Communication Solutions For Remote Work
In fact, research conducted by information technology company NEC found that 98 per cent of workers prefer to work from home at least some of the time; that 76 per cent of employees would be more willing to stay with their current employer if they could work flexible hours; and that 69 per cent of millennials would give up other work benefits in favour of a more flexible work arrangement. It seems that being able to provide remote working solutions is essential for any modern business.
Thankfully, we’ve also reached a point where systems and technologies have been created to facilitate these new, remote, flexible working scenarios. In other words: we’ve worked out how to do this “new normal” well. Really well.
UNIVERGE BLUE’s Unified Communications as a Service (or UCaaS) is an “All in One Communication Solution” – a one-stop shop for providing businesses with everything they need to help their staff collaborate with each other and communicate with customers.
UCaaS is not just video conferencing software or a phone system, but an array of features that combine to allow seamless connection between parties in a variety of situations. As a cloud-based platform, UCaaS is a tool that’s both centralised and easily transported. It acts as a hub for information as well as a service staff can access from anywhere.
Here are the functions that make UCaaS so useful (and impressive) – and why we here at Zero 3 love it.
Phone service
UCaaS’s phone system works brilliantly on both desktop and mobile — meaning you can stay in touch wherever you are – and allows users to have calls automatically diverted to whatever line they like. Meanwhile, employees can call (or even text) customers and have their contact number show up as their business (rather than personal) number.
Phone service features:
- Access to all company contacts
- Real-time presence so users can see when others are available
- Hold, park, transfer, conference and flip
- Crystal clear phone calls
- Remotely send and receive faxes
- Voicemails automatically converted to email
- Protection against spam calls and robocalls
Team Chat
The chat feature means that employees can liaise with each other quickly and directly and conduct succinct back-and-forth communication — just like if they were communicating in the office. Staff can also initiate group chats for team collaboration. If needed, the chat function can easily become a phone call or screenshare.
Team Chat features:
- Emojis for more casual conversation style
- One-on-one or group chat available
- Easily switch to phone call or screenshare
Video conferencing
Virtual meetings are a frequent event for many of us in the office these days. When it comes to video calls, UCaaS offers a high-quality interactive video experience where staff members can see their co-workers in high definition for a more human interaction. The video conferencing feature is fast, secure and reliable and, as with the audio calls, the quality is crystal clear. It also makes it easy to screenshare and mark up images.
Video conferencing features:
- 720p HD quality
- Share screen and annotate documents
- Meet with up to 30 others on a video call, or 200 on an audio call
- Spotlight and Active Talker
- Participants can choose their own view
- Secure meetings with HIPAA-compliant end-to-end encryption
Secure file sharing
Organising a system for sharing information and files between employees when they’re not in the office using the same server can be a headache for businesses. It’s also absolutely essential. UCaaS’s file sharing capability makes light work of it and allows staff to quickly, conveniently and securely share information anytime, anywhere — so everyone can be working off the same page.
File sharing features:
- Enterprise grade security
- Data remains private in a SOC 2-audited cloud
- Automatically upgrades to latest version for added protection against cyber attacks
Who can benefit from UCaaS?
UCaaS is an incredibly helpful tool for any business that needs to facilitate communication among their staff and / or between staff and customers.
Some of the other benefits of UCaaS include:
- Helps teams that are on the road (for example those in sales) to remain contactable and responsive
- Creates one central hub from which staff can quickly retrieve information (such as stock levels) when dealing with clients
- Makes it possible for businesses to hire from a greater pool of job applicants, seeing as they can work remotely and therefore be located anywhere — and also to retain staff members who value flexibility
- Allows teams that are working remotely (for example due to health reasons, or being scattered across the globe) to remain on the same page
- Means businesses don’t need to rely on more archaic systems (such as legacy phone systems) that are far more likely to crash
- Technicians can be dispatched quickly via instant messaging so any issues that do arise can be promptly resolved, and you can get back to business
- Straightforward set-up with minimal hardware required
- Users report 27 per cent less idle time among staff
- By increasing productivity and efficiency, UCaaS gives businesses a competitive advantage
UCaaS grants staff the freedom to work from anywhere without missing a beat. The result is a happy, flexible workforce where communication is streamlined and a more productive, in-sync, efficient business. In a world that’s becoming increasingly globalised, it’s technology that makes it possible to stay connected. To our minds, that’s a solid investment.