There’s nothing worse than missing messages, wasting time searching for a random email, or repeating yourself multiple times across multiple platforms. Not only that, but accessing tools when working remotely can be a bit of a headache – enter unified communications.
Combine every tool you need to get your work done in one place, making it easy to access emails, set up calls, and work together in one integrated program that can be accessed anywhere.
What is Unified Communications (UCaaS)?
“Unified communications”, also known as UCaaS (unified communications as a service) is an umbrella term for an integrated service where multiple communication tools are combined into one convenient platform. It hosts everything you need to communicate with customers and colleagues alike in a single, streamlined interface. This means all of your video calls, SMS messages, emails, and much more can be found all in one place – easy to use and easily accessible.
How Does Unified Communications Work?
A back-end management system will support your UCaaS service to facilitate the integration between communication tools. The service can be provided to premises or on a public or private cloud. This means remote workers and distributed teams can all use the same platform and benefit from the same tools.
Benefits of Unified Communications
The saying goes, “work smarter, not harder”, and using a unified communications service is the epitome of that. It keeps all your communications services in one place, allowing colleagues to work smarter and more efficiently without wasting time or resources on unnecessary tasks. It can help boost productivity and enhance collaboration within teams, all while saving you money on various line rentals and service providers.
- Multimedia –Unified communications work across multiple different platforms and media. Access files, video calls, voice calls, and instant messaging within a single, easy-to-use interface.
- Easy to integrate – It only takes minutes to set up your communications tools. Not only that, but you can easily add and remove users as needed for a smooth integration across the business crm integration examples salesforce, office 365 zoho github.
- Easier team collaboration – Because all your communication tools can be found in one place, you can expect easier collaboration between teams and colleagues. Communicate with clients, share files, and arrange meetings faster and easier.
How Unified Communications Benefits Remote Workers
Because it is a simple-to-use interface with a single login, you can easily support flexible and hybrid working. With unified communication technologies, employees can work from the office, their home, or even the road using various devices, from desktop and laptop computers to mobile devices – as long as they have an internet connection.
This can help to boost connectivity between distributed teams across the world and bolster productivity as colleagues have a bit more freedom in how they work.
Why is Unified Communication Important?
If you find yourself or your team spending too much time trying to navigate between different communication systems (which can result in duplicated, mixed, or missed messages, slower-running tech, and wasted time), then implementing a unified communications service is the answer.
A UCaaS service collates all of your communication channels into one place, meaning less wasted time, fewer delayed or repeated messages, and better-connected calls. It will also keep all classified documents and information in one place and create a better environment for hybrid working.
Key Components of Unified Communications
The range of tools available in a unified communications package varies. You will often be able to pick and choose which ones you need to get the most out of your service.
The suite of tools that a UCaaS platform might offer includes (but is not limited to)
- Email.
- Instant messaging. Live web chat with customers.
- Text messaging.
- Telephony (fixed line, mobile, or VoIP)
- Voicemail.
- Screen sharing.
- Audio transcription.
- Conference calls.
- Video conferencing and room-based video conferencing.
- Web conferencing, virtual meeting spaces, and interactive whiteboards.
- Calendars, scheduling, and other personal assistant functions.
- Social Media whats app, facebook
- File management and storage.
Unified Communications and Collaboration: What UcaaS Can Do For Your Business
Communication and collaboration are two words that are often used interchangeably but actually mean very different things when it comes to business. Unified communication tools can actually improve both of these things at the same time.
A well-integrated UCaaS tool will help to improve communication between team members with the email, call, and instant messaging tools but will also encourage better collaboration with its shared document and slides editing capacity or virtual whiteboards – helping them reach the same goals and complete projects together.
While communication can exist without collaboration, collaboration is impossible without good communication.
Considerations To Explore Before Purchasing a Unified Communications System
There are some considerations to take into account before you decide to integrate a UCaaS system into your business.
The largest one is security-related. One of the hardest things to accomplish when using a unified communications system is to keep track of users’ identities, and access, and keep data secure. Because the whole point of a UCaaS system is to connect staff from different locations on various networks, making sure each access point is secure can become a challenge.
Additionally, because of this, it means that you are putting your security into the hands of a third party vendor. This means you need to vet and research your chosen UCaaS provider thoroughly before making the commitment.
You can take a few steps to ensure that you and your colleagues are practising good access management by:
- Granting granular access – Define user roles and levels of authorisation to limit access to sensitive data.
- Keep audit trail – Track which users are accessing an API and how they are doing it to help monitor suspicious activity.
- Encrypt your data – Make sure you inquire about your service provider’s level of encryption.
- Improve security awareness – Employees should understand the importance of data security and practise good security habits, such as creating strong passwords and using trusted networks when working.
Why Choose Officeology For Your Unified Communication System?
At Officeology, we pair with leading unified communications providers to bring you the best and most reliable solution. Integrate all of your communication apps and channels into one place, allowing employees to have all the information they need on any device they choose, no matter where they are.