Unified Communications platforms, like Microsoft’s Skype for Business available as part of the Office 365 service, provide a way to centralise incoming and outgoing messaging across all of your channels. Using the bundled tools, it becomes possible to unify email, telephone and instant messaging to create a single “point of presence”.
Simplifying communications
The true power of Unified Communications is the flexibility such platforms provide. Skype for Business accepts and routes incoming voice calls to wherever you are signed into the service. This could be either the phone on your desk at the office, or via a smartphone app when out on the road. To the customer, this routing is seamless, and they always get to speak to the person they want, when they want, which improves your brand’s image.
Improving collaboration capabilities
Skype for Business also helps boost collaboration between dispersed team members. In addition to the chat and calling tools, document sharing and collaborative editing creates a way for project team members to work together in exactly the same way they would sat in the same office.
The collaborative functions of Unified Communications make it very easy to build and resource a project team, without the need for a central office in which to house them. For small businesses that need to assemble teams from freelancers or other remote workers, systems like Skype for Business are a particularly effective way to keep information flowing and costs low without compromising productivity or efficiency.
Ultimately, your business, no matter how big or small, could benefit from deploying Unified Communications if:
• You need to improve the ease with which customers, employees and suppliers can contact you – particularly when out of the office.
• You have a mobile workforce, or workers based offsite, and need to improve the way in which you work together.
For more information about how Microsoft Skype for Business and Office 365 could improve productivity and communications, please get in contact with the Complete I.T. team.