Stronger United: 10 Ways Unified Communications Can Benefit Your Business

The proliferation of communication technology has made it easier than ever to connect with people across your business and beyond. But while video conferencing and screen sharing is an effective way to host meetings, your IT could be hampered by functioning within silos.

A unified communication system is the answer. Ensuring all your channels are integrated makes it easier to manage and allows for a seamless flow of information. Breaking down barriers is imperative to make businesses as efficient as possible, so you can’t afford to let yours fall behind.

What is unified communications?

Unified communications is a cloud-based system used to bring your business communications together in one place to avoid complications and reduce the strain on your IT server. The aim is to prevent interruptions to your service and allow you to access all your communication channels through a single interface.

An effective unified communications system can support:

• VOIP
• SMS messages
• Screen sharing
• File sharing
• Joint calendar scheduling
• Emails

Benefits of unified communications

Any large scale change needs to be backed by a good business case, so what are the benefits of adopting unified communications?

1. Increased productivity

Switching between devices can be time consuming, but employees being able to make calls and share information on laptops and phones will cut down on the need to move between technologies. This will free them up to spend more time on essential tasks.

2. Streamline problem solving

With all of your systems brought together under a single solution, it’s easy to put a troubleshooting process in place. Staff should be able to contact the same place whenever anything goes wrong, cutting down the amount of time offline.

3. Cheaper IT costs

Bundling all your IT needs together should make them cheaper than purchasing each element individually. Not only that, but it can also prevent the overlap of services being offered and paid for by different providers.

4. Easier updating

Updating systems is vital to stay at the top of your game and keep pace with competitors. It can be a laborious process if you have to renew each element separately and then try to find new ways to get them to work in unison.

5. Better remote working capabilities

Traditional infrastructure doesn’t necessarily accommodate remote workers very easily. Unified communications means employees can work from home or other locations with little notice and no disturbance in comms.

6. Improved human experiences

The pandemic put more of an emphasis on doing business via video calls and highlighted the need for high-speed connections. Unified communications can provide that capability and add a more human element to chat functions.

7. Simplified global communications

Communications apps get all the more complicated if you’re running a global business. Trying to tie methods together in different countries can lead to huge inconsistencies for both staff and customers across the world. One unified system will eliminate such issues.

8. Scalability at speed

Without the need for additional technical infrastructure, businesses can scale their communications at speed. Adding new users can be done almost instantaneously, while removing them is just as easy, removing the potential for technical debt.

9. More secure

Calls, emails and messages are all made via an encrypted internet connection when you opt for a unified communications platform. This is particularly important in the modern world of business, where personal and sensitive data must be kept secure.

10. Better collaboration

Connecting with colleagues in real time has become a significant part of business comms, which means breaking down the barriers to it is vital. Sometimes a message chat can be ambiguous and teams want to spontaneously hold a video call meeting to make a situation clearer.