Let’s explore the world of unified communications and collaboration!

We all are living in a world that is full of technology inspired by digital transformation. Today’s personnel need to be integrated in real-time, which would allow them to communicate and collaborate within their workflow.

As technology is evolving each day, we have entered an era where work is no longer refined to a specific computer screen, desk, or phone. In such a technologically enhanced world, experts have the liberty to share their proficiencies and chase new opportunities across the world, all with nothing but the cloud connection and correct device.

Today, the world is suffering from coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19), and everyone has started to work remotely. Thus, enterprises need to search for an alternative for serving clients that reject to be tethered by wires and physical locales. Luckily, we have a solution, i.e., nothing but unified communication and collaboration (UC&C or UCC). UC&C solutions unleash productivity within small and large organizations.

The term “Unified Communication” or “UC” explains not only how we link various communication systems for the digital workforce, but alliance tools too! That’s the reason one will often listen to the phrase called UC&C. UCC makes sure there are no silos between organization teams and makes sure that one can access the same secure system from any corner of the globe.

What is unified communication and collaboration (UC&C)?

Everything one needs to know about UC&C…..

“When voice and collaboration tools are integrated into a system that allows easy flow of communication among devices, it’s called unified communications and collaboration, or UCC or UC&C.”

UC&C is not a single product or tool, but a solution that helps organizations to ensure their technologies works securely, together, and smoothly, for near real-time partnership. With the assistance of UC&C, users can gain access to real-time unified messaging that contains fax, voice emails/emails, instant messaging, video/audio conferencing, desktop sharing, IP telephony calls, and the list goes on, to interact together in a virtually seamless way. These tools are playing a key role in the COVID-19 pandemic by allowing users to communicate and collaborate from any corner of the world.

It’s simple, UCC unifies all communication streams and inspires your employees!

Communication vs. collaboration

There was a time when people believed that these two words are so close that they mean the same thing. After all, cheers to the pervasive popularity of UC, and communication apps equipped with collaboration tools, its simple to imagine how the two ideas go hand-in-hand. In fact, collaboration in the team is incomplete without good communication.

The difference between communication and collaboration:

Communication is a must everywhere, whether you are working/running a small or huge organization. Communication strategy can come in several forms. But most enterprises have:

  • An internal communication strategy
  • An external communication strategy

Collaboration comes under internal communication strategy, where communication is about sharing knowledge and collaboration is working together to accomplish mutual goals. We can say that collaboration brings action to the communication space.

Important UCC tools for your enterprise are as follows:

  • Screen sharing
  • Audio and video conferencing
  • Web conferencing
  • IM/presence
  • Social collaboration

Key facts:

  • The UCC tools help to increase overall enterprise productivity.
  • Enhanced consumer experience.
  • Reduce business travel costs.
  • UC&C transformation requires a broad range of expertise, across data centers, platforms, and networks.
  • Low IT and telephony costs.

Nowadays, employees within the enterprise find themselves working across vast geographies on a superficially infinite number of gadgets that run an application, dizzying mix of programs, and software versions. UC&C disputes these intricate variables into an easy-to-use interface that offers the following benefits:

1. Enable alliance –  

This helps team members to edit and create documents together, gives feedback quickly, allows screen sharing, and arranges all the programs, tasks, and people to collaborate on projects effectively.

2. Efficiency –

With the help of UC&C, teams can work together virtually over a laptop, phone, desktop, mobile, and other devices in a unified environment.

3. Advances consumer satisfaction –

Providing correct data to consumers is the most important thing. UC&C makes it easier for enterprises to enhance consumer service by providing what they need and when they need data.

4. Enhance responsiveness and flexibility –

For enhanced productivity and responsiveness, UC&C allows us to communicate virtually from anywhere on any device.

5. Cost-efficient process –

It allows enterprises to move from a capital intensive to an operational-based model via introduced or cloud-based services. Thus, it helps to reduce logistics and travel costs.

UC&C – transforming your business

Enterprises must implement UC&C technology to streamline consumer and employee interaction methods. Errands, including peer feedback, brainstorming, and virtual meetings, can be smoothed by implementing UC&C tools.

Enterprises can take benefits of hiring remote or globally scattered personnel with simply available communications services that connect geographic gaps. Popular vendors with UC&C products include Cisco, Google, IBM, and Microsoft.

UCC allows industries to make the quickest feasible decisions and transactions. For instance, Mitel presents industry-leading unified communication solutions for enterprises of all sizes.

Kevin Rice, Enterprise Architect, Voice and Video Engineering, A.T. Kearney, said, “We believe Cisco is the best-positioned vendor to integrate a collaborative experience for all of our users on a consistent basis around the globe.” Thus, Cisco’s teamwork is at the crux of fantastic.

Unified communication is a perfect partner of marketing when it is a matter of business return on investment (ROI). Several experts across the globe are expecting that emerging businesses, private companies, and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are going to adopt this technology in the coming years.

“Every journey begins with a single step” – a traditional phrase that applies directly to the UC&C transformation journey.

Challenges faced by UC&C

UCC is an essential tool in the modern workplace, but it is not without its drawbacks.

  • The key challenge is networking with old infrastructure, which has transformed the nature of business network workloads.
  • Communications are split between various devices and applications.
  • Work/life balance is threatened by work communications on personal devices in personal time.
  • High maintenance requirements by IT departments to keep security tight.
  • Conference calls are a UX nightmare.

To overcome these challenges, network operators can provide their organization clients a solution. For instance, Metaswitch UC&C provides a solution to network operators to meet the challenges of organization communication, thus resulting in employees with low stress.

Use cases

  • Healthcare – healthcare providers utilize a UC&C solution to share patient data and consult other medical professionals before diagnosis.
  • Education – UC&C tools will help students enhance their learning experience by allowing real-time file sharing, live teaching sessions, and video conference review sessions. Due to the COVID-19 situation, UCC is playing a major role in the education sector this year.
  • Enterprise – as you know, business revolves around good collaboration and communication; thus, UC&C tools play a major role in product development. Streamlined communication helps to reduce waiting time for a client’s response, thus, enhancing operational efficiency.

The future is here, and it’s time to embrace it because the revolution has already begun!

“The ability to be agile and adapt to an ever-changing business climate is at the core of business success.”

Let’s communicate and collaborate….

For more such exciting content, download our latest whitepapers on unified communication.