Communication means everything in modern business, but accessing essential messaging services can pose a problem for many companies. There are a lot of communication apps on the market; however, integrating them seamlessly with your business is the real challenge.
It’s not uncommon for a company to rely on several communication platforms, whether it’s VoIP, SMS, a project management app, or others. Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) offers businesses a more streamlined approach to business communications and collaboration.
UCaaS isn’t a new technology. It’s common in the business world and is known for improving communications through enhanced flexibility and integration possibilities where individual messaging apps can’t compete.
But why is unified communications technology so valuable today? And why is now the right time for companies of all sizes to integrate a solution?
Let’s dive in!
What is UCaaS?
UCaaS offers a seamless user experience - it unifies communications via a single user interface. Service providers host and deliver UCaaS, so it’s easy to use across several devices. Companies can then support several communication channels at once, including:
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Voice
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Video
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Text messaging
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Instant messaging
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Email
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And many others
UCaaS follows the standard “as a service” model. Since it runs entirely in the cloud. It’s great for companies wanting more control over scaling the platform as they expand.
What are the main benefits of UCaaS?
Enterprises of all sizes find the UCaaS model incredibly attractive. It provides them with tier-one communications technology to empower their operations and offer high-quality user experiences previously only available to larger organizations.
Reduced capital expenditure
Businesses relying on several communication platforms know how costly managing multiple subscriptions can be — that’s before they’ve even thought about creating cohesive contacts between various team members, departments, and stakeholders.
Developing your own unified communications platform is even more costly – it can cost tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars!
And trying to integrate a platform with multiple third-party applications requires an experienced IT team your company may not have access to internally.
A UCaaS platform significantly reduces upfront costs by removing the need for in-house development, IT teams, and multiple subscriptions to various as-a-Service providers.
Flexible scaling
When a company relies on in-house skills, scaling becomes a real headache. You need to:
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Ensure the network is extensive enough to support additional users
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Buy the equipment for your employees to use
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Tie it all together for streamlined integration
As your company grows, ensuring employees have the tools to access proprietary information and other workflows is a significant hurdle.
A UCaaS system solves this bottleneck in a variety of ways, including:
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Adding new users is quick and easy
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Provisioning and deploying equipment take seconds
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Onboarding takes virtually no time at all
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Adding new features to your existing deployment is a breeze
Taking advantage of the benefits of UCaaS guarantees your platform stays up-to-date with the latest features your business needs to be competitive. And in the fast-paced world of communications, this is essential.
High-quality security
Security should be a top priority for all businesses today, especially considering companies lost 22.7 billion records to data breaches in 2021 alone. Sensitive information about your business and customer safety should be a priority, regardless of the industry.
Whether you manage your own local IT department or rely on multiple cloud vendors, it’s difficult for either of these solutions to compete with a single unified communications platform. Most UCaaS services come as standard with high-level encryption, making it more challenging for cybercriminals to access restricted information. It also reduces the workload for the IT guys, as there’s no need for a large cybersecurity team.
Sinch’s platform leverages secure trunking, Transport Layer Security (TLS), and Secure Real-Time Transport Protocol (sRTP) to ensure your communications stay private.
Predictable pricing structure
Pricing is an obstacle where many small and medium enterprises fall down. Gaining access to the tools they need to be competitive is often costly and unfeasible for most.
One sizable benefit of a UCaaS platform is the flexible pricing structure. Beyond initial setup fees, the monthly or annual pricing is more predictable. You only pay for the features you need, and adding or removing options post-deployment is easy.
This makes it easy to budget for the tools you need to keep your business running.
Improve operational productivity and efficiency
Even smaller companies often have a sizable number of employees and departments who need to communicate with each other. When these communications happen across several apps — they become fragmented and decrease operational efficiency. Employees could spend more time figuring tasks out than actually working on them.
A UCaaS platform keeps all these essential communications in one convenient location. With one app, your employees will know where to communicate, how to reach specific team members, and who’s available — resulting in a productivity boost.
Integrate remote workers
Remote work is here to stay — most employees want to work remotely. Some of the largest companies, like Google, have embraced this trend too. Finding ways to integrate your remote workers is essential.
A unified communications platform is one of the easiest ways to keep remote employees in the loop on essential communications, organizational policies, and other information to speed up the onboarding process.
Employees can see whether remote workers are available to chat, schedule meetings with them to discuss vital tasks, and streamline the overall communication process.
Another advantage is the ease of integration with existing smartphones. There’s no need to buy new technology when it works with what you already have!
Access company contacts from anywhere
Your company’s call directory is a valuable asset — it’s years of sales and marketing effort that employees need to access at a moment’s notice.
UCaaS services integrate your entire call directory, smoothing out everything from customer service to sales. Employees can find the numbers they need quickly, increasing productivity and efficiency.
Improve project clarity
Large projects often have many employees working on them at any given time. It’s crucial to keep everyone involved updated — if two workers have similar tasks, you don’t want to duplicate or contradict effort.
UCaaS platforms offer improved clarity via quick access to voice and video chat, screen sharing, and file transfer to ensure synchronized project completion.
Access to reliable support
When you rely on multiple communication platforms or an in-house solution, getting the support you need can be challenging. It usually involves several tech support departments or losing time when your internal IT team tries to solve the problem themselves.
A UCaaS service takes this problem off your hands and lets a dedicated provider carry the burden instead. A single team familiar with the entire platform handles all requests. These specialized tech support agents:
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Understand how each feature works
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Know all about common problems
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Can advise on integrating specific third-party platforms via API
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Support with other institutional skills
Eliminating the need to handle support on your own saves time and money. It also lets employees focus on other aspects of the business.
The growth of unified communications will only continue in 2023
Today, 81% of companies say having access to innovative functions is the main reason they’re transitioning to the cloud and adopting unified communications. And it’s the user experience empowering this push for digital transformation.
Whether you’re looking to adopt UCaaS for customers or employees, creating a seamless user experience is now the goal for all organizations.
Today, most organizations say they are adopting UCaaS because of a single requirement: availability. Beyond this, they also want better integration between SaaS applications and their business tools, reduced costs, and improved security.
Innovative companies understand the need to stay at the forefront of the industry, and UCaaS platforms provide an easier way to make this happen. UCaaS technology future-proofs a business by giving it access to premium features on a pay-as-you-go model.
You can easily add or remove features, building a customized platform for your unique challenges. Communication systems essentially become a vehicle for your company’s brand awareness.
Communication technology isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution, though — that’s what makes Sinch UCaaS the best solution for empowering businesses in the digital age.
Are you interested in implementing robust, feature-rich unified communication as a service solution? Contact the Sinch team today to get started.
