If your company is in the market for a communications upgrade, you’ve likely heard discussion of unified communications as a service (UCaaS) and contact center as a service (CCaaS). Despite sharing nearly the same acronym, these two cloud communications solutions offer different benefits for your business.
UCaaS and CCaaS have grown in their popularity, particularly through the pandemic. Because of their ability to support a consistent work experience, employees can utilize the solutions anywhere with an internet connection. But while UCaaS is used to link a company’s employees through communications features, CCaaS connects company representatives to customers. It is possible to integrate UCaaS and CCaaS, but they are two different platforms.
UCaaS combines a wide variety of communications formats into a single application, from messaging to video conferencing and even shared workspaces. It enables streamlined communication and decision-making and equips employees for collaboration.
CCaaS integrates communications tools with contact center features, including interactive voice response and analytics in a single interface. It improves communication and information flow between contact center agents and the customers they serve. This technology is a clear step for companies seeking ways to improve customer experiences and sales numbers.
With both UCaaS and CCaaS, the provider is responsible for the hardware, management, and maintenance – so not only is there no initial capital investment, but the ongoing costs tend to be lower with cloud communications. With the ability to work from anywhere, many companies also measure improvements in productivity with cloud communications.
The major difference between UCaaS and CCaaS is the purpose for each solution. UCaaS enhances communication between in-house employees, while CCaaS improves customer service. There are also differences with integrations: UCaaS tends to be integrated with productivity or calendar tools, while CCaaS is usually integrated with customer relationship management solutions.
The Benefits of Cloud Communications: While each is a distinctive solution, UCaaS and CCaaS share many advantages over on-premise phone systems:
Remote Work: These solutions both equip your employees for remote or hybrid work environments because they only require an internet connection to access resources.
Scalability: When seasonality or promotions drive up volume, UCaaS and CCaaS can easily scale up to more users and then dial back down when the surge has passed.
Subscription-Based Pay Model: Companies can categorize these communications costs as operating expenses, rather than capital investments, and you only pay for exactly the number of users you need.
As you’re considering a communications upgrade, you may wonder how you could possibly go wrong by adopting one of these technologies. There are situations where migration to cloud communications doesn’t go as planned. One common hurdle is the need for a network upgrade to reach the performance and speed required to handle cloud solutions.
Other challenges can come in the form of an organization that is resistant to change or a budget and timeline that doesn’t include enough margin for adequate employee training.Before diving into a UCaaS or CCaaS migration, contact us at eXemplify. We can help you assess your needs for a communications solution and leverage the technology best designed to help you cut costs, increase productivity, and create the customer experiences you want.