Are Integrated Communications On Your Radar?

The global workforce has been forever altered from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Across the world, teams have dispersed, abandoning their physical offices for flexible remote work environments.

In the process, we have seen a renewed focus on integrated communications. Many companies weren’t properly prepared to handle the shift to a remote workforce; these same companies are now realizing that integrated communication systems could help their network administrators, end users, and help desk workers immensely with the sudden need for ultra-seamless communications and collaboration.

The Demand For Integrated Communications

Companies that were previously relying on legacy communications solutions had to suddenly find new ways of establishing secure and efficient remote work environments. Meanwhile, the companies that had already embraced digital transformation—leveraging digital, cloud-based tools—were, in many cases, able to make the leap into remote work without a hitch.

As such, the demand for integrated communications is now more important than ever. If properly executed, it can help create an environment that is far more agile, accessible, and reliable. Employees will be able to access their communications tools anywhere, and at any time.

Key Considerations For Integrated Communications

This is the basic concept of unified communications as a service (UCaaS), a strategy that involves consolidating numerous services into one central, cloud-based platform. Companies that embrace UCaaS stand a much better chance of surviving in today’s unpredictable business environment, where being able to physically come into the office is no longer a guarantee.

That said, here are some key considerations that companies should consider when integrating their communications systems.

Messaging

Right now, most enterprises are still using disparate, third party messaging platforms. These platforms are helpful for teams, largely because they’re easily accessible, and often free. However, as we are seeing with Zoom, they can also lack critical security protections making them prone to hacking. Plus, since they’re hosted, they operate outside of the scope of IT—enabling employees to store sensitive data locally. This can lead to silent data leaks.

By investing in integrated communications like UCaaS, employees can leverage a powerful and secure messaging portal, providing greater transparency and protection.

Phones

Teams are often skeptical about migrating to UCaaS because they don’t want to abandon their physical phones. With the right system, however, teams cannot only keep their physical phones but also leverage their computers and mobile devices as phone extensions for ultimate flexibility.

Remote teams that do want to abandon their phone systems in favor of virtual options can easily do so. Call center agents, for instance, may be more comfortable using hands-free softphones while executives may prefer the convenience of a traditional desk phone. The great part is that teams can integrate both options, depending on their specific needs.

Fax

Another issue that many companies are having right now is faxing. Remote teams, after all, still need to send and receive faxes. Yet, it’s not cost-effective to buy individual fax machines for each worker.

Companies in this situation should consider using cloud-based digital faxing. Digital fax gives every employee access to a secure portal, where they can receive incoming faxes and print from their desired location.

As you can see, there is tremendous power and flexibility in integrating communications. The result is a communications environment that is far more agile, cost-effective, and convenient for workers.