Unified Communications

Unified Communications Technology And Services

The increasing use of technology based on the Internet and the communications power that it can provide business users has today meant that a combination of Voice Over Internet Protocol telephony and other services made possible through the use of wireless technology can offer businesses a unified communications capacity that will not only reduce the costs of telephony and its associated services, but also increase efficiency and productivity.

Unified communications refers to the combination of different products and services and the real time integration of services such as fax, voicemail services and SMS that make use of the companies own TCP/IP network. Other components of the unified communications solutions can include VoIP telephony and video conferencing. The sharing of data can be much more efficient when this type of network is used within a business context. In fact, one of the definitions of unified communications is based on the actuality that the communications that take place under the umbrella of unified communications is designed to optimise business processes.

A unified communications network will use a variety of tools such as mobile devices and other communication equipment as well as shared interfaces such as Outlook and the ability to use technology such as instant messaging and easy to access voice mail to improve the response time of both the individuals within a business and the departments that share responsibility for the successful completion of various projects. The speeding up of this response time can greatly improve the efficiency and productivity of the organisation.

The purpose of unified communications systems is to seamlessly integrate the various modes and methods of communicating within the business environment. By allowing users to interface with each other in real time using a variety of different platforms, including instant messaging and voice communications and VoIP conferencing the daily tasks that need to take place within the business environment can be accomplished more easily.

Unified communications systems and processes are extremely useful in streamlining customer communications. By using the various real time systems such as instant messaging and online directories calls from customers can be rerouted and dealt with almost immediately, without the usual delays caused by back and forth communication based on email and constant , repeating phone messages.

It is not only personal productivity that can be enhanced through the use of the systems and processes involved in unified communication. By integrating these systems into the business processes of the organisation immense returns are possible through greater efficiency. Using unified communications systems as part of the business processes a company can ensure that the correct employee resource is automatically selected to deal with challenges. The tolls used to accomplish this are available from a number of different suppliers in South Africa.

When used correctly, the tools that form the backbone of unified communications can transform the activities of the company, allowing employees and the company as a whole to respond more quickly and efficiently to challenges within the business setting. By integrating the various communications tools the company will be better able to thrive in a highly competitive global business environment.