When email was first adopted by businesses in the mid to late 90’s, it revolutionized the way companies and employees were able to communicate. It made communication faster and much easier. While email is still a staple of every business environment, the fact is that unified communications have seen significant changes and growth since then, and in order for your business to stay competitive, you need to make sure you’re taking advantage of the many facets of unified communications available to you.
One of the biggest shifts we’ve seen is the move towards collaboration tools, such as Microsoft Teams. These tools provide a multitude of additional communication and collaboration tools, such as chat, phone and video conferencing, document sharing, and integrations with other business tools. Projects can be completed in real time, no matter where your employees are located, and it eliminates the tedious cycle of emailing someone, waiting for a response, then emailing them back, and waiting again. Collaboration is key, and it is allowing businesses and employees to become more productive and more involved.
Along the lines of collaboration is the integration of multiple functions within business applications. With the use of CRM (customer relationship management) and ERP (electronic resource planning) tools, your employees need to be able to reach your customers from within these applications. It creates a more seamless system where the use of automation and workflows with increase significantly. Unified communications is not just a standalone part of your business, but rather, it will be integrated into everything you do.
Another trend is the implementation of cloud-based solutions. VoIP (voice over IP) and other applications are becoming more popular as the need for desktop phones or other physical equipment is decreasing. It also allows your employees to work from different locations without losing the ability to communicate both internally with their teams, and externally to their customers. There is also more flexibility, with fewer costs and risks that you would typically see with maintaining physical equipment.
With the increasing use of laptops, tablets, and smartphones and the decreasing need for traditional desk phones, there will also be an increased demand for end user training. Implementing new unified communications tools can be overwhelming for businesses who have operated using traditional methods of communication. They will need to learn how to use these new collaboration tools and unified communication applications. Without proper training, none of these tools will be able to successfully improve your company’s ability to stay competitive and up to date in the current marketplace.
With so many options available, it can seem daunting to try and implement these new unified communications tools in your business. Thankfully, the experts at TAG Solutions are here to help. We have almost 30 years of experience helping companies of all sizes and in all industries implement unified communications solutions that work for them. Contact us today and find out what we can do for you!