Every good business manager strives to strengthen the bottom line by keeping costs low and revenue growing, but some approaches to accomplishing this are better than others. Purchasing the lowest cost system tools or drastically cutting payroll may cause headaches while providing very little savings. One way to minimize expenses without sacrificing features and productivity is through unified communications (UC) systems. Here’s how UC can positively impact technology spending.
One Stop Shop
Up until a few years ago, it was typical to have different providers for the many operational systems needed by a business. Internet connectivity, phone lines, teleconferencing, and video may have all come through separate vendors, making budgeting and payables far more complex than they should be. Today there are many UC vendors that provide the whole gamut of services at one monthly rate. This is simpler to manage and the package costs are usually much lower.
Reduced Fees
Looking at a traditional telecom bill reveals not only telephone line charges, but several lines of state and federal taxes and regulatory fees. So many of these taxes and fees are charged that they may cost even more than the phone bill itself. Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) trunking is not as highly regulated and therefore far less expensive than historic options -- sometimes less than half of what a company has been spending on telecom.
Integrated Features
Before the advent of UC systems, any new features were typically outsourced by the telecom vendor via a third party. This meant inflated costs for services like conferencing, faxing, and call forwarding. Today’s UC systems are feature-rich and reasonably priced since all services can be provided by the same vendor. Depending on the provider, a business may find that add-on features are included at little to no extra cost. This translates to a more powerful communications system that takes a company to the next level with minimal investment.
Mobile Access
The current era’s workforce is vastly different from that of the past. More workers telecommute than ever before, presenting a unique new set of requirements for companies to consider. With legacy systems, enabling remote workers typically added expense or required the company to provide the employee with a company cell phone. UC systems allow phone calling and management via software tools, accessibility via messaging tools, and a full array of useful features to make remote work convenient and efficient.
UC systems are powerful, cost effective, and convenient. Companies that implement these systems are able to save significantly and improve operational performance within the organization. Deployment costs are quickly recovered through monthly savings and enhanced productivity.