Why You Should Embrace Unified Communications as a Service
Unified communications as a service allows onsite and remote users to collaborate seamlessly between devices and platforms — ideal for security dealers and monitoring centers.
The development and adoption for hosted Cloud technology is rapidly growing throughout the world, with marginal momentum in the electronic security and monitoring industry.
The Cloud is more than a buzzword — it’s a meaningful shift in business efficiency and leverage. Engaging with experts toward transitioning a variety of legacy systems to the Cloud helps businesses in a variety of manners.
Let’s take a closer look at one application in particular that can bring several advantages to a security dealer or monitoring center: unified communications (UC) and collaboration.
UC allows onsite and remote users to collaborate seamlessly between devices and platforms. VoIP, mobility, video conferencing, instant messaging, collaboration and presence technologies can all work together seamlessly in the Cloud … with the right solution and implementation.
UCaaS Cloud Packages Pack in a Ton
Even monitoring centers that think they are 100% dependent on premises-based telephone systems will discover that a hosted telephone solution is favorable and can work hand-in-hand with premises systems when necessary.
Hosted call center functionality is a priceless approach for improved client and staff management without breaking the bank. Everything from work force management (WFM) to artificial intelligence (AI) will bring any security or monitoring company tremendous value.
Every business needs a telephone. These days, they’re also likely to need a video communications platform, chat interface, social media and a company-wide calendar. The technology patchwork is a lot for the user to keep track of, and a bit of an IT headache.
Unified communications as a service (UCaaS) solves these problems in a single sweep. UCaaS offers a secure means of collaboration across multiple channels (voice, video, chat, etc.) and guarantees a seamless communications experience for mobile and remote employees.
Effective UC can also help CIOs simplify data management, satisfy privacy requirements, and solve quality of service (QoS) issues. As with other “as-a-service” offerings, UCaaS is flexible, scalable and cost-effective.
Delivered in a complete package as a Cloud-based service, UC can radically simplify operations and transform your business. UC will undoubtedly include voice and telephony, and perhaps mobile support for companies. It may also include email and voicemail, key system emulation, audio and video conferencing solutions, presence and instant messaging, or even desktop and thin browser clients.
A UC platform will likely also incorporate communications applications, such as integrated contact centers and workstream collaboration tools. All of this is highly customizable and scalable.
Customers Enjoy Elevated Experience
Most consumers agree with the statement, “a business and especially a security business should respond 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”
Modern businesses often turn to UCaaS to help address this. Auto attendant functionality and call center integration are several of the many communications tools that can revolutionize customer experience.
Traditional call centers no longer suffice; the modern consumer uses a variety of communications channels. On top of this, recent data from a study from AT&T confirms that 85% of consumers prefer to receive a text rather than a voice call or email.
UCaaS can elevate the contact center experience by integrating customer contact across multiple channels. This allows a business to better see and analyze the customer journey, ensuring customer satisfaction and reducing churn.
Advanced Analytics for Business of All Sizes
Actionable information is key to optimizing a company’s performance. UCaaS offers data analytics of communications tools that enable businesses to increase efficiency by revealing areas in their workflows that need improvement.
Anytime access to insights around employee activity and communication patterns gives a business the flexibility to make strategic decisions quickly, rather than waiting for monthly or quarterly reporting.
This level of transparency can help a business optimize spending, scale tools appropriately, and learn to leverage the right channels to support their employees and customers.
UCaaS gives small businesses a path to stay lean while providing a best-in-class user experience for their employees and customers. For mid-market businesses, UCaaS offers the flexibility they need as they grow and can free up IT staff to focus on revenue-driving projects.
Large enterprise communications historically presented the biggest challenges, but with UCaaS a large business can unify global operations and maximize collaboration across all branches.
Large businesses also benefit from the adoption of an OPEX model, which eliminates the risk of a CAPEX investment. Today’s customers demand a diverse, accessible array of channels with a seamless user experience.
Employees do their best work in a UC environment. UCaaS is the right solution to meet these challenges for many businesses, from SMB to enterprise.
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About the Author
Peter Giacalone
Peter Giacalone is President of Giacalone Associates, an independent security consulting firm.
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