Hybrid work is upon us, with more and more people spending some of their working hours away from the office. 63% of high-growth companies offer a flexible, hybrid work model.
COVID certainly accelerated the growth of hybrid working, with businesses worldwide forced into an extremely rapid rollout of working-from-home technology, both in terms of hardware and software.
Pre-pandemic, everybody but IT leaders would be asking, What is Unified Communications?’ At the time, most people had never heard of Zoom, and Microsoft Teams was something installed on their computer that they would never use. Now it’s part of day-to-day life for millions of workers across the globe. 3.3 trillion minutes of meetings took place on Zoom alone last year. It would have been unimaginable for many enterprises how vital the combination of UC and hybrid work would become.
We’re a long way past the emergency rollouts, and businesses are now looking at ways to optimize their systems. This could be by increasing collaboration, improving morale, managing productivity, or ensuring that your business data is secure.
That’s exactly when you start looking for a comprehensive solution to make everyone’s lives easier. That solution is Unified Communication (UC). Here are 3 main reasons why UC solutions are essential for productive hybrid work.
1. UC Connects People
Feeling part of the team is a vital part of employee motivation. If you want distributed employees to follow your company ethos, understand the different aspects of the business, and get to know employees from other departments the same way as they would in the office, the proper infrastructure is required.
That’s precisely why the Unified Communications Platform evolved like it did, to provide the human touch. People like to see each other’s faces when communicating, preferably with HD Audio and Video, to avoid miscommunication. It’s as close as you can get without being in the same room.
You want your team to be able to share calendars, plan meetings, and collaborate smoothly, no matter where they are. They might even arrange to share lunch or a coffee break, similar to the infamous water-cooler chats. If you want to create a productive environment based on invested and close-knit teams, everyone on the team should probably put a face to the name, right?
2. UC improves Collaboration and Efficiency
Whether employees prepare documents, design products, manage staff, or interact with customers, it is most likely done on a computer or on the phone. This is the digital era, after all.
But one of the biggest frustrations is accessing collaboration systems outside the office. This is solved by embracing UC solutions. Unified Communication replaces and improves all communication apps, and systems enterprises use, including a traditional telephone system, chat, and video, to allow seamless internal and external communication.
UC makes daily tasks like finding the right person to call, finding hot desks, and even automatic minute-taking as easy as pie. It’s easier to have innovative workplace solutions with UC as it provides the exact same experience as someone in the office – just as efficient and with all the tools available.
Collaboration tools, groups, and chats make sharing ideas and resources easier than ever. Replace endless email chains of documents to one another with shared documents on the cloud. Enable everyone to work on documents simultaneously while bouncing ideas off each other to maximize the creativity and innovation of employees. It’s the long-awaited replacement to the traditional meeting room, with more flexibility and advanced tools to take your business to the next level. Out with the old, in with the new, don’t you think it’s time?
3. UC protects Security and Data
Without the proper security in place, working from home could have potential security risks for your proprietary data. No more losing essential papers or USB pens when your employees used to take their work home.
With a Unified Communication solution, all the data is easily accessed by authorized persons. As long as they have access to the internet, they can stay connected. Files can be shared with the touch of a button, and your IT team can manage the whole system from anywhere, not necessarily on-premises.
In addition, all of the communication is encrypted, ensuring your priceless data is never at risk. With UC, you can ensure file integrity and privacy is kept at all times, even on home networks. Employees and IT staff can stop worrying, knowing calls on all communication apps, including call recorders, are encrypted on all devices. Plus, UC uses an automatic system that lets IT know if there are any potentially vulnerable spots.
Take Hybrid Work to the Next Level with Unified Communications
Unified Communications is the future for many businesses, but it is not always as straightforward as buying a software package off the shelf. Each business is different and therefore has unique needs, and you want a system that meets your specific business needs.
Now that the benefits of Unified Communications for hybrid work are clear, only one thing remains: transitioning to UC. Luckily for you, Tuki’s team is full of experts ready to help you upgrade your communication and collaboration. Avoid the headaches by allowing our experienced team to help migrate, implement and manage your Unified Communications Management tasks.
If a no-downtime, employee-empowering system that reduces IT workload sounds like heaven to you, get in touch with Tuki today, and one of our experts will design the perfect system for your business, whatever it is.
