If you have a key role in managing a business operation of any size by now you most likely have heard the term Unified Communications (UC). If so, have you taken the time to understand what it actually means? In simplest terms, Unified Communications (UC) is the integration of real-time communication services such as instant messaging (chat), employee presence information, telephony (IP telephony), video conferencing, data sharing, and unified messaging (integrated voice mail, e-mail, SMS and fax). Unified Communications has been around for approximately a decade and was made possible with the advent of IP data networking and Voice over IP (VoIP) technologies. Early adoption was mainly by larger enterprise and government organizations but as the technology has matured, UC is quickly being implemented by businesses of all sizes. How can business Benefit from Unified Communications? UC brings communication methods and platforms together to improve overall collaboration among employees, partners, and customers. The Return on any Investments (ROI) made in Unified Communications is positively measured by improved productivity and workflow, company resource allocation, better availability of key staff to clients and overall increased customer satisfaction. Popular UC Features include: • Seeing the real-time presence and availability status of remote co-workers • Receive voice messages as an e-mail (wave file format) • ability to use your PC or Smartphone as your "desk phone" while you are out of the office • Flip calls between a smart phone and a desk phone • have calls, faxes, SMS, text on same line • Using a private and secure Instant messaging to chat with key co-workers • Access voice mails anywhere and at any time use voice mail-to-text • see remote employees via video conferencing while sharing your desk top applications Proven Hosted Phone or Cloud based IP PBX solutions such as Ring Central can provide business integrated key UC features and benefits without the need to spend valuable working capital. Implementation of a cloud based Unified Communication phone systems is usually simple and quick. If you have not integrated UC into your business, it may be time to consider it as you are most likely missing out on increased productivity and reduced costs.
