Modern workplaces have transformed in recent years, with businesses transitioning to remote or hybrid work models, and with mounting pressure to improve customer service, reduce IT overheads, and increase efficiency.
This change led to certain challenges for enterprises, as they tried to maintain connected company culture, streamline communications between their teams, and ensure transparency and easy collaboration in a hybrid workspace.
e as a Service (UCaaS) solutions have helped organizations take on these challenges head-on. UC solutions have made communication and collaboration channels become less siloed and more efficient, and have powered IT departments to be the new business drivers. Unified communication services have also rewritten the way businesses. Like conducted, by enhancing productivity, increasing employee mobility, streamlining communication, overcoming scaling issues, and reducing costs.
However, as organizations onboard UC solutions, the question that stays topmost on their agenda is: what should we look for in an enterprise communications solutions provider? To make an informed decision about finding the best-fitting UC solutions provider. Here are some key questions that businesses need to ask.
Questions to ask when choosing a UC Solutions provider
· What solutions does the provider offer?
If you are looking for a transformative enterprise communications solution. Then you will need to find a partner that provides the entire gamut of UC tools. This should include:
– HD video and audio conferencing.
– Easy integration with other solutions like CRM systems and other workflow tools.
– Collaboration tools like file sharing, and instant messaging.
– A mobile application so that employees can call and message from their personal phones as well. This will also ensure that your employees can access your UC tool from different devices.
· What infrastructure does the service provider have?
The best UC solutions providers have several points of presence (POPs) that are usually located across the world. With this kind of vast infrastructure, they can ensure that their unified communication services are not disrupted by any calamities or natural disasters. Such a vast POP network also ensures that the quality of service of latency-sensitive services also remains in top form.
· Does the UC solutions provider have a global presence?
If you are a global enterprise, then you need a UC solutions provider who has a global presence. This will ensure that your geographically spread out team is able to communicate in real-time with each other and your business transactions happen seamlessly. Working with a UC partner who boasts of a global footprint will ensure that you conduct your business smoothly across borders. Another problem that global enterprises face is when storing customer data. It can lead to security risks that will compromise customer privacy in the long run. With a global UC solutions provider, you will be assured of compliant solutions that are created with an eye on global regulatory requirements and compliance norms like GDPR. You will also be able to scale your offices and employees easily and will be able to establish a local presence in international markets.
· Does the UC solution enable easy integration?
If your communication problem is not integrated with the other solutions then it can spell trouble for your business. Your employees will have to check several channels to open their messages and to get complete customer information. If your unified communication solution consolidates and integrates all different channels on a single platform then your employees can communicate on a channel of their choice – be it voice, video call, or conferencing – then it makes it easier for them to connect and collaborate with their colleagues. They can even reach customers and their colleagues even when they are on the move. Using a mobile phone or a softphone.
· Can the UC solution be easily implemented within your existing IT infrastructure?
The unified communication solution that you opt for should be able to easily integrate with your existing IT infrastructure. This will boost the speed and productivity of your communication solution and will save you from incurring the steep costs of implementing new infrastructure. Before migrating to a new UC solution, it is imperative to conduct a detailed audit of your existing system. You must know clearly what sort of voice communication system you already have and what features you want to add on. You must have clarity on how many enterprise users and sites your new solution can support. And what are the features of an advanced communication system that you want from your new solution?
· Does the UC solution offers seamless communication experiences on mobile devices?
As the corporate world embraces remote and hybrid work. It has become critical to provide employees with a communication solution that they can access from a device while they are on the go. This is where a mobile component of your communication solution becomes critical. It will provide your employees the ease of communication that is similar to an in-office experience. It is also important to ensure that the mobile solution is built completely natively for a mobile device. There are some UC solutions vendors who take the desktop design and functionality and build a similar solution for mobile phones. This limits the functioning and feature of the mobile solution. Also, the UC solution must provide a uniform experience across devices. Thus reducing the learning curve for employees and making communication easier and smarter.
· Does the UC solution provider offer end-to-end support?
A unified communication solution is only as good as the support offered by the provider. If your phone system goes down. You should be able to get the provider to have it up and running in a quick time. For this, your provider’s support network should be efficient and only one phone call away. They should also have a thorough understanding of how complex network architecture work.
Stay ahead of the game with a perfect-fit UC system
Today’s business world has become extremely competitive as businesses vie to get more customers on board, improve productivity, and keep their costs in check.
Unified communication solutions that offer the right integrations, can be accessed across devices, and offer a diverse range of communication and collaboration offerings are helping enterprises stay ahead of the competition by enabling seamless and real-time collaboration between colleagues and communication with customers.
In conclusion, a perfectly compatible UC solution is emerging as the best way to grow your business.
