Unified Communications have become a staple of the business world in the past few years, but 2020 has really seen their use take off. If you have used Microsoft Teams or a similar service that combines calls, video conferencing, messaging and various file sharing services, then you are already making use of Unified Communications.
In an environment where we are, for better or worse, spending progressively less time in the office with our colleagues, it is crucial that teams can maintain an atmosphere that supports collaboration and teamwork. It was a common issue at the start of lockdown. Many teams were not maintaining the same level of communication and important things started slipping through the cracks. Whether it was a customer call or security notices, a business can lose a lot when its staff aren’t able to properly keep in contact.
This is where UC steps in. A UC system gives you a more efficient way to work alongside your colleagues and even your customers. Whether you are in the office or at home, all of your business processes can be better streamlined by making use of a communication system that keeps all of your business tools in one place. Here are some of the main features of UC that we at Chrome believe are essential for helping businesses to stay connected.
Video Conferencing
This is perhaps the feature of Unified Communications that people are most familiar with, owing to the fact that it was so important during 2020. The ability to be able to have a face-to-face conversation with a customer or colleague on the go is a benefit to businesses that can’t be overstated.
One of the key roles this can help streamline is sales. Face-to-face relationships are essential for any salesperson, they need to make a connection with a customer for a deal to be made. This often involves extensive time spent travelling and doing various networking tasks besides selling such as going out for meals and drinks. Video conferencing cuts down this time dramatically. A remote salesperson can make a customer call with the same level of client interaction, collect their thoughts on the call quickly instead of driving home, and move onto the next customer. Adopting a Remote sales model has become a game-changer for many businesses in 2020 and this can all be facilitated by the power of UC’s video conferencing services.
Instant Messaging
Instant messaging is an often over looked feature of Unified Communications that can make a big difference to the way that teams work together. Whereas video conferencing is great for hosting team meetings and larger calls, when small scale questions or issues need to be handled, messaging steps in. The ability to quickly check details about a specific piece of work, or even just make sure that meeting you thought was on Thursday, definitely is on Thursday, can be carried out in an unobtrusive way.
In terms of streamlining your business’ workflows, the biggest effect of instant messaging could be seen in a support situation. Support teams are often faced with difficult questions on the fly, and it can be difficult to get the right person with the right knowledge to be speaking to the right customer. With a UC system and instant messaging, support teams can quickly collaborate with each other, no matter where they are working. This allows teams to share customer queries and find the appropriate solution quicker than if they were left to handle the problem alone. This is just one example, but it shows clearly just where the utility of an instant messaging solution can be found for businesses in just about any industry.
Integrations
One of the steps any system that offers to ‘unify’ a business’ communications has to take is ensure all of the new services it provides work with what you already use. At Chrome, our UC system does this with ease. Integrating with major specialist software packages used by businesses in many different industries, as well as with scheduling and productivity tools such as Sage and Outlook.
This means you can receive calendar alerts to upcoming calls and meetings on whichever device you choose to use. Our UC service also works just as well on a mobile or laptop as it does on your PC. Naturally this makes working at home or on the go far easier and brings a new sense of flexibility into the way that your team operates.
To find out more about Unified Communications and the way it can help to better connect your business, visit our website and get in touch with the team. If your business has any other communication needs, check out our new range of iPECS 1000i series handsets. These industry leading handsets provide stunning call quality and work very well alongside a UC system.
