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A good unified communications as a service (UCaaS) provider will deliver not only a means for businesses to communicate with customers through telephony, but also a way to collaborate and perform outbound contact on multiple customer touchpoints. However, some businesses are still reluctant to adopt unified communications (UC). Thus, we’ve created this guide to drive home the value of this powerful communications technology.

Stand out from the competition and discover ways to improve efficiency within your organization by reading through these top 12 unified communications statistics:

Companies with a hybrid work environment became one of the largest adapters to using unified communication and collaboration (UC&C) tools during the pandemic. These tools are essential for communication among team members working from different locations.

The same 93% of companies adopted using new UC apps and tools in the past 18 months. These apps allow you to communicate as well as improve overall productivity and workflows across teams—regardless of locations and time zones.

(Source: Netscout)

About two-thirds of workers enjoy having a flexible work environment, giving them the option to work remotely all or some of the time. Many employees also enjoy going to an office to have in-person time with their teams and colleagues.

Over 65% of individuals crave time to interact with team members. With this being said, it’s a good idea for businesses to offer a combination of both work environments to offer employees the best of both worlds.

(Source: Microsoft)

In 2021, about 80% of workers used collaboration tools to connect with colleagues. This is a 44% increase from two years prior, when only about 50% of workers used these tools.

(Source: Gartner)

When considering the total cost of ownership (TCO), UC solutions present a lower overall cost. This is because a single-solution provider delivers an integrated option that provides various functionalities, including calling, online meetings, and messaging. Whether it’s a DIY system that allows companies to integrate solutions in-house or one that’s ready-to-deploy, single-provider solutions save on costs. This is especially true when it comes to the cost of managed services, staffing, and licensing.

(Source: Cisco)

Remote work is very attractive to many employees, and many would accept this option instead of getting a raise in pay. When it comes to tech professionals, 37% of these individuals said they would even be willing to take a pay cut of up to 10% to work from home every day.

(Source: GigaOm)

One of the major ways that teams communicate is through video conferencing. This allows individuals to see each other and feel like they are in an in-person meeting with their coworkers. 

This rise in video conferencing replaces in-person conversations and creates a fast-paced environment that makes meetings more efficient. For most businesses, Mondays are the busiest day for meetings. In fact, 83.13% of people spend about 1/3 of their week attending meetings.

(Source: Dialpad)

Live chat is a method for customers to communicate with a business without spending time on hold to talk to an agent. They can also continue with their day as they wait for a response.

Customers prefer live chat to communicate with businesses over any other contact channel because of its convenience and ease of use. In fact, 41% of customers expect to find this feature on websites so that they don’t have to spend the time calling the business.

Businesses without live chat are essentially not hearing what their customers are saying. Even though this is an important means of communication, only 9% of businesses give customers a live chat option. However, this is expected to change and grow by as much as 87% during the next 12 to 18 months.

(Source: SuperOffice)

Business SMS Adds Customer Convenience. Not only does this allow you to reach customers on a very popular touchpoint, but it also is very convenient for businesses that want to send bulk messaging to hundreds or thousands of customers. Texting is a very effective way to reach out to your customers. With almost 60% responding quickly to text messages, business owners can get things like confirmations done more quickly and reliably.

(Source: Salesmate.io)

Outside of reminders, text marketing is an effective way of creating new opportunities. In addition to reaching new customers, SMS texting even provides opportunities for businesses to upsell services to existing customers after support calls. And customers are 4.5 times more likely to respond to texts.

(Source: Postscript)

Team members should be able to collaborate, even when geographic distances separate them. Team messaging apps are built into the many of UCaaS platforms and provide a similar experience to business SMS. Still, it’s easier to send things like emotes, file share, and even switch over to video or audio conferencing.

With the advent of COVID-19, companies have had to scramble in order to help their employees communicate. A good example of this necessity has been the rise of video conferencing giants like Zoom. Team messaging has also seen a major uptick thanks to the rising need to communicate from a distance.

Even though the pandemic has started to wane, business has changed forever, with team messaging continuing to be a significant part of business. Standalone collaboration platforms like Microsoft Teams have reported more than 270 million active users, and their chief competitor, Slack, is also experiencing monumental growth.

(Source: Humanyze)

A feeling of community is critical for a business to retain its employees. In a world where much of the internal communications is facilitated on screens, it’s important to use the right tools. With team chat apps, colleagues quickly collaborate, assign tasks, and even shoot the breeze, which helps them feel as if they are part of a growing or stable community.

There are multiple team chat apps on the market that can easily foster this sense of community among your employees. Many have features like emojis that add a sense of true interpersonal interaction to each conversation.

(Source: Inc.)

Unified communications will help your employees feel more like they are at home. About 75% of workers state that teamwork and strong collaboration are key reasons for staying with a company. With the number of communications options to reach both customers and colleagues on the rise, you can’t afford to ignore UCaaS this year (and the years to come). 

Cloud-based systems, commonly referred to as Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS), use voice-over-internet-protocol (VoIP) technology to send and receive data over the internet. However, the way it manages other communication tools and the cost varies by provider.

 This small business guide to UC discusses what’s included in a UC system, how it can help your business, and what to look for when choosing a provider.

Unified communications systems work by sending and receiving voice, video, and text data from a single application over the internet using voice-over-internet-protocol (VoIP) technology. This then allows the system to become the central hub for your team, enabling them to shift between communication channels and share files without switching applications. For instance, they can make calls to colleagues, switch over to a group chat, or initiate a video conference, all from the same app.

This interconnection between communication channels also offers other benefits. For example, PhoneCompany.Cloud's platform makes its already robust business phone system even more powerful by letting team members see which co-workers are online and free to collaborate versus which are busy in other meetings, which can reduce the risk of lost time playing telephone tag.

On a basic level, most UCaaS systems support file and screen sharing. In addition, cloud-based private branch exchange (PBX) systems also support team collaboration. In either case, teams interact in real time using the united communications app to chat, talk, and work together on projects.

As the number of hybrid workplaces increases, having a central hub for collaboration improves both customer and employee experiences. Your UC platform becomes a virtual, digital workspace where team members can use their preferred devices and communication methods. Therefore, UC systems are essential to employers wanting collaborative, yet adaptive digital environments.

However, it is worth noting that many of these systems work best for internal team meetings because they do require each participant to have access to a desktop or mobile app. This is why some businesses may choose to also integrate their UC system with other platforms customer-facing agents use, like Microsoft teams or its alternatives.

All unified communications systems support business text messaging. UC users can send and receive text messages using any internet-connected device. Plus, since conversations reside on the UCaaS platform, your team can view text communications in one spot.

It also unifies other conversations. A customer’s text can be added to their record and show up alongside their phone calls, help desk tickets, and emails. In some cases, business owners can even drop their business cell phone plans altogether and replace them with a UCaaS or VoIP softphone app.

Like text messaging, sending faxes used to require a separate device (a fax machine.) Then unified communications built virtual fax capabilities into the app, allowing team members to incorporate fax communications into customer records and send a fax without bulky equipment. Most VoIP plans let users send or receive faxes using their business phone number.

Your company may already use video conferencing software to host large meetings or face-to-face online collaboration sessions. But UC puts these capabilities into your UCaaS app so your team no longer needs to open and log into a second application. Instead, they can jump into a meeting while keeping track of incoming messages without switching programs.

In addition, UC systems may integrate with your current video conferencing software. In this case, your staff may schedule and join a call using their preferred platform.

According to Gartner, 53% of the U.S. workforce will soon be “a mix of hybrid and fully remote” workers. The shift to flexible workspaces makes unified communications more important than ever before. Your team likely already depends on cloud-based platforms like accounting and customer relationship management (CRM) software in addition to your business phone service.

In each case, information gets siloed in those systems. If a customer calls, your team may need to open several programs to fully understand their background and current situation. This is time-consuming for staff and frustrating for callers.

You can run into other issues as well. If your employee is chatting with a client and wants to speak with them via video, they may need to switch platforms, risking a dropped call during the transfer.

On the other hand, a unified communications platform lets you jump seamlessly between phone, video, and chat tools within the same system. Many UCaaS solutions also integrate seamlessly with popular business software, which still gives you a central spot for customer data as well as communications.

The advantages of using unified communications within a UCaaS system are vast, especially in the digital age where there’s a risk of disjointed communications and a drop in spontaneous collaboration with online workplaces. Companies can mitigate these effects by using a UC platform.

Unified communications benefits include:

• Increased productivity: Switching apps reduces focus and eats away at your time. In contrast, UC puts information from multiple channels at your fingertips. You can complete a task and solve a problem without opening different programs or browser tabs.
• Improved experiences: Positive employee and customer experiences are both vital to the success of your small business. A centralized platform is more convenient, easy to use, and gives your team faster access to managers and co-workers. Plus, having access to prior conversations helps agents tailor messages and respond to problems.
• Decreased business silos: Siloed systems tend to isolate information. Your CRM holds contact information, accounting tools capture billing data, and your VoIP system tracks calls—but don’t share information between them easily. UC lets teams access all these types of details in one place online.
• Reduced costs: A VoIP-based unified communications platform reduces business expenses by eliminating the need to pay for separate video conferencing, texting, and instant messaging tools. You may also be paying for various cloud tools that enhance your phone system, such as an auto-attendant phone system, that can be replaced by a UCaaS system.
• Ensured business continuity: Adaptive workspaces allow teams to access data and work from anywhere they have a high-speed internet connection. Since UC systems work equally well during disruptive times, staff is still able to interact with customers and each other, even when your physical workplace is unavailable.

Although unified communications is an excellent option for most small businesses, there are challenges. Additionally, all UCaaS platforms aren’t created equal. For example, a virtual business phone number provider may offer some UC features, like file sharing, yet not integrate with calendars or CRMs.

The potential challenges associated with unified communications include:

• Slow adoption rates: Your team may be comfortable with their existing tools and unwilling to shift to a new platform. If everyone isn’t on board, it’s harder to ensure consistent experiences.
• Learning curves: You may need to train employees and reconfigure workflows to suit a digital workplace. Plus, your information technology (IT) team may require guidance to properly connect and troubleshoot your unified communications platform.
• Interoperability: While most UC tools include softphone apps for cell phones, tablets, and computers, you may need adapters for non-IP desk phones. Also, your VoIP system may not integrate with your mission-critical tools, leaving a good chunk of data and workflows dependent on opening other apps.
• Infrastructure: All of your company’s UC users need high-speed wired or wireless internet connections and some may need new equipment to use your UC system’s features. Areas with spotty service face barriers when adapting VoIP and unified communications technology.

Unified communications systems differ when it comes to features, functionality, and scalability. A company looking for a small business VoIP service with file and screen-sharing capabilities for on-site employees may have fewer requirements than an organization with a fully remote, global workforce.

Before comparing UCaaS platforms, consider the following questions:

• How many employees and devices will access your UC solution, and are they on- or off-site?
• Do you need a solution that works for international employees or customers?
  Will you use existing handsets or do you want new equipment?
• Can your current internet and Wi-Fi support UCaaS or do you need to upgrade your infrastructure?
• Will your IT team need help with implementation and migration?
• What features does your business require and which would be nice to have?
• Do you expect the UCaaS to replace current technology services, such as Zoom?
• What types of integrations do you need, and will application programming interfaces (APIs) be necessary?
• Do you need to comply with privacy or security standards such as HIPAA-compliant video conferencing or FedRAMP for cloud storage?
• What types of customer service does your business need to provide, and during what hours?
• Do you need cloud file storage and backup capabilities for voice and video recordings?
• What types of remote management and reporting options does your business require?

Once you have the answers to these questions, you can look for solutions that closely fit your needs. Take advantage of free trials and UCaaS demonstrations to see how a service will work for your team. Plus, check for customer reviews and available self-service and support tools.

Cloud-based tools and remote workforces can increase the number and frequency of cyberattacks. There are simply more endpoints to track and update, making it harder for small businesses to oversee and manage.

The most significant security issues include:

• Denial-of-service (DoS) attacks: These attacks flood your cloud services with traffic or requests, slowing them down or halting access altogether.
• Unsecured apps on remote devices: Employees may use unapproved applications or fail to use adequate security tools on their devices, giving hackers opportunities to breach your network.
• VoIP fraud: Also known as theft of service, VoIP fraud occurs when cybercriminals access your system to make scam calls.
• Data center threats: Providers store your data in various locations which, even though secured, may still be vulnerable to hacking or natural disasters.

You can reduce your risks by developing password and app security policies and ensuring user access permissions match each employee’s role. You can also help mitigate security risks by choosing a reputable VoIP provider for UC and deploying robust security tools to protect your system.