Cloud Source

Unified Communications: Using a Single Vendor for both UCaaS and Internet

by

Unified CommunicationsIn order to stay competitive in today’s fast-paced and technology-based world, businesses need to be efficient and productive. One way to achieve this is through unified communications, so that all tools and platforms are connected — which can save businesses hundreds of thousands a year.

There are two ways to unify communications: outsourcing to a vendor (UCaaS) or through an on-premise solution. Businesses looking to purchase UCaaS from a vendor should be aware of the risks of using different vendors for UCaaS and internet versus a single vendor for both.

Business Continuity

Losing data, whether through cyber criminals, a natural disaster, or an employee misplacing a device, can cripple a business. A regular internet provider doesn’t always offer backups or geographic redundancy, whereas a single dedicated vendor with a commitment to business continuity will. This also means that data can be restored within minutes, allowing the business to continue with barely a hiccup.

Customer Service

Regular internet providers may not have dedicated customer service reps for important tools like phones and internet connections, especially outside of regular business hours. A single vendor will be more likely to have live and knowledgeable customer service available no matter the time or day, ensuring efficient, quality help in the event of a problem.

Hardware

Mismatched hardware can cause issues both in setup and later down the road when troubleshooting problems. If choosing a multi-vendor network, the business will need to do the research to ensure that UCaaS transmissions are properly prioritized.

Outages

Internet uptime mostly relies on the type of connection a business has. Fiber optic cable is more reliable than copper, which can fail due to:

  • Equipment failures
  • Moisture
  • Severe weather
  • Temperature fluctuations

Vendors that provide both unified communications and internet connectivity are more likely to offer fiber optic cable lines, which will ensure that the business has access to the cloud — where data is stored — as well as phone lines and other tools of communication.

Quality

The biggest drawback of using a regular internet provider is that all business traffic will be competing with traffic from other customers, both large and small. During peak times, this can result in slow transmissions, delays, and sound quality issues on phone calls. Using a single dedicated vendor ensures business data is prioritized and resources are not being hogged in one direction or the other.

Security

Security is paramount in protecting sensitive data, but transmitting over a regular provider’s network can mean that cyber criminals have easier access — and copper cable is less secure than fiber. A single-vendor UCaaS solution means more focus on security as well as access to the information and reports that make risk analysis easier.

Troubleshooting

All technology requires troubleshooting occasionally. Having internet and UCaaS from separate vendors means first figuring out which one is having the issue, and then trying to find what the issue is and where it’s coming from. A single vendor means easier, faster troubleshooting so that any issue is solved as soon as possible.

Businesses with the capital to purchase unified communications and internet from a single vendor will benefit from improved efficiency and productivity while saving money. Data will be more secure, troubleshooting will be simpler, and businesses will have higher quality customer service and prioritized transmissions to ensure their communications are quick and steady.

The Importance of Converged Technologies in Unified Communications

by

Technology has become so ubiquitous that customers are constantly looking for the fastest, most convenient way to get what they want. Fortunately, the continuing switch from analog to digital has made it easier than ever for businesses to purchase unified communications solutions, from Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) to video conferencing and file sharing. For businesses looking to keep ahead of the competition without sacrificing efficiency, convergence of services is key.

The Importance of Convergence

As of 2015, according to a report from the Pew Research Center, almost 66% of American adults own a smartphone, and 19% rely on it to access the Internet. This convergence of technologies allows them to use one device to access multiple applications; not only can it go online and function as a phone, but it can offer services like a calculator, a calendar, and a digital notepad.

Businesses that can offer customers the complete package will have an advantage over businesses that only offer a single service. This means partnering with providers to offer not only services like data storage, but also a connected VoIP system.

Value Over Features

Partnering with providers is just one half of improving a business’s unified communications with convergence. Businesses also have to make sure that their customers understand the benefits, and this can be more difficult if the customers aren’t technologically inclined. The best way to show customers that convergence is important is to explain to them the value of the new services rather than just the features.

Maintaining Customer Relationships

The value of a service comes down to what it can do for the business in terms of achieving goals and improving efficiency and costs. Customers generally want to stay with a business they’ve worked with before, especially if that business can offer them both convenience and an amicable partnership. In this way the customer avoids focusing too heavily on risks, as they might if presented with a big change that they don’t understand.

In today’s fast-paced unified communications market, businesses must stay relevant in order to remain competitive. Businesses need to take the time to explain the benefits of converged services to customers that don’t understand the impact of features alone. This will allow businesses to maintain important relationships when they make the move to a converged unified communications solution.

Using the Cloud to Improve the Contact Center

by

Many businesses are beginning to come around to the idea of a contact center that allows them to prove that their clients are important. Part of this comes from the rise of the cloud, which allows even small businesses to access a number of features that were previously too expensive. By using a cloud-based contact center solution, businesses are able to:

  • Access intelligent routing and tracking services
  • Easily improve the customer experience
  • Find a middle ground between just using their existing private branch exchange (PBX) and purchasing a dedicated center
  • Implement a center as an add-on to their UCaaS
  • Improve collaboration between teams

Intelligent Routing and Tracking

New contact center technologies have made it easier than ever to be simple and cost-efficient, whether the business goes with a single agent or a full bank. This can include the use of:

  • Intelligent queues
  • Overflow routing
  • Omni channels
  • Self-help options
  • Virtual holds

The cloud is what makes the difference between traditional centers and the new style, allowing calls to be assigned to single or multiple agents, whether they’re local or distributed across a wide area.

Improve the Customer Experience

Businesses are now looking to prove to the customer that their call is important, especially in an era where in-person interaction is becoming less common. Fortunately, these same technologies allow businesses to gain customer trust and loyalty in a way that is still cost-efficient and easy to implement and maintain.

The Middle Ground

The cloud has allowed a middle ground between a specialized — and expensive — contact center solution or using the existing PBX structure and often losing customer satisfaction. Businesses can now access cloud technology per user and per month, and easily integrate it into their existing system.

Centers as Add-ons

Most businesses already have UCaaS and their vendor of choice can easily help them upgrade to a contact center. Having a center as an add-on allows even smaller businesses access to the latest technologies and advanced features, such as:

  • Analytics
  • Call recording
  • Integration capabilities
  • Remote agent support
  • Speech recognition

Collaboration

Supporting customers is one of the most important parts of running a business, but there’s an added benefit to using cloud UC as a center: collaboration between employees. Real-time instant messaging allows an employee on a call to ask for help from coworkers and get an answer quickly. The cloud can also enable a business to use its remote workers as remote agents, since the system will be accessible from any location. It also means that the service will be consistent no matter what center a customer calls into.

Implementing and maintaining a contact center has never been easier. Businesses no longer have to choose between their bottom line and the satisfaction of their customers, because the cloud allows for simple, cost-efficient technologies that can be implemented in an existing UCaaS. Improved customer experience and better collaboration between teams means a more efficient and competitive business — all at the click of a mouse.

The Importance of Employee Training When Switching to Hosted Unified Communications

by

shutterstock_388720720When deploying a hosted unified communications (UC) system, proper employee training is paramount to a successful adoption that keeps employees happy and enables them to continue their jobs with ease. Although it may seem as simple as switching from one type of phone system to another, for many employees UC is completely different from traditional telephony. In order to get the best ROI possible, businesses should use as many of the following training methods as needed:

  • Basic training for all users
  • Added training for power users
  • Advanced training for administrative users
  • Personalized training
  • Use case scenarios training

Basic Training

All employees should have basic training to get them used to the new system, even if they only use the phone system for simple calls. Businesses can hold seminars, webinars, or provide videos for self-training, but all employees should be shown basic phone skills, such as:

  • accessing and changing voicemail,
  • placing and receiving calls,
  • placing and releasing callers on hold, and
  • transferring calls.

Keeping extensions and other basic components the same — or as close as possible — will also help ease the transition and prevent employee frustration.

Power Users

Employees that can take advantage of what UC can offer will need more than just basic training. This can include:

  • hunt groups,
  • instant messaging,
  • mobility features,
  • PC soft clients,
  • presence management, and
  • web and conference calling.

This training should be personalized to the specific employee’s duties.

Advanced Training for Administrators

Administrators need to be able to manage the UC features and serve as a point of reference for employees looking for help. Face-to-face training is often important for these users, and can include:

  • assigning and reassigning extensions,
  • maintaining the company directory,
  • moving devices, and
  • setting up or removing users.

Personalized Training

Customized training to a certain group of employees not only saves time, but allows the employees to focus just on what they need to learn in order to do their jobs. This can mean that all salespeople are trained together on mobile features, while customer service representatives are trained on the UC features they’ll need to deal with customers and clients.

Use Cases

Use case examples can be a great benefit to employees by showing them exactly what steps need to be taken in order to reach a desired goal. These examples can cover topics from the very simple (e.g. forwarding calls) to the more complicated, depending on which group is currently being trained.

For many employees, switching to a UC system can seem complicated and scary, but businesses can help make the transition much simpler with good training. This enables a successful adoption and keeps employees happy and productive. To learn more about training employees on a new UC system, contact Cloud Source today.

Unified Communications: 4 Trends to Help Improve Productivity and Collaboration

by

shutterstock_318304619smA business runs on its employees, and meeting their needs with unified communications (UC) will result in better productivity and efficiency throughout the workplace. As UC continues to evolve, businesses will need to look at a complete solution that covers all aspects of workplace collaboration, rather than just one feature. Here are four UC trends that have emerged in 2016.

 
 

All-in-One Platforms

Many businesses are now moving towards having an all-in-one platform for their communications, rather than just a few features. This often includes:

  • blogs,
  • document collaboration,
  • file sharing,
  • instant messaging,
  • social user experience,
  • video conferencing, and
  • wikis.

All of these help employees work together to complete tasks quickly and efficiently, and enable better communication with customers and clients.

Instant Messaging

Rather than using e-mail for internal communications, the trend now is to use an instant messaging program that enables employees to talk to each other in real time. Although e-mail will most likely remain the primary method of communication outside the organization, instant messaging enables team members to get quick responses without having to break away from their work for meetings.

Remote Workforce

Technology has evolved to the point that many employers can allow their employees to work remotely. Telecommunications research firm Global Workplace Analytics states that since 2005, the remote workforce has increased 103%, with a 6.5% increase in 2014 alone. In order to support a mobile workforce, a business must have a good UC system in place and provide the tools its workforce needs.

Teamwork and Collaboration

Collaborating and sharing knowledge between employees can, according to the Institute for Supply Management, result in several competitive advantages, including:

  • a single point of contact,
  • creativity,
  • customer focus,
  • increased speed, and
  • organizational learning.

This is most effective when teams from different departments work together, rather than working only with other employees in the same department. By cross-training team members and allowing them to collaborate, businesses will find that solutions are reached faster and more easily.

Communication has always been important in the workplace, and a UC system allows a business to take advantage of evolving technology. An all-in-one system benefits multiple users, whether employees or customers, while features such as instant messaging allow for better real-time communication. Supporting the remote workforce and sharing knowledge through the organization will only increase efficiency and productivity, allowing businesses to provide better service to their customers.

Contact

328 S. Jefferson St. Suite 603
Chicago, IL 60661
Ph: 312.753.7880
E: info@CloudSourceServices.com

Newsletter Signup

Stay up-to-date on Cloud Source's news.

↑ Top of Page