A Guide to VoIP and Unified Communication

In the era of cloud communications, businesses everywhere are choosing to rid themselves of traditional phone systems, instead opting for fully digital phone and communications systems hosted within the cloud. With over 60% of the world’s business data now hosted on cloud platforms as opposed to physical hard drives, according to data featured by Exploding Topics, there’s every reason to assume cloud technology will be the go-to choice for most businesses the world over.

But it isn’t just convenience that is driving businesses away from traditional communications and storage options. Cloud systems open businesses up to a wealth of opportunities to boost productivity, save cash and offer their staff more remote working options than ever before – and this is barely scratching the surface of the fresh capabilities cloud communications systems offer.VoIP and unified communications are two technologies that are unmistakably interlinked and are examples of technologies that always arise in conversation when discussing business communications systems. But what exactly are VoIP and unified communications? How are the two connected, and why are both technologies essential as we move away from analogue ways of working and fully embrace the digital and cloud computing age? Read on to learn more.

What is Unified Communications?

Far more than a simple digital phone service, unified communications platforms are all-encompassing digital applications – usually hosted in the cloud, but not always – that offer every major means of communication a business needs to streamline their communications, boost productivity and increase staff engagement, to name but a few advantages. They contain options for instant messaging, email, voice chat, video conferencing, screen sharing, file sharing and digital collaboration tools enterprises can use for both internal business communication among staff and external communications with customers.

By containing all the communication tools a team needs into a single, handy application, employees can communicate more easily with their colleagues and customers in a more streamlined way, while also reaping the benefits of a modern, fast and easy-to-use system that puts outdated analogue systems to shame.

What is VoIP?

VoIP stands for ‘Voice Over Internet Protocol’ and is the technology that allows internet-based communications systems, like unified communications systems, to run. With VoIP, unified communications systems can break down the analogue signals received by traditional phones and instantly convert them into digital signals that can be further shared across the internet, or through an internet-powered system.

Another key advantage of making and receiving voice calls via VoIP technology is HD calling. Rather than having to endure muffled, unclear voices, like the ones we’re used to hearing over analogue phone lines, calls made and received in a VoIP phone system can benefit from being upscaled in quality. This can help businesses better communicate with their customers, as they no longer struggle to understand everything that has been said, meaning they can serve customers more precisely.

What is UCaaS?

If you’ve been investigating unified communications and VoIP, you’ve undoubtedly come across the term ‘UCaaS’ which stands for ‘Unified Communications as a Service.’ In simple terms, UCaaS is the same technology as unified communications, apart from the fact it is housed and managed externally by a third-party provider, rather than the business in question.

Opting for UCaaS over standard unified communications presents businesses with some impressive advantages. For instance, by leaving a unified communications system in the hands of a third-party provider, this provider is also required to deal with all security measures for the platform. This can be a relief to businesses and IT staff who are not familiar with the exact security protocols required to keep a cloud communications system totally secure, instead leaving it in the hands of experienced, reliable professionals. Not only does this help keep sensitive data safe, but it also saves in-house staff time that can be better spent pushing the business forward.

That isn’t to say UCaaS is for everyone, though. Some businesses find concern in giving a third-party company access to their most sensitive information. This is understandable given just how much sensitive data many modern businesses need to work with, and these businesses are more than welcome to handle their system’s security and updates themselves. However, because trustworthy unified communications solutions providers like Elite are often steeped in industry-standard qualifications and in-depth experience, there really is no cause for concern. If having control over your UC solution is a concern, there are options to host the solution on-premise, whilst still taking advantage of support from a UC provider.

The Reasons Businesses of All Sizes Should Consider VoIP and Unified Communications

PSTN Switch Off

As unified communications systems are hosted and accessed through the cloud, they will remain unaffected after the PSTN switch-off. 

Phone and internet communications in the UK have been powered by the same copper-based wiring since the inception of phone technology – known as the PSTN. However, in a digital age where countless gigabytes of data need to be shared daily, these traditional phone lines are no longer suitable to withstand the heavy data load modern businesses place upon them. Because of this, British Telecom has decided to switch off these outdated wires.

This means that both businesses and individuals will need to switch to fully digital communications services by 2025, or they will lose their communications capabilities altogether. The rollout of digital communications for consumers is already well underway in the UK, with most households having already connected their home phones with their broadband modems, but many businesses are still yet to make the move to digital communications. If businesses choose to ignore the impending switch-off and are still reliant on analogue phone systems when it occurs, their communications with customers will cease instantly, potentially costing them thousands of pounds in lost profits per day.

Thankfully, unified communications systems are the solution to this problem. As these systems are hosted off-site via cloud technology and are accessed via an internet connection, they will remain unaffected when the PSTN switch-off happens in 2025. Meaning businesses that have adopted unified communications technology will be able to remain in full contact with their customers and fellow colleagues, without any downtime due to the old wires being deactivated.

Versatile and Streamlined Communications

A key benefit of having all essential communications housed within a single application, as opposed to across multiple separate applications, is the streamlined and versatile nature in which communications can take place. For example, if a business subscribed to separate communications platforms and needed to quickly pivot between a voice call and a video call for an added visual element, they would need to end the original call and send out email invites to every caller, so they could successfully join the new video conference.

On top of taking a lot of time and effort, this creates speed bumps in the communications process, with some attendees possibly struggling to log into the new video conference. This could lead to them missing key information and generally being left out of important conversations which require their attendance.

However, with a unified communications system, such instances become a thing of the past. Colleagues can convert a conversation in one format into another seamlessly in an instant – all without ending the original call and without people needing to log onto a new conversation. Better still, incoming calls can be transferred between individuals, departments and even separate buildings quickly and easily, without the frequent dropouts many of us have experienced when dealing with analogue phone systems.

Plus, if calls need to be recorded and referred back to later, the digital nature of the cloud phone system makes call recording very easy, with the option to instantly upload all calls to cloud storage. This means that, in the event of a miscommunication or uncertainty, information shared over the phone can be accessed and situations resolved far quicker.

Remote Working Options

According to data from the Office for National Statistics, 39% of the British public worked from home at some point in the 7 days prior to the survey being collected, suggesting working from home or hybrid working remains a huge part of people’s work life in the post-pandemic world. The same can be said for both ground-level staff and employers as well, with three-quarters of employers in the UK now offering a hybrid model of some kind, according to data from the CIPD.

In an increasingly remote and hybrid working world, employers need to do everything they can to offer colleagues working under such circumstances the same accessibility to the information and technology they need to perform their roles, as effectively as their office-based colleagues. However, analogue phone systems offer very little in the way of versatility and accessibility, severely limiting a remote worker’s ability to communicate effectively with colleagues and customers, with regular technical issues and connectivity problems due to the outdated legacy technology being used.

Unified communications systems present no such issues, though. As all software and data needed for a worker to remain productive and connected are hosted in the cloud, all they need is a stable internet connection and the relevant digital device (a laptop, smartphone or tablet). They will then be able to install the unified communications application and have access to all the data and tools they need, wherever they happen to be. 

Cost Savings

Arguably the most enticing aspect of unified communications for businesses is the cost savings that can be made by onboarding the technology. According to our research, 7% of large businesses are running 6 or more major forms of communication simultaneously. This usually comes hand in hand with multiple subscription fees for communication services to external vendors.

While this is standard practice for countless businesses, opting for so many separate communications subscriptions can cost a business hundreds or even thousands of pounds a year, unnecessarily. It can also cause confusion amongst teams, with select colleagues being unsure how important messaging may be sent and which services they need to keep a constant eye on, which can lead to missed messaging. 

This is in stark contrast to unified communications. With a unified communications solution, businesses can consolidate all of their communication applications and needs into a single digital platform, with a single provider and a single monthly subscription price. As a result, businesses can cancel any unnecessary subscriptions they have with different communications providers and save money every month, while making communications billing far easier to understand.

Increased Productivity

By streamlining communications through a unified communications solution, businesses can help foster greater productivity within their workforces, leading to greater overall success for the business. Unfortunately, though, many businesses don’t realise how much time and productivity they are losing every year as a result of unsuitable work practices relating to internal and external communications.

According to data featured in Harvard Business Review, employees at large organisations can spend up to four hours per week toggling between applications. In the moment, this may not seem like much time lost, with only seconds for each instance. But when collected over a period of a month or a year, it could represent huge sums of time lost to inactivity through toggling – time that could have been better spent remaining productive, serving customers or helping the business in another way.

With unified communications, constant toggling is no issue. As all the tools and services an employee needs to communicate are found in a single wide-ranging application, there is no need to waste time continually switching between communication tools, with everything they need handily located in a single user interface. Along with this, the streamlined communications offered by unified communications solutions can prevent the need for employees to consistently search for messaging that is spread between various applications, allowing them to be more productive.

Embrace Unified Communications Solutions and VoIP with Elite Group

If a unified communication solution sounds like the answer to the problems facing your business, speak to Elite Group today. With decades of combined experience in the business communications space, serving businesses just like yours, we are your ideal partner to onboard unified communications and change your business for the better.

With plenty of accreditations and experience under our belt, you can rely on Elite Group to deliver the solutions you need, as well as the support you need should anything arise. We offer wrap-around support with technical assistance available at any time of day. 

Plus, with Elite, you’ll be assigned a dedicated account manager whose responsibility will be to oversee the onboarding of the unified communications solution, ensuring you’re always armed with the knowledge and expertise you need to adjust to the technology and use it to its fullest.

To find out more about unified communications solutions from Elite Group, speak with an Elite Group expert today.