The term UC&C, unified communications and collaboration, is bandied around organisations globally. The UC&C technology sector is on the rise too, and it’s justified. Organisations are investing approximately $8.1 million in these technologies and services. The spend is often worth it too. Companies using such tools are highly productive. Those with effective internal communications achieve 47% higher returns for shareholders, making communication technology highly sought after and valuable.
Failure to promote effective communication and collaboration internally is expensive. Around $37 billion is lost annually because of employee misunderstandings and poor communication. To illustrate the impact on productivity, in a business of 100 employees, 17 hours a week - on average - is spent seeking clarification, resulting from misguided communication. Investing in technology, such as UC&C therefore, becomes critical and enables firms to take a proactive and strategic approach to improving their organisational communication.
In addition, today’s technologically-literate, modern employee expects these organisations to supply more than basic traditional collaboration (e.g. conference calling). They want integration with other communication channels too. This might include, for example, voice, video, chat or audio.
IT and business leaders face the pressure of providing staff access to these various collaborative technologies so that organisational productivity and efficiency can be enhanced through effective communication. So, as they do this, what should they consider when they develop their UC&C strategy?
Choosing a UC&C technology ally
When organisations develop their UC&C strategy, they need to ensure it is capable of meeting the organisation’s needs, scale and reach. The following key points could guide the decision-making process:
- Define the business communication needs: Ask: What is my organisation’s unique collaboration mix? What technology does my organisation need? What type of business do I work for? How do we work? What is expected of our industry? Is our staff virtual or office-based? Is the team made-up of Gen-Xers, baby boomers, millennials? These factors are important and once you have a view on what this looks like, then you can build a UC&C strategy and business case based on reliable information.
- Do the homework about your supplier: What is their history? Do they have a positive reputation? Will they provide customer references? These are important considerations. While there are many collaboration technology start-ups popping up, few are truly equipped to support the collaboration needs of the largest global corporations. So, check how many large companies they have supported and whether or not their deployments have been successful.
- Conferencing that scales: For large enterprises, demonstrating the capabilities to support thousands of employees at any given time becomes crucial, both in terms of simultaneous users and simultaneous meetings on your technology provider’s network. Carefully evaluate whether a vendor’s capabilities meet the needs of your company, based on your size and scale requirements. Can they accommodate the smallest ad hoc conference calls as well as large, company-wide events?
In addition, once the decision is made to deploy a technology to your extensive user base, training programmes and resources become paramount to driving usage and adoption to maximise ROI.
