UCaaS is an “all-in-one” solution that accommodates a transformative workplace. It merges a full-feature phone system, team chat and messaging, video conferencing, screen sharing, file collaboration, and more, and unifies them under one platform.
Cloud formations are developing fast. So much so, one could say it’s raining cloud application acronyms today.
“As a service” abbreviations pour on and on – you’ve heard of them: Desktop as a Service (DaaS), Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Hardware as a Service (HaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), Monitoring as a Service (MaaS), Software as a Service (SaaS), and Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS), to name a few.
Seventy-three percent of organizations have at least one application, or a portion of their computing infrastructure already in the cloud – 17% plan to do so within the next 12 months, according to the 2018 IDG Cloud Computing Survey.
But what triggered this flurry of cloud formations and rapid movement to the cloud?
Cloud applications are efficient, easy to set up, come at a lower upfront cost, and give businesses on a limited budget the same powerful collaboration tools now. They give them that thunderous competitive edge they’re seeking in a highly-competitive marketplace.
So, What About Cloud-based Communications?
If your business has adopted some level of cloud utilization, why would your communications platform be an exception? After all, the winds of change are blowing hard in the tools we use and the ways we choose to communicate throughout a business day.
UCaaS is an “all-in-one” solution that accommodates a transformative workplace. It merges a full-feature phone system, team chat and messaging, video conferencing, screen sharing, file collaboration, and more, and unifies them under one platform. While Unified Communications is not a new solution, businesses are rapidly moving to the cloud-based UCaaS as a more agile, more accessible, alternative.
According to Gartner, “By 2021, 90% of IT leaders will not purchase new premises-based UC infrastructure — up from 50% today — because future cloud UC offerings will be far ahead in terms of features, functions, portals, analytics and dashboards.”
Consider these 3 Communication Realities All Businesses Face:
1. The Millennial Majority is Here.
Millennials now make up the largest percentage of the US labor force. And, according to Deloitte, more than three-quarters of them say they are strongly influenced by thoughts of how innovative an organization is when deciding if they want to work for it.
From mobile utilization to video conferencing to voice assistance, are you supplying the communication tools this younger generation is ready to use?
2. The Workforce (and the Workplace) are Fluid.
The bring-your-own-device era is transforming the workplace, and the workforce. According to IWG research, 70 percent of employees work remotely at least once a week and 50 percent do so half the week.
Organizations need a platform that embraces mobile technology and properly manages and secures the field full of devices.
3. No Time for Downtime.
Whether they consciously consider it or not, whether it’s in their pocket or in the palm of their hand, employees take their work home with them every day. With a flurry of available devices comes great opportunity – and responsibility.
Competitively speaking, weather days or travel days should never be “down” days – depending on the empowerment of the communications platform at hand.
Consider these 5 UCaaS Advantages All Businesses Can Utilize:
1. Costs:
Without even throwing a number out, it’s probable you’re paying too much for your legacy business phone. A study by UC provider Intermedia found that UCaaS users could cut their phone bills by as much as 50 percent.
2. Reliability:
Issues with your legacy system? Is your current VoIP phone system struggling with connection or call clarity? Intermedia’s 99.999% uptime guarantee equates to less than 26 seconds of downtime a month. East/West Coast redundant data centers assure reliability and decrease latency.
3. Simplified Scaling and Management:
Projecting growth and future needs can be a real challenge. But a UCaaS solution is highly scalable, and easy to manage via centralized control panel portal.
4. Increased Collaboration:
All those tools that today’s workforce are using – email, voicemail, video conferencing and screen sharing – can all be synchronized in a number of ways to empower real time collaboration.
5. Ensure Business Continuity:
Again, “no time for downtime.” With UCaaS, the cloud-based automated attendant greets and routes calls and if your desk phones aren’t available, there lies your mobile app to receive phone calls. Additionally, find me/follow me can be used to route calls to alternate phone numbers in case of a local outage.
Unified Communications means better collaboration, faster access and seamless integration of devices in the workplace and out in the field. For most businesses, it’s not a matter of if — but when — they will move their platform to the cloud.