Unified Communications Explained

Do you know how much your business is losing because of poor communication? According to a report published by Grammarly, ineffective communications could be costing your business $12,506 per employee, per year. What’s the solution? For many organizations, it’s unified communications.

Market research has shown that demand for unified communications as a service (UCaaS) is erupting and will continue to increase over the next few years – it’s expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.1 percent until at least 2027.

But is UCaaS right for your business? What’s in it for your employees and customers?

With a reliable, easy-to-use UC solution, your business can tackle all the inefficiencies of poor communication and collaboration – missed deadlines, reputational erosion, and time wasted resolving miscommunications. You’ll have better productivity, smoother collaboration, and happier customers.

However, before you jump into a new technology, you need to know the impact it will have on your business. Here’s UCaaS explained. Take a look at everything you should know before getting started with a unified communication solution.

What Is Unified Communications as a Service?

Unified Communications as a service is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution that delivers essential business telecom and team collaboration tools in one system. It’s essentially an all-in-one communications platform for businesses.

Because all your tools are integrated, your data is integrated too. You have a centralized dashboard and can quickly access data and analytics to get a clearer picture of how effective your business communications are.

How Does UCaaS Work?

UCaaS is cloud-based, which means the software lives in the cloud and is managed by the provider. Because your data is securely stored in off-site data centers, your business can continue operating even when employees can’t come into the office.

In fact, UCaaS is a critical tool for businesses that are moving to a remote or hybrid work model. With unified communications as a service, teams can stay connected and collaborate with ease from anywhere.

UCaaS is similar to VoIP technology in that your voice data transmits over the internet and you don’t need an on-premises phone system. However, UCaaS does far more than VoIP.

What are the Benefits of Unified Communications?

With unified communications, your business will benefit from:

• Easier scalability– You can grow your team member count and add users without having to invest in more tech resources.
• Enhanced security – As long as you choose a UCaaS provider with high security standards, you can rest assured your data is safe, and you can more easily live up to your industry’s compliance standards.
• Better customer experience – With reporting tools to track performance and a system that minimizes problems with miscommunications, wasted time, and errors, you can deliver a better experience to customers.
• Greater flexibility – With a UC system in place, your teams can work from the office, from home, or anywhere else. This frees up your business to let employees work from wherever and enjoy the benefits of remote work.
• Cost savings – UCaaS reduces the need for expensive, on-premise hardware and on-site maintenance, allowing businesses to lower operational costs and invest in other growth areas.

Key Features to Look for in a UCaaS Provider

The biggest advantage of UCaaS is that all your communication tools are united under one umbrella. That means users can access different tools without switching platforms. They also won’t have to waste time searching for data.

As a result, there’s no more calling a client back because the files you need aren’t easily accessible. There are no more overlooked emails and lost messages, or wasted time sifting through voicemail messages for information better suited to a quick chat.

Instead, everything lives in one place, and all the data and files you need are at your fingertips.

Here are the main functions you can expect with a unified communications platform and what you should look for to ensure you’re getting a solution that can elevate your communications.

• Business phone – Connect from anywhere with a cloud phone system. Look for tools like call analytics to track the performance of your sales and support teams, virtual voicemail, and call center functions, such as automated attendant and a real-time call statistics dashboard.
• Here’s how to integrate the first six sections naturally into your existing copy:
  Key Features to Look for in a UCaaS Provider
  When evaluating a UCaaS solution, it’s important to look for features that align with your business processes and needs. A top-quality UCaaS provider will offer tools such as call analytics to track performance, virtual voicemail, automated attendants, and real-time call statistics dashboards. These features can enhance the functionality of your sales and support teams. Additionally, ensure that the service provider integrates well with your existing systems or apps and offers customer support that’s available whenever you need it.
  Video Conferencing
  Engage with employees and customers through high-quality audio/video calls. To get the most out of your video conferencing, look for interactive tools like screen sharing and screen annotation or whiteboards. These tools allow for seamless collaboration, whether you’re conducting internal meetings or connecting with clients.
  Team Chat
  Save time with real-time chat messages instead of having to create an email or make a call every time you need to communicate. Your team chat should sync across desktop and mobile applications for easy communication, no matter where your team is located. Look for a rich text editor that helps format messages clearly, ensuring no important information is missed.
  File Management
  Collaborate with confidence using secure file sharing and management. You’ll want your UCaaS to include real-time backup and restore features so you never have to worry about losing the latest version of shared files. The ability to securely share files and collaborate without fearing data loss can dramatically improve productivity.

Is UCaaS Cost-Effective for Small Businesses?

Because you don’t have to take on the cost of ownership, UCaaS is a cost-effective solution for small businesses. You don’t need to pay for hardware, IT support, or IT maintenance – your cloud provider handles all of this for you.

What are the Most Popular Use Cases for Unified Communications?

Unified Communications (UCaaS) enables businesses to streamline their communication processes and enhance collaboration. Some of the most popular business applications for UCaaS include improving team collaboration through unified messaging platforms, voice calling and web conferencing, and real-time document sharing. It also plays a critical role in enhancing customer service by offering omnichannel support, ensuring that teams can manage communications through email, chat, SMS, and social media all in one place. UCaaS solutions can also support hybrid and remote workforces by providing seamless access to communication tools from any device or location, allowing businesses to maintain productivity and connectivity without disruption.

How Can Contact Centers and Unified Communications Work Together?

Contact centers and unified communications (UCaaS) can work together to create a seamless and efficient customer service experience. By integrating UCaaS with contact center operations, businesses can provide a unified ecosystem that combines voice, video, chat, and email, allowing agents to manage all customer interactions from one interface. This centralization improves response times, minimizes miscommunications, and enhances the overall customer experience. UCaaS also supports features like call routing, real-time analytics, and reporting, which help optimize workflows, monitor agent performance, and improve decision-making.

Additionally, the collaboration between UCaaS and contact centers enables businesses to enhance their support capabilities. For example, UCaaS can integrate with Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems, providing agents with access to customer data and interaction history, which leads to more personalized and informed conversations. This integration also facilitates smoother handoffs between different communication channels, whether a customer transitions from a live chat to a voice call or escalates to a video consultation. By aligning contact center tools with UCaaS, businesses can create a more agile, responsive, and customer-centric service environment.

What other Solutions are Related to Unified Communications?

Unified Communications (UCaaS) integrates a variety of communication tools into a single platform to improve efficiency and collaboration. Solutions that are related to UCaaS include Voice over IP (VoIP) for clear and cost-effective voice communication, video conferencing tools that enable face-to-face meetings, instant messaging platforms for real-time communication, and email integration for seamless workflow management. Additionally, call center solutions and customer relationship management (CRM) integrations further enhance the capabilities of UCaaS, enabling businesses to manage customer interactions, track inquiries, and streamline support processes like call routing. These solutions are all designed to work together, creating a cohesive and productive environment for teams and customers alike.

What is the Future of Unified Communications?

The future of Unified Communications is promising, with continuous innovation and growth on the horizon. As businesses continue to embrace hybrid and remote work models, the demand for flexible, scalable UCaaS solutions will increase. Advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning will further enhance UC platforms, enabling automated workflows, smarter virtual assistants, and advanced analytics to optimize communication strategies. The integration of additional communication channels, such as real-time messaging, voice, video, and social media, will continue to evolve, making it easier for businesses to engage with customers and employees in a seamless and unified way. As UCaaS solutions become more sophisticated, businesses will experience even greater efficiencies, improved customer experiences, and enhanced collaboration across teams and locations.

Getting Started with Unified Communications Is Easy

UCaaS enables your business to improve communications and collaboration, boost flexibility, reduce costs, and improve the customer experience. The best part is, you can get started today. At Intermedia, we make your experience worry-free, from cloud migration to ongoing 24/7 support. Find out more about how easy it is to get started with UCaaS.

Kirsten Barta

Kirsten Barta is Sr Marketing Communications Manager at Intermedia