The office is abuzz with connectivity — enabled by technology, VOIP and cloud-based solutions. This explosion in connectivity has merged disparate networks, desktop and mobile applications, video streaming, video conference calls (telepresence), and the ability to share and work on documents simultaneously regardless of location. We have, for the first time, the promise of true collaboration.
For business, the rewards are enormous. Those who have mastered Unified Communications have shown measurable and tangible benefits. They are able to work faster, increase customer satisfaction and employee engagement, and get to market sooner while experiencing a reduction in expenses, including sales, travel, long-distance, IT and general administration costs. While it may sound too good to be true – it’s the real experience of the best in class.
One thing is clear. Those who focus on Unified communications as a pure technical exercise have failed. Companies need to look at the adoption of UC as an opportunity to redesign or even reimagine how work is done.
The technology is confusing. Mastering it is important. Companies grappling with UC today often struggle with how to accommodate the myriad of technology options, varying devices and screen sizes, the availability of bandwidth and ‘connectedness’ in different locations, the expectations of end-users for access, flexibility, and functionality – and how to make connectivity seamless.
Additionally, companies look to UC to enhance productivity yet the new ‘offsite’ work environments have different rules and expectations which need to be understood in order to avoid conflict. Users expect instant responses. Collaboration is done asynchronously and that means verbal and physical communication cues – contextual in nature – may not be received and acted on. Any successful UC design will have to take this into account.