Unified Communications, in short UC, has been the buzzword in the communication technology space in the past few years. The prevailing circumstances have compelled companies to find unique ways to communicate and stay in touch with their employees, customers, vendors, and other stakeholders. Fortunately, UC came to the rescue of many organizations.

Tech-savvy companies with foresight who already had Unified Communications in place enjoyed a smooth transition. But those organizations who were not future-ready found themselves scampering for solutions. Digital transformation became their priority. However, as UC is cloud-based, migrating to this latest form of communication did not become challenging.

Cloud-based Unified Communications integrates different communication modes like IP telephony, also called VoIP, mobile phones, voicemail, voice messages, email, SMS, fax, video calling, video conferencing, audio and web conferencing, social media, instant messengers, etc. UC has been in existence since the mid-90s. The digital transformation that began in the early to mid-2000s led to the adoption of the digital workforce and innovations in UC.

Digital transformation changed how people communicated and socialized. It is also reflected in their work habits. Companies noticed this behavioral shift even among their consumers and workforce. The organizations that understood this transformation early adopted Unified Communications to efficiently stay in touch with their employees, customers, vendors, etc.

Before 2019, digital transformation was a long-term project for most companies, but after 2020, it became a topmost priority, especially implementing Unified Communications. Remote working, work from home, global offices & delivery centers have become a new norm enabled by UC.

Unified Communications is a boon to many organizations in the current scenario. Enterprises have been able to continue their businesses without any interruptions and delays. Companies stayed resilient. It was possible because UC supported them to implement their business continuity plans sooner than later.

How are organizations benefitting from unified communications?

Digital Transformation’s convenience and its accessibility have made people embrace the latest technologies like Unified Communications that it has given rise to. The faster and simpler ways of communicating have fostered collaboration among the user of UC. Companies that were quick to identify these advantages immediately adopted digital transformation into their operations.

1. Improves productivity of employees 

Unified Communications helps in the instant sharing of information and data, documents, files, videos, etc. The collaboration within the team and among employees of the organization improves as they are always connected. With the team members in constant touch, the work keeps moving without any friction. Thus, it raises the productivity of the individuals, in turn, the team and the organization.

2. Better accessibility & visibility

As Unified Communications is cloud-based, the data shared are visible to all those who have permission. The restrictions of locations are overcome. Anybody with authorization and internet connection can access the date and communicate from anywhere.

3. Quick decision-making

Cloud-based communication technologies generate real-time reports with analytics. Decision-making becomes faster as instantly produced reports can be quickly analyzed. You can immediately improvise the processes to make them more efficient.

4. Immediate feedback to employees

Management finds it easy to track employees’ progress, especially agents working with contact centers, inside sales teams, etc. It is possible because you can follow the team members’ activities in real-time. It helps the management to give quick feedback to the low-performing employees and help them improve.

5. Multi-gadget friendly

You can communicate from any device or gadget like laptops, tablets, mobile phones that connect to the cloud. Multi-device connectivity is also possible. For example, calling from a desktop to a fixed-line. It gives you mobility and allows you to stay connected. Your coworkers, customers, and vendors will always find you accessible.

As mentioned earlier, this is possible because of Unified Communications’ ability to integrate devices and different media of communication.

6. Integrating with other enterprise software applications

Various enterprise software products, customer relationship management software, sales dialer software, contract management software, etc., can be integrated with Unified Communication. The data can be mutually transferred and updated on these applications. It becomes easier to track the workflow, updating the sales database, make quick decisions, etc.

7. Enhanced customer experience

Consumers have become digitally savvy. Hence, it has compelled organizations also to up their digital game. With digital transformation, customers have various options to be in touch with brands.

Unified Communications enables omnichannel communication. It includes VoIP, voice messaging systems, chatbots, instant messengers, social media, voicemail service, etc. Consumers can choose whichever means they find comfortable contacting companies.

8. Customizability and scalability

Unified Communications can be customized to the needs of your businesses. You can choose the features you need and avoid that are unnecessary. You can pay and acquire only the useful features and save the costs on those not required. You can select the plan suitable to your size and type of business. You can opt for another plan depending on the value it has added to you in the future.

Also, while expanding or downsizing, UC’s scalability and flexibility come in handy. Scaling up, downsizing, or moving, is hassle-free with Unified Communications.

9. Lower hardware costs

As Unified Communications is cloud-based, the requirement for equipment and hardware is minimized to a large extent. It reduces not only the initial investment but also the recurring operations and maintenance costs.

10. Supports remote working

Unified Communications provides seamless connectivity as businesses increasingly adopt remote working, work from home, and cross international borders. Especially in the prevailing circumstances, UC has turned out to be a boon for organizations to be up and running in no time.

11. Single window for better engagement & collaboration

Unified Communications integrates all communication forms like VoIP, voicemail service, voice messaging systems, instant messengers, social media handles, etc. It becomes your one-stop-shop for interacting with your team, customers, and vendors.

When the restrictions and lockdowns were declared, employees had to work from home. UC enabled employees to stay continuously connected with the employees, customers, vendors, and other stakeholders. It was one of the key contributors that helped organizations to execute their business resilience and continuity plans.

Cloud-based Unified Communications also provides equally robust support to offshore office locations. All they need is a good internet connection that allows them to access the cloud.

By enabling remote working that breaches geographical boundaries, companies can save a lot on infrastructure, capital expenditure, and other investments.