When you’re managing a business, sticking to old phone systems limit not just your modes of communications, but also your growth opportunities. Despite the obvious advantages of adopting modern communications technology, some businesses remain hesitant to prioritize it over network security and other IT concerns.
However, based on a recent study, many small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are quickly adopting unified communications (UC) -- a communications solution that seamlessly combines voice, video, and data into one system -- with 53% of small enterprises using VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol).
In case you’re wondering whether it’s a worthy investment, we’ll help you decide by highlighting the many ways whereby it may dramatically improve your business processes.
Improved customer experience
Regardless of the type of business you own, you will have clients who will reach out to ask for help or make a product inquiry. A majority of them would want to do so using their modern and efficient mobile devices, and you should be able to keep up.
For years, many businesses have depended on email, fax, and SMS, which lacked the immediacy and flexibility of internet-based telephony. Although an old platform such as email has its own specific advantages, businesses are more likely to thrive using a more collaborative tool such as instant messaging or a variety of softphones -- an application program that enables calls from any computer -- that are widely available at much lower costs.
A unified communications system gives both staff and customers the flexibility to talk using a medium best for the situation. Technical support requests that could be augmented by visuals may be done via video calls, while non-urgent queries may be attended to via instant messaging. For every type of issue or circumstance, there’s a UC solution able to make resolutions faster and more efficient.
Highly effective collaboration
Small enterprises benefit from unified communications in small yet significant ways, like knowing whether a party being contacted is available. This is made possible by the “presence” feature in platforms such as Skype and devices such as ShoreTel phones. With this feature, you’re able to tell whether a person is available, away, busy, or offline, with an option to customize and indicate a more specific status. It eliminates the time spent on repeated attempts to contact an unreachable third-party, which is particularly helpful if your business has a remote work policy or makes frequent contact with vendors or freelancers.
Aside from presence and other softphone features, you can choose from various UC devices that would best suit specific individuals (executives, receptionists), office areas (conference rooms, lobbies, receptionist’s area), and your device preferences. One, or several phone systems from ShoreTel’s range of products could fit your business’s requirements.
VoIP also enhances features such as voicemail messages, which may now be emailed, and even transcribed into text, and accessed via mobile phone, tablet, laptop, or any device with internet connectivity. Businesses that need to reach contacts in global locations also benefit by communicating in real-time and at costs lower than overseas call rates provided by most telecom providers.
Significant cost savings
Services such as video conferencing hold great promise in providing SMEs significant cost-savings. For example, product demonstrations and product training sessions can be held via video conferencing programs like Skype, saving your business thousands of dollars in travel expenses and staff allowance.
Unified communications also saves you money by augmenting, rather than replacing, your existing phone systems. VoIP solutions such as Fluid | Voice™ and ShoreTel Connect expands SMEs’ communications capabilities by letting users place phone calls over the internet using powerful cloud technology without requiring additional IT infrastructure. It offers all the benefits of UC -- real-time communications across various devices, at any time, and more importantly, at reduced costs.
Today’s dynamic workplace needs convenient, flexible, and cost-efficient communication systems to gain a competitive edge. The prices you pay for using old technology include lost credibility, unsecured data, and excessive spending. Fluid Networks’ VoIP solutions supply your business with productivity-enhancing, highly scalable phone systems. Call us now so we can customize a VoIP solution for you.