Staying Ahead of the Game with Successful Management of Unified Communications
Remember the bad old days?
Not so long ago, a business needed around a dozen totally separate devices just to stay in communication with various information stakeholders. The fax machine was a revolution in its time and remains a method of choice for small business and even some government departments. The mobile phone, still beloved of tradespersons and company representatives who no longer need to find a working payphone unfortunately overlooks the need for yet another system. Linking it and its various message options can be a nightmare. How about transferring actual data, like say a spreadsheet, database file or legal document? The email with attachment options has solved some of this, but the management of such arrangements was and is a disaster no longer waiting for a time to happen. Now we have Internet, even Broadband, but does this solve the communications management problems? No and yes are the answers, but the latter requires a major shift of focus.
Communications Strategy
The customer of today is quite unlike the customer of old whose information needs were supplied by a salesman, a company brochure or advertisement. Different departments within the company had their own information materials and a district office frequently invented its own versions for local customers. The Sales Rep spent considerable portions of the working day on the mobile phone chasing information for customers and fortunes were spent on printing brochures that were out of date before they left the print shop. This is not history - it still happens with unbelievable regularity. Conversely, businesses with a more adaptive mindset would now find it surprisingly easy to evolve an entire end-to-end communications strategy. The benefits extend far beyond the streamlining of the technology and include gaining consistency of information both in content and format, increased speed of delivery of information, reduction of unauthorised versions, reduced errors and perhaps most important of all, the ability to filter and direct relevant elements of information to selected stakeholders.
Unified communications solutions
Broadband Internet today makes the implementation of a unified communications strategy both viable and affordable, even for smaller business. The key is the integration of the various technologies that facilitate the handing of all common data types and processes whether text, images, data files, voice, multi-media or some combination of all of these. Such functionality will not overcome the need for the strategic approach outlined above, but it will certainly eliminate the daunting task of a DIY solution where various applications have to be configured and managed across different systems and platforms. Wise choice of a service provider may also incorporate Internet services including Broadband packages and website hosting.
