If it’s time to upgrade your communications technology, you may be encountering a lot of new choices that weren’t around the last time you considered an investment. Unified communications systems allow companies to increase productivity through advanced collaboration features while reducing costs in a variety of ways. Cloud-based unified communications as a service (UCaaS) amplifies these benefits, offering advanced communications technology in a managed services model.

Consider the following benefits of UCaaS:

Cost Savings

While this may not end up being the most important benefit, it’s often the catalyst for pursuing a UCaaS migration. There are multiple ways that cloud-based communications streamline your budget:

• Travel Expenses: With teams collaborating over videoconferencing and integrated chat, email, voice, and messaging, productivity doesn’t depend on in-person meetings.
• Maintenance: UCaaS is handled by the managed services provider, so from troubleshooting to updates and security patches, it’s all handled.
• Subscription-Based Pricing: You get a monthly invoice that can be categorized as an operating expense instead of a sizable capital investment like you are used to with past communications upgrades.
• Scalability: A cloud-based solution makes it easy to scale up or down depending on business growth or seasonality.

Collaboration

Many businesses have adopted a permanent remote or hybrid work environment, and the features available with a UCaaS solution equip your team to work effectively. Employees collaborate in real-time in shared workspaces, eliminating decision-making bottlenecks and offering easy access to integrated data about customer interactions.

There are additional features that flatten obstacles, such as the ability to set a presence status, so team members know when they are available to discuss a project. The collaborative tools available with UCaaS allow for faster decision-making. Additionally, automation equips teams to eliminate some of the mundane, manual tasks that can slow down a project.

Analytics

UCaaS is capable of a deep analysis of team and customer interactions, combing through all communications formats to detect patterns of word use and examine product insights related to customer loyalty and satisfaction, customer service quality, and even the effectiveness of team communications.

Analytics can also be used to predict customer behaviors so that suggestions, promotions, and offerings can be tailored to personalize each customer’s experience with your brand.

Communications Flexibility

With UCaaS, all users have the option to choose the communications format they prefer without losing any continuity of flow. For instance, when a customer initiates a conversation through a voice call but later contacts the company via chat, the agent serving the customer can access the history and context of the interactions seamlessly. Navigating the many unified communications options available can be challenging unless you work with a knowledgeable guide. Contact us at eXemplify to get assistance with evaluating UCaaS solutions and choosing the one that’s right for your business.