As workplaces are changing, and the teams are being more distributed, there is a need for a tool that enables them to communicate effectively from anywhere. The proliferation of various means of communication, has resulted in different forms of internal and external communication for a business through email, web, voice, SMS, instant message, etc. However, every business is under a constant pressure to improve efficiency and reduce costs to keep up with the ever-challenging market. A technologically innovative solution can solve this problem, by unifying these disparate channels of communication to streamline and simplify the business activities.

Unified communications management concept integrates the desktop applications like instant messaging and email to digital telephony. A seamless communication process evolves irrespective of the device or location. Unified communications management helps in dealing with all forms of communication like instant messaging, conferencing, voice, email, etc through one interface. Businesses can now increase their productivity and efficiency by streamlining their communications.

Increased Productivity:

Unified communications influences an increase in productivity by consolidating the message received through email, fax, voice mail etc, into one mailbox. Business owners can have a single telephone number, which can be reached at any place. Collaboration tools reduce travel time and all the necessary information is at your fingertips. Business owners can manage their entire organization through the additional productivity tools for unified communication.

Flexibility:

Unified communication tools provide flexible access to reports anywhere you go. Business owners can also under the usage details of the phone in a holistic way. Unified communication management tools help in tracking the time spent on customer support, identifying issues with the system, and thus improves productivity. These tools can also help in scheduling, staffing, allocating and managing network capacity to minimize costs. They also secure the system and adhere to the compliance requirements.

Benefits For The Sales Department:

Sales department can now analyze their data more efficiently by creating call summaries for their sales people. They can optimize call handling, analyze customer patterns, schedule and prepare resources and ultimately boost the overall productivity. Planning staffing schedules is easier with the unified communication tools, as they provide volume reports by the hour, day or week. Monitoring of calls ensures protection against fraud tracing them to the accurate person, time of day and extension.

As a business expands and grows, it faces problems with inefficiencies with the expanding network. Managers who worried about streamlining communication with multiple locations, off-site partners, and mobile workers can be greatly benefited with the unified communications management tool. By strategically unifying the voice and data communication, businesses can eliminate unnecessary costs and improve their productivity. These strategies can be extended to multiple locations. By using enhanced communication tools, businesses can improve worker productivity and customer satisfaction significantly.

The benefits of unified communications can be felt by remote, deskbound and field workers effectively. It enriches the contact center experience and is aptly the most awaited evolutionary chapter of communication management. Unified communications automates human and device communication, optimizes business processes, reduces latency, enhances human communication, and eliminates the dependencies on device and media.

About Author

Eva Birleson is an internet entrepreneur, blogger and advocate of paperless business systems.