How Unified Communications Can Unite Your Business Like Never Before

A modern business needs to keep up with the latest technology solutions, and communications are no different. Believe it or not, though, many organizations have yet to commit to a comprehensive unified communications strategy that encompasses their entire network. It’s more important today than ever before to maintain a professional grip on your communications technology, including how your organization approaches both internal and external communications.

Unified Email
When you think about your organization's email, do you picture a unified email client or a scattered group of email addresses from random providers? Some businesses still allow employees to use their personal email addresses as their primary communication method, which is frowned upon for several reasons. For one, it looks unprofessional. Free email addresses like those from Gmail and Yahoo are great for personal use, but not for your business. Another reason you don’t want personal email addresses used is due to employee turnover. Should the team member leave your organization, they could depart with important access credentials and information that would then be inaccessible, and even at risk of being compromised.

Consistency is key for unified communications. Therefore, you should use an email setup that’s consistent throughout your organization. Your network administrators or IT service provider should have full control over accounts, so they can be promptly shut down upon the resignation of key personnel, or stored away in a secure archive for later viewing. Plus, you’ll be able to take advantage of your brand and professional image in an entirely new way.

Unified Instant Messaging
Instant messaging, or IM, has grown very popular over the past decade, thanks to the advent of high-speed Internet, mobile texting, and social media messaging features. Now, businesses want to take advantage of IM in the office environment, and for good reason. It helps to achieve greater response time for important matters and improves communication considerably within the office. For example, let’s say that you have a time-sensitive matter that needs to be addressed quickly. Rather than sending the recipient an email, which they may not see for several hours, you can send an IM to get a quicker response.

The best part of a unified communications solution is that its components are often very similar to consumer technology in usability. For example, many people use email and instant messaging outside of the office, which minimizes the learning curve of implementing new communications technologies. In reality, the main difference between consumer communications technology and unified communications is that unified communications solutions are created with enterprise-level control.

Horne & Benik can implement and host your business’s email solution for you, which takes the stress of managing and maintaining it off your shoulders. Furthermore, we can help your organization maximize productivity with an instant messaging solution that suits your needs. To learn more, give us a call at (603) 499-4400.