Improving Business Collaboration with Your Technology

Collaboration (1)

When it comes to working with your team, collaborating with another company, or simply working on a project from multiple locations, everyone wants to network and feel connected through their technology. Digital connectedness not only drives productivity, but communication and collaboration in the workplace as well. Gone are the times when technology was used as a tool for efficiency only, your business technology is now a means of driving impactful opportunities.

So, what do we mean by digital connectedness? Throughout a work day, individuals and companies are constantly networking and building relationships through email, chat, phone calls, virtual meetings, etc. During those times, collaboration should be efficient and complimentary to what you are trying to achieve, or else productivity can drastically decrease.

Here's how the right infrastructure can enhance collaboration:

Access to Information. Having the ability to efficiently share and collaborate on certain files or pieces of information is an important part of productivity. If your network is reliable and your infrastructure is set up in a way that can support documentation and the immediate sharing of files, your team will spend less time trying to track down and share files, and more time focusing on business development.

Anytime, Anywhere. Your IT environment must support your users so they are able to do their work anytime, anywhere. According to a Gallup survey, 43% of users said they spent time working from home in the last year, up from 39% in 2012. Remote work is increasing in popularity, and your environment must have the ability to support users collaborating from anywhere.

Collaborative Apps. You might also consider implementing or upgrading to a collaborative suite or software that can allow your employees to communicate in real-time. An example of these applications are Slack, Skype for Business, and Microsoft Teams. These apps are meant to provide an all-in-one platform where users can chat, share files, and keep projects moving. While it's always good to pick up the phone and call, having multiple communication avenues will play in your favor.

Customer Relationships. Putting a focus on collaborative technology and immediate access to information will also help improve customer service standards and customer relationships. Your users can get what they need to service the client within the click of a few buttons, but only if your infrastructure allows for them to do so. The more information they have at their disposal, the better they can connect with and help your customers.

Besides the occasional meeting, a majority of your time is spent behind your computer screen trying to get things moving, mark things off your to-do list, all while meeting the needs of your clients and team members. Maintaining those business relationships is so important, and the only way you can achieve this efficiently is through the right business technology that can aide you in those efforts.

Want to find out how IT can be utilized as an asset instead of a means of stress? 

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Topics: Customer Service, Working Remotely, Productivity, Collaboration

How Unified Communications Helps To Increase Productivity

Unified Communications Blog

Unified Communications is an important business component meant to optimize processes and increase user productivity.  It is something that relies on successful technology in order to be utilized to the fullest. As technology has evolved, so has the efficiency of Unified Communications, which is why Five Nines has made it a part of who we are and what we do.

You may be wondering, what exactly is Unified Communications? What is UCaaS vs. Unified Communications? How does it increase productivity? Is it something we already have or is it something we need? Keep reading, and we will answer these initial questions for you. 

WHAT IS UNIFIED COMMUNICATIONS?

Unified Communications is best defined by Gartner as the products (equipment, software and services) that facilitate the interactive use of multiple enterprise communication methods. In simpler terms, Unified Communications is used when technology is helping automate and unify user and device communications to streamline processes and improve the end-user experience. It's meant to make life easier.

The term Unified Communications goes beyond the definition above, as these solutions can be delivered in two different methods which we will break down for you below.

Not sure what this looks like for your organization? Click below to schedule a FREE technical walk through to better understand your IT environment, no strings attached! 

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UC VS. UCaaS

Simply stating the term Unified Communications (UC) represents on-site solutions requiring hardware and onboarding. Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS), however, represents cloud delivered solutions. UCaaS has been growing in popularity in recent years, and while both are consistently used, there is a difference between both solutions.

For organizations who already have an established IT environment, it is sometimes preferable to integrate a UC solution into that environment, as they already have the pieces in place needed for a successful transition. UCaaS makes things simple which other businesses also prefer, as it is a solution where users simply have to download and log in. Brands such as Office 365 and Skype utilize UCaaS platforms. According to Grand View Research, the global UC market will exceed $75 billion by 2020. Some organizations will leverage both options, there isn't a one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to Unified Communications.

HOW CAN THESE INCREASE PRODUCTIVITY?

According to a Gartner report, businesses realize just 43% of technology's potential benefits. One benefit they may be missing is the increase in productivity UC and UCaaS provides. Here are some ways Unified Communications in all forms helps to increase productivity in the workplace:

  • Effective Communication: UC helps with the ability to communicate frequently, being aware of when colleagues are free or busy, and helps alleviate the stress of playing phone tag.
  • Flexibility: UC allows for flexibility. Have remote employees? Giving them the ability to answer incoming communication from a variety of devices will help to increase productivity.
  • High Levels of Collaboration: Interaction over multiple platforms is easy to do with UC, and helps promote collaboration across multiple teams in multiple locations through features such as visual collaboration and instant messaging.

Unified Communications and/or UCaaS are both technological assets that should be used within your IT environment. The more consistent, collaborative communication is supported, the more your organization will be able to get done in less time. Increase the level of communication and productivity for your business at the same time by utilizing a Unified Communications solution.

Building an efficient IT solution can make the difference between your workplace technology becoming an asset or a liability. In this webinar, we will discuss how you can make your IT an asset by going over the right tools, processes, and people that will keep your technology running smoothly.

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Topics: Equipment, Business Continuity, Working Remotely, Productivity, Unified Communications, UCaaS