In an era of high-tech collaboration and cloud-based applications using a wide array of mobile and internet-driven devices from myriad locations — your company needs unified communications. 

What are unified communications?

According to Information Age, “voices are but one piece in the communication puzzle.” But as recently as the early- to mid-1990’s the majority of business communication took place over hard-wired, direct dial telephones. High-tech meant fax machines; the primary communication expense was the phone bill.

Today, cloud-based phone service technology has rendered the traditional phone line nearly obsolete. But at the same time, additional tools have been added to the communications toolbox. Now businesses have access to the internet, and the internet itself is growing by leaps and bounds.

Video conferencing, once a high-end offering conducted via satellite, is now an everyday tool available on just about every worker’s desktop and certainly in their pocket with their smartphone. Moreover, videoconferencing itself is morphing into a multifaceted set of collaborative tools with everything from live chat and screen sharing to real-time subtitling and language translation.

The concept of “unified communications” refers to the fast-growing business practice of bringing all of a company’s communications and collaboration tools into a single, integrated package. Voice, VoIP, internet, videoconferencing, chat, screen- and file-sharing – this and more becomes consolidated onto a single, cloud-based platform.

Leading businesses have been migrating to unified communications in large numbers. So much so, says Aragon Research, that the world has evolved to where unified, multi-modal communications should be considered  “the norm.”

How do unified communications work?

This shift toward unified communications is a wave that has been forming for nearly 20 years. In its early phases, a key challenge was that the various communications tools comprising unified communications were built on proprietary technologies. This meant that adding incremental capabilities, as technologies advanced, was a challenging endeavor.  

But today, more and more technologies are being built with flexibility, modularity and interoperability all in mind. This means that leading businesses are no longer thinking about any single form of communication or collaboration in isolation. Instead, they are free to create integration across the whole of their communicative/collaborative networks.

So it’s not just Skype, Zoom or Teams hooked into your internet. It’s not standalone VoIP or a separate set of web hosting and internet provision or mobile contracts. Today, companies are looking to bundle the whole of their business tools and networks into a multi-modal unified communications framework.

How does this ease pain points?

A shift to unified communications offers a host of benefits. These include:

• Enhanced collaboration.   Workers are able to share files and screens with any co-worker at any time. Video calls can be initiated without a moment’s notice and all manner of information can be integrated within chats or emails. All of the tools become fully interoperable with no workflow silos or islands. Moreover, tweaks such as “find me follow me” (reach a co-worker wherever they are) or “voicemail to email” (hear email messages) are easy to configure within a unified communications platform. This further drives greater employee productivity and satisfaction.
• Reduced communications costs.  Legacy phones are expensive. In a unified communications environment, telephone communications are conducted via the internet (VoIP). There are also no fees or wait times to set up new lines plus communications costs are not only lower, but also fixed instead of variable. Additionally, the more separate vendors a company uses, the less leverage it has with each one. Meanwhile, there are economies of scale for combining tools. Overall, in most cases, a company can obtain benefits such as lower costs amid better service by consolidating its communications needs into a single relationship.
• Better customer experiences.  The benefits of unified communications also extend to your customers. The same integrated, interoperable tools your company accesses internally can be shared with your customers. A well-conceived unified communications strategy enables your teams to connect and interact with your customers while at the same time providing safeguards to prevent inappropriate activities.
• Greater corporate agility.   Armed with robust, flexible, scalable and effective collaboration tools, your workforce can now work from anywhere. Moreover, they can always turn to the most convenient means of communicating, be that email, chat, voice or video – and they can use any device (BYOD). Overall, Inc. states that unified communications “can help boost productivity, cut costs and save time.” This means that all of this can lead to greater responsiveness as well as employee and customer satisfaction.

How Can We Help?

Taylored Systems has been in the business of unified communications since long before the term even came into play. In truth, unified communications represent a constantly expanding and evolving set of collaborative technologies. That’s one of the reasons leading businesses turn to a provider like Taylored Systems in the first place.

We’re technology specialists. It’s our job to keep up with the leading edge in unified communications as well as a host of related technology fields. Working with Taylored Systems, you can be certain your teams will be equipped with the latest and most effective tools available.

Moreover, instead of dealing with multiple vendors, you can deal exclusively with us. Your communication and collaboration suites will work together seamlessly, elegantly and cost-effectively.

So when you’re ready to join the ranks of industry leaders who are already harnessing unified communications, speak with us.