The market for Unified Communications is predicted to reach a value of over $143.5 billion by the end of 2024. When used properly, a unified communications platform can be a tool for growth, helping to implement productivity and efficiency into any workplace – big or small. That’s why many small businesses are starting to explore the opportunities that UC can bring.
When it comes to improving the efficiency, productivity, and collaboration of employees in the average workplace, organisations are drowning in a sea of options. There’s voice, video, web conferencing, instant messaging, email, and countless other options out there. Even the smallest companies are struggling to figure out how they can fit everything together into a strategy that delivers better performance, and enhanced customer experience (CX).
Addressing the Communication Problem
One of the biggest issues companies have with communication, is that if they want to embrace multiple channels, including on-premises systems, video conferencing, and instant messaging solutions, they need to invest in dozens of different pieces of technology. This leads to a siloed, and overly-complicated work environment that smothers efficacy, instead of enhancing it.
When no two pieces of technology work naturally together, customers and business professionals need to spend more time struggling to communicate because they need to switch manually from one method to another, each time searching for contact information, and encountering the same frustrating roadblocks.
The rise of cloud technology, combined with a growing need for communications systems that work seamlessly together has lead to the UC revolution. Unified communications aims to deliver a connectivity strategy that breaks down the walls of the legacy business space and gives small businesses access to a single-pane-of-glass solution for communication.
Choosing a Unified Communications Platform
Now that vendors have begun to notice the purchasing power of smaller companies and enterprises, there are plenty of UC solutions available that have been custom-made for fewer users. However, choosing the right platform for your needs isn’t always a simple process. While there’s no one-size-fits-all strategy, most organisations find that the right UC platform will be one that can:
- Ease Adoption: Any unified communication strategy needs full buy-in from its users to be effective. If you can’t get your workers to use your UC service, then you’ll never reap the rewards. A system that doesn’t require a great deal of additional training to access can be a great solution for a small business who doesn’t have time to waste on implementing a new communications service
- Be Interoperable: Your UC system should integrate with the other systems in your business strategy, from your content management system to your relationship management solution. Interoperability is a key part of maintaining the “streamlined” natural effect of unified communications
- Offer a Range of Features: Finally, while different UC solutions come with different features, many will come with a range of standard options all the way from call recording, to instant messaging designed to improve workflow. The features you choose will depend on the specific needs of your business
