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Businesses need to be able to communicate with customers and employees efficiently, seamlessly, and reliably.

Modern consumers expect highly responsive, personalized communication from the companies they do business with.

It should be no surprise then, that Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) - a cloud-based business communications solution that connects people, processes and systems on a single unified platform - was valued at 136.11 billion in 2023 and is expected to grow.

UC platforms enable omnichannel, real-time communication and team collaboration alongside agent monitoring, business process automation, and analytics. Read on to learn about the main benefits of UC.

 

Essential Benefits of Unified Communications

Unified communications improves customer service and employee productivity while cutting communication costs without sacrificing reliability and platform security.

Here are the top benefits of switching to Unified Communications.

 

1. Improved Team Productivity

Increased team productivity is one of the most notable benefits of Unified Communication. With a UC platform, employees can communicate in real-time on the channel of their choice, improving project collaboration, increasing first contact resolution rates, and eliminating workflow bottlenecks.

Users can customize notifications and alerts, update their user presence status to keep team members informed, set up messaging alerts and meeting reminders, and quickly access key customer data. All this happens within a unified interface with omnichannel syncing and third-party integrations–so no more toggling between different apps.

GoToConnect Video

2. Streamline Onboarding

A Unified Communications platform improves the onboarding and employee training process. Popular UC features like video recording and transcription, call monitoring, and screen pops help companies quickly create a robust training program for new hires. Team members can learn at their own pace with instant access to everything they need–plus real-time feedback from managers.

Unified communication tools such as chat, screen sharing, video conferencing, file sharing and VoIP functionality connect remote employees from across the globe, allowing them to work together seamlessly. Maintaining the connection between remote workers increases keeps everyone on the same page, drastically reducing the kinds of miscommunications that slow down projects.

 

3. Increase Job Satisfaction

UC platforms eliminate time-consuming repetitive tasks thanks to customizable automated workflows and processes. Almost any repetitive task can be automated, including outbound dialing, call forwarding, business text messaging, and running analytics reports.

Repetitive tasks increase the chance of human error, drain motivation, and ultimately lead to increased employee burnout. When employees no longer have to worry about repetitive tasks, they save time and can focus on the more challenging, meaningful work they were hired for.

RingCentral App

 

4. Reduce Operational Costs

Unified Communication and Collaboration solutions help companies reduce technical support costs. Since UCaaS systems offer managed service, power outages, downtime or other technical issues are handled by the provider. Not only does this mean a faster resolution, it also eliminates the need for an in-house IT staff.

Since UCaaS providers offer an SLA guaranteed uptime of at least 99.9%, your team will experience far fewer interruptions in service.

With UC, all business services the business needs are streamlined into one platform. This way, users avoid buying different software for collaboration tools, telephony, customer relationship management (CRM), etc. This enables in-call CTI screen pops, makes things easier for end users, further reducing IT costs.

 

5. Implement Remote/Hybrid Work

Since teams can stay connected anywhere, at any time, and on any device, UC software helps businesses transition from in-person to remote or hybrid teams. This has a number of benefits, including better work-life balance for employees and increased productivity.

Companies that leverage UC to transition from an in-person to a remote workforce cut costs immensely. With over 40% of all professional jobs in North America being remote or hybrid in 2023, the benefits to working from home are no longer a secret.

 

6. Reduce Maintenance Costs

With unified communications, businesses can eliminate the need for multiple phones, fax machines and other expensive equipment—reducing both capital expenditures and operational expenses.

Because UC platforms are cloud-based and hosted by the provider, end users no longer need to pay for maintenance costs, expensive equipment upgrades, long-distance calling, and energy usage. Team members can even use their existing devices, like smartphones and desktop computers, to access their UC system–so there’s really no need to buy new hardware.

 

7. Improve Scalability

Scaling a business is costly, especially for small businesses and SMBs. The upfront costs of hiring new workers, purchasing new equipment, or renting a larger office space makes growing challenging or outright impossible for teams on a tight budget.

Due to the mobile nature of UC, growing companies can implement self-service onboarding, bring your own device (BYOD) policies and remote work to further cut scaling costs.

Nextiva Analytics Sept 23

 

8. Business Analytics

Business analytics is the process of collecting and analyzing customer and employee data to make better business decisions.

There are many opportunities for businesses to leverage data to improve their operations and customer experience. Cloud-based UC systems collect large amounts of data from multiple sources, including text messages, meeting transcripts, voice calls, social media comments, purchase history, emails, and more. This data is then analyzed, often with the help of artificial intelligence, natural language processing, and machine learning to deliver actionable insights.

Predictive analytics use historical data to predict customer behavior, buying trends, and staffing needs.As more data is collected, predictions become increasingly accurate–so companies can tailor services to their unique customer base. Most enterprise UC providers offer predictive analytics as an included feature, add-on, or integration.

Business analytics can also be used to tighten up operations. Contact center analytics, for example, will gather data on metrics such as average handle time, frequently asked questions and number of missed calls. This data provides insight into areas where additional agent training, schedule optimizations, or a better customer self-service system is needed.

 

9. Seamless Omnichannel Communication

Unified Communications connects team members with co-workers and customers across multiple channels, including voice calling, video calling, SMS texting, team chat/instant messaging, and social media. Users can message anyone from any device with an Internet connection, including desktop computers and mobile devices like smartphones or tablets.

Further, UC systems combine communication channels, third-party tools, and additional features into a single interface. This omnichannel service lets companies communicate on multiple channels and seamlessly unifies all communications. Every employee can get access to omnichannel customer conversation histories, IVR interactions, order and account information, visual voicemails, notes from other agents, and more. This enables efficient, personalized customer service and support and lets multiple agents handle the same support request without forcing customers to repeat themselves.

 

10. Increase Security and Compliance

Strong security and compliance are necessary to avoid a potentially devastating data breach and an irreparable  loss of customer trust.

The top unified communications providers are transparent about the security protections included in their systems.

Most will list levels of encryption, admin controls and permissions, and security/compliance certifications like SOC 2, GDPR or HIPAA. Highly secure UC platforms will monitor for common VoIP security problems and anomalies in real time, mitigating threats before they cause damage.

Many platforms also offer advanced authentication methods like two-factor authentication and biometrics, which ensure only authorized users can access sensitive information or applications. These security protocols can also reduce the likelihood of insider attacks.

 

11. Improve Customer Experience

Customer experience is largely based on the quality and efficiency of interactions with your business.

This is often measured by KPIs like customer satisfaction (CSAT), customer loyalty, and Net Promoter Score (the likelihood that a customer will recommend the company to a friend or family member.)

Most UC systems include powerful tools to help improve the customer experience. Interactive voice response (IVR) systems resolve customer issues faster, while omnichannel service solutions enable customers to reach out on their preferred channel. Finally, business analytics let management continuously monitor and tailor the customer experience to best meet the needs of each individual customer.

The increasing demand for business collaboration platforms, coupled with rising customer expectations, makes unified communications the ideal software for organizations looking to improve productivity levels, boost overall revenues, and improve the customer experience.

 

 

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