a drop in their travel costs of over 10%.
With integrated audio, video and web conferencing, along with shared workspaces, file sharing and document sharing, UC is a cornerstone for successful collaboration. With it you can view presentations and project updates in real-time while conferencing with colleagues who aren’t in the room. As long as each employee involved has access to the system, you can call ad-hoc meetings and presentations, any time you’d like.
Speech access and personal assistant
Access to your inbox, calendar and directory is enhanced with speech commands and virtual assistants brought to you by UC. Virtual assistants are particularly beneficial as they can provide intelligent screening and filtering of messages, while helping you to navigate your schedule, contacts and calendar, making organisation and admin work much easier on both you and your employees.
Mobility
The great thing about UC is the mobility it offers your business, thanks to video and voice conferencing and the ability to access the system from anywhere.
Furthermore, as Chadwick Martin Bailey states, 67% of UC users reported an increase in mobile productivity and faster problem resolution, with 36% saving up to 25% of time daily from long-distance avoidance.
With easy access to real-time communications and core systems, UC not only makes it easy for employees to work from any location, whether that be from home, from events or from meetings away from the office, it also allows them to be more productive, more decisive and more motivated while doing so.
Business process integration
With Unified Communications, there’s very little room for human error. It flawlessly integrates with business processes and workflow applications to eliminate the need to wait for human input or communication.
Instead, you’re able to contact the relevant person immediately using the application, add them to the conversation or initiate an ad-hoc meeting in order to get the information you’re looking for fast. This can occur through instant messaging, phone calls, emails or even by simply clicking on a shared document and hovering over a staff member’s name to initiate a real-time conversation and resolve the issue on the spot.
Unified Communications provides a myriad of uses to help your business become more productive, more agile and more flexible. If you’re interested in benefiting from all that UC has to offer, get in touch with our team to find out how.
