Unified communications (UC) is a relatively new term in the industry which is used to describe the technological union between computing and telephony, two forms of communicating that were previously separated by differing infrastructures. But today, businesses can now benefit greatly from the marriage of these two systems allowing for email, instant messaging, desktop computing, telephony and mobile services to all be used on one fully integrated network with one single framework.
Unified communications can help even the most reliable and profitable of businesses to become faster, more efficient, and better able to remain in the forefront of the competition. Through the integration of multiple communication and informational devices such as laptop computers, mobile phones, PDAs, or similar wireless devices, real time or near real time interactions are possible; essentially allowing one person access to a host of communication tools such as email, voice, fax, SMS, and video through one easy to use application.
Business in general, along with the actual workplace, are simplified on so many levels when telephony is combined with data systems, giving owners and their employees a definitive edge when it comes to both productivity and revenue. Find people quicker, or allow them instantly gain access to you wherever you are, downtime is reduced, transmission errors soon become a thing of the past, and unified communications may also save a business a considerable amount of money on telephone charges.
With streamlined communications, maintenance costs also inevitably drop rather noticeably; yet keeping up with changes in technology, do not pose a great expense, provided the UC solution you are utilising is flexible and capable of multiple upgrades.
The exact type of UC solutions best for your business will depend on a number of variables such as the size of the company, its revenue, and the nature of the business itself. There are many unified communications solutions designed just for small businesses and organisations, so large corporations aren t the only entities who can benefit from streamlining all of their applications.
Think of your company s specific needs and any particular areas you have faced in the past that have either mired down productivity or presented other problematic issues when you have been weighing up the vast array of communication options available to you. Whatever vendor or unified communications solution you ultimately choose, just be sure that it is flexible enough to accommodate new capabilities as they become available or necessary.
If your organisation is interested in expanding or hiring remote workers, or those that perform a service for your company via their home rather than at the company s physical location, a UC solution with IP telephony capabilities will eliminate the need for a larger office, and paying higher rent in the process.
For businesses that want to reap the many benefits of this technological age we live in, UC provides a far more effective way of managing the many means of communication we utilise today. Although the outward cost may be a substantial one depending on your needs, the many benefits unified communications provides far outweigh that initial expense in a variety of ways.
Author Resource:
Derek Rogers is a freelance writer who writes for a number of UK businesses. For information on Unified Communications, he recommends Network 24:http://www.network24.co.uk/unified-communications/
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