Why Your Customers Need Unified Communications to Collaborate

These days, business moves at a dizzying pace. It’s difficult for companies—especially small to medium-sized companies—to keep up with the whirlwind of information constantly surrounding them. As the speed of information continues to increase, the demand for insight and understanding do the same. The difference is in the way you handle it. 

This is especially true for customer-facing employees who are frequently on the go, often working in silos away from their colleagues, untethered from the office. And yet, these same employees are expected to understand the latest data points in the CRM system, detail the conversations a sales prospect had with another department, and maintain a breadth of knowledge for internal facing information. However, fear not—thanks to new, emerging technologies and applications, it is possible to access all of this information wherever you’re sitting, whether it's in your office or a sales meeting in Rio de Janiero. But, that’s not to say the taboo of quick, easy information isn’t relevant. After all, data isn’t insight, and should never be treated as such. 

Insight and understanding require collaboration in order to be effective; to ensure a 360-degree view, employees must maximize their opportunity in the field… which is where Unified Communications comes in. 

But what is Unified Communications (UC)? What does it entail, and how can it help me succeed? Unified Communications is the secure, seamless integration of voice, video, data, IM, mobility, and third party applications (i.e. Salesforce) across multiple channels. Unified Communications enables unheard of collaboration levels with colleagues, and helps repurpose a depth of knowledge across the entire business. Unified Communications also help fuel business collaboration across departments, locations, and platforms. It’s an opportunity for an improved way of working with your customers for immediate, tangible business benefits such as:

• Mobility: access the information you need (internet connection required)
• Manageability: Small to midsized businesses can provide a simplified, service to compete more effectively with the competition.
• Multi-User: Large groups of workers or customers can collaborate on discussions or share resources, helping to maximize your budget.
• Scalability: With the constant change in technology, scalability is huge in today’s business world and with UC, your services can be provided on a per-customer basis, cutting down on unnecessary costs
• Disaster Recovery: Your business can rest easy in a server emergency with the use of UC, where your data can be backed-up for rapid recovery.

Margins are thinner than ever for small to mid-sized businesses, which make cost savings and efficient practices vital to your cause. All it takes these days is a couple of unexpected “wins” to launch your company on an exciting new trajectory. On that same note, a couple of bad breaks can send you in a downward spiral, so it’s important to take advantage of each relevant resource.

Unified Communications and the collaboration enabled by such services can significantly improve your business. As an Interconnect or MSP, your job is to demonstrate its value across your customer base. Demonstrate the importance to your customers, and educate them on its value. The upside for your business is clear. By enabling your customer increased efficiency, you’re positioning yourself as an irreplaceable partner now, and in the long-term.