COVID-19 has had an unprecedented impact on enterprises worldwide. With the whole populace going into lockdown, accepting the reality of the new normal has become a mission-critical priority.

The technological enhancement in recent years has transformed unified communications. From video conferencing to instant messaging, we are experiencing the benefits of this enhanced technology during this pandemic.

Unified communications (UC)

“UC refers to a phone system that unifies or integrates multiple communication methods within a business.”

Gone are the days when receiving every call on the office telephone was termed as business communication. Today business communication is about remote intelligent communications, collaborations, and customer experience.

Modern organizations, especially those with distributed and mobile-first workers, call for unified communications solutions to streamline business communications. UC is about making a wealth of communications channels into a single point of access.

The reason behind this idea is that employees could access the same communication system on multiple devices with multiple tools.

In 2019, UC saw a significant transformation in the business world as leading vendors started adopting cloud and made it clear that the future product development and direction are now cloud-first.

Let’s discuss some significant factors that are transforming the face of UC trends in 2020:

1. UC cloud services

With all the buzzing about cloud communications, it is evident that it is here to stay and is highly futuristic and effective. Cloud services delegate the complexity from the user to the professional IT provider.

Unified communications cloud services eradicate travel costs as remote/virtual conferences and meetings are possible via unified communications cloud services.

It also integrates Customer Relationship Management (CRM) as emails, calls, and other communications with clients and prospects are tracked, and reminders are set for the next call.

As per the research paper published by Nemertes, about 64% of organizations employed the cloud for unified communications and collaboration. Also, about one-third of organizations prefer cloud UC solutions.

The integration of cloud with UC technology is browser-based, so employees can access their work or system whenever they want and from any corner of the globe. The remote work gives employees more flexibility and control over their working hours, making it easy to fulfill other career goals that benefit both themselves and the organization.

However, a cloud-based UC solution is one transition in a company’s digital transformation that will help meet the modern business’ ever-changing demands in the coming years.

Business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) services deliver end-to-end (E2E) unified communications services via its network, facilitating service providers to offer the service with zero CapEx and minimal OpEx.

2. Internet of things (IoT)

As per a research paper published by PGi, in the 2020 pandemic, about 82% of remote workers have reported a stress reduction, and about 80% of remote workers reported a boost in their morale. Thus, resulting in loyalty and engagement toward the organization. Bye, bye, desktop products….and hi, hi, smart devices and mobile phones!

IoT is billions of physical devices that are interconnected worldwide to collect and share data. Thus, via wireless sensors and connectivity, humans can communicate virtually and intelligently transmit data in real-time. Further, it will allow mobile employees to use IoT-enhanced unified communications in all business operations.

3. Artificial intelligence (AI)

Earlier, Gartner predicted that by 2020, AI would become predominant in every industry. Nowadays, there is so much craze for Voice AI to control household appliances, right from fridges to lights. The same Voice AI has entered the business communication world to help organizations assist their meeting room technology.

AI applications are performing a significant role in enhancing collaboration and communications. AI voice assistants could help schedule meetings, translate voice mails to text, make calls, and send SMS messages. Thus, AI is also used to find past information and save employees’ time. So, this pandemic, AI with UC will make collaboration more accessible and boost productivity.

Unified communications benefits

Resulting benefits will help you realize the importance of UC:

  • Enhanced user experience: By transforming the workplace into digital

UC integrates business file sharing, phone systems, unified messaging, instant messaging, and conferencing within a single system, ensuring users are experiencing convenience during their work.

  • Rising collaboration and engagement within the organization: UC is known for its ability to unify organizations across all its departments. The more organized and connected teams, the more work they can get done.

Unified communications features

  • Effective communication
  • Resilient scalability
  • Cost-effective technology

UCaaS- the shining light during the COVID-19 outbreak

In 2020, UCaaS has shaken the business world by storm, and there are no signs of slowing down as enterprises are shifting toward virtual management of teams.

Several business leaders have shifted to Unified Communications-as-a-Service (UCaaS) solutions to keep scattered teams linked and to remain competitive in the ever-changing digital economy.

UCaaS providers continue to thrive since the coronavirus pandemic made employees work remotely. However, after the outbreak and rapid shift to remote work, UCaaS is the king for business success across several industries.

As per the report published by Avant Research & Analytics, the adoption of UCaaS has risen by about 86% immediately after the COVID-19 outbreak.

What do you think which trends will shape the UCaaS sector?

Following are the trends we believe could impact the future of UCaaS after the coronavirus outbreak. Have a look:

  • A broader impact of machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) on business.
  • A drop in conventional systems and hardware.
  • A considerable influence of open platform processes on business.

A UC tool one can rely on

SoftwareONE’s UCSimple helps one manage unified communications to make your workplace more flexible.

Future of unified communications

With the help of UCaaS providers, businesses will experience faster problem solving and decision-making owing to enhanced communication and collaboration amongst mobile workforces.

It’s a wrap

As technology grows, so should your association. Concentrating on the future of unified communications will help you know what’s in the store, how it can be beneficial for your organization, and how you should get ready.

Visit our website to download our latest whitepapers on unified communications.