For a business, communications take several forms. You have the telephone, instant messaging, email, and other collaboration mediums. On top of that, most businesses have some way to communicate with customers outside of the main options. That’s a lot of communication tools to manage and keep working effectively. This month we thought we would talk a little bit about the benefits of unifying your communications platforms for added benefit.

What is Unified Communications?

Unified communications is the act of integrating multiple communications tools into one platform to improve management and user experience. With a unified communications platform, a user can switch seamlessly between different modes of communication on whichever device they are using at the time. This is made possible through the use of software that supports real-time communications and asynchronous communications, keeping important conversations going whether they are internal or external. 

How Does Unified Communications Work?

A UC platform is usually supported by software that integrates the types of communications under one system. This makes it possible to quickly switch between a chat and a video conference with the support of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) with a click of a button. The speed and utility brought by UC effectively speeds up business, making projects move faster, support better, and increase productivity. 

The benefits don’t stop at efficiency and productivity. Today, there are UCaaS platforms that not only allow a business to get all the communications tools they could want under one platform, they can do so on a per-user basis that allows a company to scale their communications tools quickly and effectively. More than that, many of today’s cloud-based UC platforms can integrate with social media platforms, customer-facing applications, and other useful business resources to bring additional value. 

What Are Some of the Components You’d Find in a UC Platform?

When we talk about unified communications, we are serious about unifying the entire lot of communications tools your business uses. These include:

• Enterprise email
• Text messaging
• Chat programs
• Mobile 
• Instant messaging
• VoIP
• Transcription
• Video Conferencing
• Collaboration
• Calendars and scheduling
• Social networking
• File sharing

Most businesses could benefit from unifying their communications. If you would like to have a conversation with one of our knowledgeable professionals about leveraging unified communications for your business, give us a call today at (704) 895-0010.