Unified Communications and Collaboration: Why They Go Hand in Hand

As companies increasingly transition to remote labor, the need for unified communication and collaboration systems grows. From small businesses to larger enterprises, Unified Communication as a Service (UCaaS) is becoming vital and necessary for employee collaboration. Let’s take a look at why UCaaS is so important to the modern business.

What Is Unified Communications as a Service?

“Unified Communications” describes an infrastructure through which multiple channels of communication are combined into a single system. These can range from very simple to very complex. Communication channels might include email, phone, instant messaging, video conferencing and fax. A few popular unified communications examples include Cisco, Zoom and Lumen—these include enterprise phone, fax and video conferencing systems. But because the term “Unified Communications” is quite broad, it could also describe a platform such as MS Teams or Slack. Any time all the communications used by a company are combined into a singular system, it is a unified system.

75 percent of UCaaS users report a boost in productivity. The UCaaS market is growing fast—and many businesses may find that UCaaS makes them more competitive within their field, both in terms of responsiveness and availability and general overhead.

In the past, many unified communications systems were run on on-premises infrastructure; this includes telephony systems, PBX and sip trunking. Today, most of them are transitioning to “as a service” solutions; solutions that are able to leverage the accessibility, flexibility and reliability of the cloud. UCaaS makes it possible for employees to connect from anywhere and experience the same environment; they are able to communicate and collaborate in the same fashion whether they are remote, at work or at home, and whether the person they are talking to is remote, at work or at home.

How Does UCaaS Improve Communication and Collaboration?

UCaaS solutions make it easier for employees to connect and engage. There are a few important reasons why UCaaS platforms improve collaboration:

• A consolidated system takes the guesswork out of communication. No longer do employees have to wonder if they’ve missed messages, check multiple venues for their messages, or try to remember and hunt down where information was stored. Employees will be notified when they receive communications anywhere within the unified system and will be able to react accordingly.
• Communications can be appropriately routed. What happens when an employee is out of the office? After connecting to the employee’s desk, communications can be shifted to their business phone, cellphone or even an associate. This ensures that communication occurs when it needs to occur and nothing important is missed.
• All employees remain on a level (and accessible) playing field. With some employees operating remotely, some in the office and others switching between both, it becomes even more important to foster a sense of community and connection. A UCaaS system treats all employees equally and ensures that communications are occurring in the same way for all of them, whether their office is at home, in the building or on the road.
• Communications can occur anywhere and at any time. UCaaS utilizes the cloud to make communications more open and accessible. Today’s employees are frequently using their phones, tablets, laptops, desktop PCs and more to connect; a cloud-based system presents the same environment regardless of operating system and connection type.
• Communications are faster and more reliable. A UCaaS solution can deploy resources on-the-fly from the cloud, something that is incredibly important with an all-in-one communication system. In the past, unified solutions could be cumbersome; internet data could interfere with voice data, and latency and interference could be introduced. But UCaaS solutions are not only flexible and affordable, they’re also faster and more reliable.
• UCaaS systems can be used to control privacy and security issues. Consolidating all communications not only makes it easier to ensure that everything is properly secured, but it also presents an easier path toward potential audits and issues of regulatory compliance.

Today’s employees need far greater levels of flexibility regarding when and where they work. Without UCaaS solutions, they can easily find themselves unable to complete their work, unable to connect with each other and unable to meaningfully engage with the organization as a whole. UCaaS is the backbone of communication and collaboration and can mean the difference between effective, productive communication and a logistical nightmare.

As many as 97 percent of employees are uninterested in returning to work full-time. More urgently, 1 in 3 employees have promised to quit if they are not allowed to continue working from home. UCaaS solutions may very well be necessary for this newly remote workforce.

Nevertheless, many organizations find themselves hesitant to transition to cloud unified communications, especially if they don’t have an internal IT team that can facilitate the change. At Red River, we can help organizations make the leap. Contact Red River today to learn more.