The internet has penetrated all aspects of life from one’s social life and education to politics and sales. In order to survive the present business climate, businesses have to stay ahead of the curve and constantly be available to their buying public.

Currently, there is an expansive range of communication channels that are available to the public. Voice is just one piece of the communication jungle. Take sales as an example. After you’ve agreed on a deal, it doesn’t end there; following the finalization of terms, be it with a client or partner, quotes must be faxed or emailed, or you may require chat and instant messaging to iron out the remaining small details.

Fact of the matter is, businesses are becoming more virtual, and one way to ensure that you are not at a competitive disadvantage is to make your communication systems effective and efficient, both technically and financially.

Unified Communications (UC) is a technological system that integrates communication tools so the different technologies are optimized into one service with minimal hardware requirements. Instead of managing communications separately, UC can bridge the gap between various services and provide more control over your critical and support features.

Virtual presence speaks volumes about a company’s willingness to communicate. According to Statista, the number of smartphone users worldwide is expected to grow by one billion from 2014 to a sizable 2.5 billion by 2019. Consumers today are online and would prefer to use the same connectivity to interact with vendors and service providers.

With this in mind, more and more companies are taking advantage of this trend and shifting from traditional phone services to UC platforms. Here are three of the main reasons why UC is taking the business world by storm:

1. Cost reduction or mitigation: One of the reasons some executives have been apprehensive about the shift is because of the misconception or fear that the cost of the transition will not be worth it. In reality, utilizing UC contributes to lowering your bottom line because internet connectivity is actually more affordable than traditional cable services. Installation is simple, and the system provides for business growth, meaning maintenance and upgrades would cost you next to nothing. Experts estimate that companies can save up to as much as 75 percent in operational costs in deploying UC servers. UC can also reduce your company’s carbon footprint by limiting the need for travel with web conferencing and net-based interaction.
2. Better employee productivity: An integrated communication system is designed to support your employees, enabling them to become more efficient service delivery conduits. Further, mobility with telephony services means employees can be more effective without excessive dependence on the physical brick and mortar of the office. With call forwarding, short number dialing, and automated call/messaging systems to name a few, people are connected to the right parties quickly.
3. Improved customer services: Stable, constant and efficient communication systems indicate to your customers that you mean to provide constant and quality services. By converging interaction and streamlining communications, you can improve response times and provide instantaneous and effective communication leading to better customer service.

UC is not complicated at all to understand and operationalize – it’s actually a lot simpler than the legacy services many outdated companies still employ. If you’d like your company to do more with less, UC will set you on the right path.