INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Busy professionals, along with everyone else, use their smartphones to communicate in many ways, such as carrier-based voice calls, text
messages, instant messages such as Telegram, dedicated communication channels, such as Slack, and multiple email accounts including the one
that only gets checked once a week.The problem is that with so many disparate platforms, and potentially multiple accounts on each one, all
of this communication gets significantly fragmented
Enter UCaaS, which stands for Unified Communications as a Service, which integrates this communication through a cloud model, as well as
such as the popular Software as a Service, better known as SaaS
UCaaS through the cloud simplifies the deployment, as a large in-house IT team is not needed, as the support is on the backend for a monthly
service fee to the provider.UCaaS offers the opportunity to integrate multiple communication methods through a single cloud provider,
including enterprise messaging, telephone communication, and video conferencing, which facilitates team communication
This can then be integrated into call center services, such as call routing, and call centers, with additional functionality when combined
While a decade ago, all business communication was pretty much via phone, there has been a significant rise in text message interaction, for
example, with a 2015 survey finding that 80% of employees are using text messages for business purposes
However, only 14% of businesses are currently communicating with their customers via texts, even though many customers would prefer this
some businesses are trending towards more text interaction, spawning multiple opportunities, which UCaaS fosters
For example, some call centers, which traditionally interacted over voice only, have now adopted text messaging interaction with customers,
with the promise of faster support and higher customer engagement, at a lower cost.Types of UCaaSUCaaS divides into two types:
single-tenancy and multi-tenancy
In the single-tenancy design (also known as multi-instance), there is a customized software platform that connects to the on-premises
downtime for another customer does not affect other customers
Another downside for single-tenancy UCaaS is that upgrade costs are paid by the customer due to the need for custom software.The other type
of UCaaS is multi-tenancy, where the software gets hosted in the cloud at the UCaaS provider data center, and not locally
In a multi-tenancy setup, all the customers of the UCaaS share a single software platform
This offers multiple advantages, including higher reliability, a lower cost, and the ability to offer more support, including provisioning
The disadvantage of multi-tenancy, compared to the single-tenancy model, is that it offers fewer options for customization.In between the
two extremes of single-tenancy, and multi-tenancy sits the middle ground of a hybrid approach
This is a viable choice in situations where the company has the need to keep their sensitive data more secure in a single-tenancy
environment, while still taking advantage of a multi-tenancy setup, or while they transition away from existing legacy communication
platforms which are still used in their enterprise.UCaaS in the workplaceAnother driver for the adoption of UCaaS has been the shift away
from traditional phone systems
Many enterprises use PBX systems (private branch exchange), which allow multiple users to share a limited number of outside phone lines via
a system that gives each user, including devices such as fax machines, an extension, thereby saving money rather than having an individual
dedicated phone line for each
There are additional savings with internal phone calls between users
However, with a PBX, the corporation has to purchase the PBX hardware, with acquisition prices in the thousands, and then be responsible for
Protocol), also known as a Cloud PBX (although some argue that Business VoIP and Cloud PBX are not synonymous, these days the offerings are
direct wiring between them
The company outsources all the maintenance and software to the Business VoIP provider
and internal calling between extensions.However, being cloud-based enables additional functionality, including enabling a direct phone
number, group intercom paging, voicemail to email, and internet faxing
Equally important, it also enables integration with popular business platforms, including Skype for Business, Zendesk, Salesforce, and
of features, including local, international and toll-free numbers, an auto-receptionist, music on hold, call monitoring, hot desking, call
reports, internet fax, and user templates via their hosted PBX service, as well as mobile capability via available iOS and Android
apps.There are plenty of call management features also, such as call flip, call park, call screening, call logs, message alerts, and
missed-call notifications
It also has a modern take on voicemail with options including greetings, visual voicemail, and voicemail to email
Business SMS is also included, with the ability to send and receive texts and multimedia messages from the business number, via a
Desk.com, Dropbox, Google, Microsoft, Okta, Oracle Sales Cloud, Salesforce, ServiceNow and Zendesk for further unification
customer support.WEYumRubeu8tEeVQ5EJMeF.jpg#
