10 Features of UCaaS Solutions

Exploring Features of UCaaS and How Can They Benefit Your Business?

In the era of cloud computing and cloud communications, Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) has become the ideal communications choice of thousands of businesses worldwide, thanks to the many benefits it holds in comparison with outdated analogue phone systems. Beyond making and receiving simple phone calls, UCaaS solutions offer businesses a plethora of advantages including boosting productivity, streamlining communications and reducing costs.

In this article, we will discuss the ten key features of UCaaS solutions and why a new communications platform would benefit your business if you’re yet to onboard a UCaaS solution or are wondering whether UCaaS would be the right move for you. At Elite Group, we’re experts in business communications technology, and have been helping businesses maximise their internal and external communications efforts for over twenty years. If you would like to know more about UCaaS platforms, their features and how they can benefit your business, you’re in the right place!

What is UCaaS?

UCaaS stands for unified communications as a service and it offers businesses every communications tool they need to remain productive and successful – including instant messaging, email, voice, video conferencing, file sharing and more – all within one easy-to-use platform. Not only does this solution bring together powerful communication and productivity applications, it can also be accessed on a range of devices including laptops, mobile phones and internet-based deskphones. 

The key driver behind businesses making the switch to Unified Communications and UCaaS systems is the efficiency and cost savings they provide. Rather than businesses spending untold amounts on multiple communications platforms every single month, onboarding a UCaaS solution reduces this output to a single monthly payment. Not only is this often far cheaper than spending on multiple separate services, but it also makes the lives of managers and finance managers far easier by simplifying monthly bills, making it easier to track what is being spent where.

On top of this, employers can expect to find the productive output of their workforce increases by utilising UCaaS systems. According to data from unified communications news site UC Today, respondents to a survey regarding their company’s usage of UCaaS systems found they enjoyed greater productivity (72%), better problem-solving (88%) and improved collaboration (91%).

The Features of UCaaS Solutions

1) Multichannel communication

Gone are the days of only using phones to get in touch with colleagues, partners and customers. Today, modern businesses need to utilise multiple forms of communication if they are to enjoy the best possible productivity and success. Tools like video conferencing software, file-sharing applications and collaborative online environments all have a part to play in companies enjoying uninterrupted progress.

However, while all these tools are an integral part of modern business practices, they do sometimes come with a caveat in that using multiple, separated forms of communication, consistently, can actually harm productivity. According to a report featured in the Harvard Business Review, the average employee spends four hours a week toggling between communication tools. Over the course of a year, this equates to a huge sum of time lost.

However, as UCaaS houses all of the multichannel communications tools workers need to remain productive within a single application, there’s no need to constantly toggle between communication channels. 

2) Third-party application integration

Many businesses are set in their ways when it comes to the tools they use every day, which is not always a bad thing. Some tools will always have a place in the daily work of businesses, whether that be for the benefits they provide or the simple familiarity employees and managers enjoy with said tools. This is why some workers always dread a major change like onboarding a new communications system, for fear they will not adapt to it adequately, costing the company time and money and reducing employee engagement.

However, many UCaaS solutions can seamlessly integrate third-party project management tools and applications a company already uses, rather than replacing them entirely, so employees can enjoy the best of both worlds; learning to work with a new system whilst also utilising familiar applications. For example, popular collaboration application Microsoft Teams, can easily be integrated to work alongside UCaaS platforms, so companies don’t need to make the difficult decision of choosing between one or the other.

3) Productivity and collaboration tools

Back when businesses relied solely on hard drives to store and share data and files, many employees found it difficult or tiresome to relay different file versions around working teams when collaboration was needed. This often led to inaccurate communication and incorrect file versions being, needlessly, updated – wasting the time of all involved. This can be especially difficult for remote workers, who would have no access to essential files stored on office-based hard drives. However, in the era of cloud computing, where files can be transferred quickly and easily over an internet connection, companies are enjoying greater collaboration than ever before.

With UCaaS solutions, companies can enjoy greater productivity thanks to collaborative applications employees can use to work on important projects and files together in real-time, no matter where they are based. This allows workers to share ideas and inspiration in an environment that encourages conversation and in-depth discussion before ideas are put into practice, with all members of a project having access and a clear view of updates at all times. 

4) Flexible working 

Speaking of remote workers, UCaaS solutions offer fantastic opportunities seeking to onboard or improve flexible working capabilities. Previously, remote workers could never hope to enjoy the same level of seamless collaboration they enjoy today because of the limitations of legacy technology and on-site hardware-based systems.

In comparison, thanks to cloud computing and cloud communications that is bolstered by UCaaS systems, remote workers can access all the files, tools and applications they need from virtually anywhere, as long as they have a steady internet connection, the correct devices (most often laptops, smartphones and tablets) and usable login details. As long as all these factors are in place, with UCaaS solutions, remote workers can enjoy seamless connectivity with their customers and fellow colleague..

5) High-quality voice

From muffled tones to lines ‘breaking up’, analogue phones have always suffered with a less-than-stellar call quality due to location and disruption. However, thanks to the advent of Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP), which converts analogue voice signals into digital signals and transports them across an internet connection – rather than an analogue one – UCaaS users can enjoy crystal clear voice calls, with perfectly audible tones being produced by both the caller and the receiver. In the case of businesses, this improvement stands to help eliminate the need to repeat oneself due to poor quality lines, and could drastically cut confusion that arises during a call due to one party not being able to understand the other.

6) International reach

Another fantastic advantage of UCaaS solutions is their versatility to be used on an international scale to maintain business continuity. Thanks to cloud computing, businesses with multiple locations – both nationally and internationally – can remain more connected than ever before. It was once the case that businesses with multiple branches would need to be managed and work on an individual level, with each branch being left to its own devices for the most part. However, thanks to UCaaS solutions and cloud computing, branches that are separated by hundreds of miles, oceans and continents can remain connected and update each other on important information in the blink of an eye. Even teams who are spread across multiple countries can work in tandem thanks to the collaborative tools described above, as long as everyone is logged into the same UCaaS system.

7) Accessible on a range of devices

While office phones and emails were once the primary and only major methods of communication between staff and customers, cloud communications and UCaaS have unearthed the ability to communicate seamlessly across a range of digital devices. Thanks to the versatility afforded by modern technology and applications, employees can log onto a UCaaS system from many different digital devices, depending on what they have to hand and whatever device the situation calls for.

Whether it’s a laptop, smartphone or tablet, as long as the UCaaS software can be successfully installed and connected via the internet, employees can take advantage of virtually any digital device they choose to complete tasks and stay in touch with others.

8) File sharing 

With 60% of global corporate data now stored in the cloud – according to data from Thales Group – the demand for effective and rapid cloud-based file-sharing capabilities has never been clearer. While smaller files can be easily attached to emails, it used to be the case that large files needed to be shared via physical media, such as floppy disks, pen drives, portable hard drives and solid-state drives.

However, thanks to the explosion of cloud storage and rising internet speeds, businesses can now benefit from the ability to send countless files of significant size to whomever they so choose across an internet connection – thanks to such file-sharing options that are available within UCaaS systems. Should a file need to be shared quickly, it can easily be uploaded to the UCaaS platform and be downloaded by anyone in the world, as long as they have access to the same system and the correct permissions. This not only saves time, but adds an element of peace of mind for businesses that may be concerned about the security issues surrounding external browser-based file-sharing services. Security measuresintegrated within UCaaS solutions enable files to be encrypted, if necessary, and only allow access by those who are the intended recipients within an organisation. 

9) Call recording 

Call recording is an important feature of any business communication system for a variety of reasons. Firstly, call recording allows access to data that enables you to monitor the interactions your customers have with your business to evaluate the level of service you are providing and identify areas for improvement. It can also provide insights into the activity of your team, by enabling you to access a range of conversations, which could highlight opportunities for training.

Furthermore, according to data from The Learning Guild, individuals may have forgotten around 50% of the information they’re presented with in a professional capacity within the hour. When it comes to recalling important information received from a customer, colleague or partner on a phone call, this presents a massive problem for businesses seeking to cut mistakes and inefficient decision-making, based on a half-remembered chat. However, business calls of any kind can be long, and packed full of minute details that are, by nature, difficult to remember and recall accurately.

Thankfully, the call recording capabilities of UCaaS solutions help solve this issue. As all calls made and received through a UCaaS phone system can be recorded and stored, it is easy to re-listen to any call a user chooses should the situation call for it. This can help businesses solve a host of problems, such as information errors, order mistakes, misheard times and so on.

10) Analytics

Alongside communications, cloud technology and the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) has allowed businesses to inspect many aspects of their processes more closely than ever, in order to uncover trends and patterns. Advanced analytics tools can be implemented to analyse select aspects of business data, so managers can make better educated decisions.

For example, if a particular product is receiving a lot of attention from callers seeking to make a purchase, analytics can spot this trend and highlight the need for greater dedication to the production and distribution of said product, to meet demand, aiding revenue. At the other end of the spectrum, analytics can also be used to highlight employees who may be falling short of expected standards. By analysing data such as call times, sales figures and even the tone of one’s voice (in some cases) intelligent analytics tools can indicate issues to managers, so they can take the appropriate action with the colleague(s) in question. 

Explore UCaaS solutions with Elite Group

With 20 years of experience in the business technology space, Elite Group is ideally placed to help your business take advantage of the features and benefits UCaaS solutions have to offer. By maintaining prestigious partnerships with some of the biggest UCaaS vendors – including 8×8, Mitel and Gamma – we’re able to offer you the solutions you need and can implement them in a way that works for you, all delivered with expert advice throughout the process and beyond.

Our highly trained, accredited specialists will take the time to understand your business and its needs, before finding the perfect solution to meet those needs. Once you’ve chosen your solution, you will be paired with a dedicated account manager who will work with you and your service provider to ensure your solutions are always fit for purpose.

Whether it’s a query, or you’re experiencing an issue or want to know how to get the most out of your solution, we’re here for you. Speak to us today to find out more about unified communications solutions and the UCaaS providers we work with. Fill in our contact form or call 0344 875 8880.