A recent report from Eastern Management Group found that more than half of all surveyed organizations are considering the adoption of a hosted unified communications solution to replace their aging phone system. The top reasons for adoption of Unified Communications-as-a-Service (UCaaS) solutions focus on popular capabilities such as VoIP, mobility, presence and collaboration tools.
Clearly, organizations are turning to UCaaS to enable users to work and collaborate from anywhere, and to integrate communication channels. UCaaS brings together previously disparate applications such as voice, email, text, chat, video and presence into a single platform delivered as a cloud service. UCaaS makes collaboration simple, easy and efficient, regardless of location and device, and regardless of the communication channel you prefer. Users enjoy a consistent experience and have access to a full interaction history through the same user interface.
According to the research, the industries that have been fastest to adopt UCaaS are professional services, healthcare, education and retail. Following are high-level summaries of the UCaaS value proposition for each of these industries.
Professional services. In the professional services sector, organizations should be embracing collaboration and software-based services to maximize productivity and ensure the efficient delivery of complex services, according to a Deloitte report. At the same time, these companies are under pressure to control costs and operate within tight margins. UCaaS allows professional services companies to meet customer expectations and seamlessly collaborate with minimal capital expense.
Healthcare. UCaaS provides healthcare organizations with a central platform that medical professionals can use to collaborate on patient care. UCaaS also allows healthcare organizations to take advantage of telemedicine services and to provide training to staff across multiple locations. In addition to patient care, UCaaS makes it easier to enforce security policies that protect sensitive patient data and satisfy compliance requirements.
Education. In the education sector, UCaaS provides a simple, reliable platform for communication between educators, students, parents, the community, and, when necessary, law enforcement and first responders. Additionally, the redundancy of the cloud minimizes downtime, which could affect learning and school safety. UCaaS also helps school systems adhere to strict budgets by virtually eliminating upfront costs for communications infrastructure and replacing these costs with a more predictable operating expense.
Retail. The customer experience is everything in retail. A high-quality experience depends upon seamless, streamlined communication between decision-makers and store managers and associates, who are rarely in the same place at the same time. UCaaS not only improves the customer experience, but also allows retail employees to be more productive and effective.
Given the popularity of UCaaS, there are a growing number of options on the market. How do you choose a solution that will meet your needs now and in the future and deliver a positive ROI?
Mitel is a value leader for UCaaS, according to related research from Eastern Management Group, earning the highest marks for customer satisfaction in six of 10 key metrics. Mitel’s MiCloud Connect UCaaS platform was also named a best business tool by Newsweek.
Verteks, a Mitel Gold Solutions partner, can help you take advantage of Mitel’s industry-leading UCaaS solutions. Let us help you determine which areas of your organization can benefit most from UCaaS and implement a Mitel solution that makes collaboration simpler and more efficient.
