27 Jan 2023 5 Trends Shaping the Future of Unified Communications
As we move into 2023 it’s clear that remote working isn’t going away. It’s for good reason too, with plenty of disruption for commuters ringing in the new year, that home workers have been able to largely avoid.
Flexible working is easier for businesses to implement than ever before and technology is key to it being used effectively. At One Connectivity we help businesses bring in new remote working plans, and one solution that has helped us do this more than any other is Unified communications.
Unified communications, or UC, is a form of business communications that’s evolving all the time, today we’ll cover some of the updates that could benefit you and your business.
What are the core features of Unified Communications?
We’ll start off with the basics, unified communications software really does what it says on the tin. It takes all of your office communication software, and puts it in one easy-to-use application. It’s all services you’ll be familiar with, voice and video calls, instant messages, voicemail and a contact database drawn from your phones and CRM. The difference is that these are all accessible on a single application, that you can use on just about any device.
This is just a basic outline of what UC is all about. There are new features emerging all the time from leading providers that can make a real difference for businesses. Here are 5 that we think will stand out from the rest in 2023.
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Top UC trends for 2023
Unified communications as a service
Communications used to be provided solely as products your business would buy, host on-site and maintain yourself. This still works for many teams, but many more are seeing the benefits of maintaining a closer relationship with their provider, and UC software is playing a big part.
The past few years have seen a large shift towards Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS). This means that as well as providing the application for your team, your provider will update and maintain it proactively throughout the course of your contract.
This can have a number of benefits for your business, not least of all security. Telecoms fraud is rising, and knowing that your provider is continually monitoring your system can provide some real peace of mind.
Remote working continued
You might be raising your eyebrows at us calling remote working a trend for 2023. It’s been around for a while now in the UK and works ideally for many businesses. What’s changed? Well as we covered towards the end of last year, legislation may be on the way that could see remote working arrive in more roles than ever.
Remote staff really just need to be able to do everything they can from the office, anywhere. UC allows them to do this. Calls and messages are a given, but UC offers you more than that.
Video conferencing is essential to remote working. Modern UC apps can integrate with your work calendar, so you can easily schedule calls and manage your work days. You’ll also be able to access all your saved contacts.
Wider integrations
UC services currently bring together a huge range of different business technology, and in 2023 the list is only set to grow. At One Connectivity, we’ve worked alongside leaders in this field at Ericsson-LG to help UK businesses get more from their communications.
This has led to our UC service being able to integrate with a huge variety of different systems, from CRMs used by a vast number of businesses, like Hubspot or Zoho, to more industry specific tools. In particular we’ve recently worked with many in the healthcare sector on integrations with EMIS and SystmOne, and those in the education sector with SIMS integration.
2023 is set to bring more of these integrations to market, if you’re curious about whether your CRM is one of the 60+ that are now compatible with UC services, get in touch.
Collaboration features
It’s easier than ever to rely on the tools that UC offers for sharing work and collaborating with your colleagues. During the pandemic, businesses even brought in remote sales strategies that cut out face-to-face communications altogether. This led to some great results for many teams, and is informing how UC services are improving in 2023.
For example, presence settings allow you to share with your colleagues when you are busy in meetings or away from your desk. This way they’ll know when to contact or schedule time with you. Utilising your presence setting limits wasted time from missed calls and maximises efficiency.
Instant messaging also allows easy file sharing. A modern UC app recognises Office 365 files and let you open and edit the documents within the app itself. This feature is ideal for remote working and inter-site staff collaboration.
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Business continuity
Downtime is the enemy of a productive team. You need to have systems in place that let you work at your best, wherever you are. This need for business continuity has led to some exciting new UC features.
You can still attend all your video and voice calls, and instant messaging feels natural on a smartphone. It’s also an added benefit that the app saves your call history, so that when you sit back down at your desk, you can pick up where you left off.
One Connectivity UC solutions
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These features bring all your communication tools into one place. If you want to improve your business’s flexibility and productivity, we can help you. Head to One Connectivity’s contact page, or give us a call today.