Unified communication is a combination of different types of communication technology like web conferencing, voice calls, video and instant messaging provided as a single, hosted solution. A major reason for companies utilizing unified communication is it brings various opportunities for cost reduction in the form of reduced travel expense, license and hardware costs. It is possible to save money using a unified communication app.
The consolidation of different communication and collaboration channels in tools like Clariti, Microsoft Teams and Slack enables employees to work with anyone from anywhere using any device just using a browser and an internet connection.
Unified communication presents an attractive proposition for companies as it gives them huge potential to save money, increase profitability and drive growth.
12 best ways to save money using unified communications
1. Avoid multiple apps
In order to support in-office and remote workforce, companies end up using multiple applications. Managing multiple applications and vendors is not easy as it involves multiple contracts, licensing fees, bills etc.
When employees constantly switch between multiple apps, it results in app overload which lowers productivity. Due to this communication burden, employees may simply revert to emails or may not communicate at all. Companies can use unified communication apps for PCs to save money, cut costs, and improve productivity.
2. No IT staff requirements
When companies use a SaaS based unified communication platform, there is no need to use multiple applications and you no longer need a huge IT team to manage all your applications. The application provider handles all the technology. Whenever you need any customizations or face any issues, it can just be handled with the click of the mouse.
3. Reduced travel expenses
When it comes to travel expenses, employees can save money using unified communication apps. The transportation cost from commuting to work can be cut out and companies can save money on business travel. Unified communication is a great substitute for face-to-face meetings.
A study reveals that when employees work from home, they personally save between $2,000 and $7,000 a year on work-related and transportation costs. Another study points out that businesses could save over $33,000 per year on average by video conferencing.
4. Employees can bring their own device to work
Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) is a major trend that is driven by unified communication through its multi-device interface. BYOD enables employees to work using their own personal devices, saving money for companies in terms of hardware.
5. Enables hot-desking
In offices with hot-desking, workers take whatever desk is available, instead of having one assigned space. Hot desking can cut the costs of running an office by up to 30%, so it is slowly becoming popular among companies that are encouraging flexible working.
Companies can leverage the full benefits of remote working and hot-desking when they shift to unified communications as it allows employees to switch between the office and home seamlessly. Hot-desking allows companies to maximize use of their office space with reduced costs by rotating their employees’ timings.
6. Seamless audio/video calling
When companies use unified communications, they don’t have to spend money on hardware like phones that sit on everyone’s desks. Most of the unified communications come with audio/video which helps companies save on PBX procurement, maintenance, repairs, contracts and infrastructure provision.
In unified communication, as all calls are provisioned via the internet, there are no software or telephone lines to install. All that companies need is an internet connection with sufficient bandwidth.
7. Reduced infrastructure maintenance and running costs
Unified communication protects the business against costly infrastructure maintenance and running costs. Since the application is hosted on the cloud, new features are automatically updated by the app provider. There are no spikes in maintenance expenditure for companies, and there is no risk for companies from falling behind vital software upgrades.
8. Increased uptime even during natural disasters
When there is zero downtime for an application due to natural disasters like floods and earthquakes, it brings huge financial relief for companies as they can run business normally even during extraordinary times.
To maintain their financial health, every business needs a disaster recovery plan, and a way to minimize the impact of a disaster. Unified communication plays an important role in protecting companies against natural threats and other unexpected outages.
9. Increased employee productivity
People hours are one of the most expensive resources for a company and a unified communication tool helps companies maximize it. Cloud based unified communication tools help employees communicate through group messaging, audio/video calls, emails, and cloud documents. This helps employees get more done during their work hours no matter where they are located.
10. Better employee retention
The biggest financial cost involved in employee turnover is recruiting and training new employees to replace the old ones. While the exact costs of employee turnover will vary from company to company, there’s no doubt that it will affect the company financially. Some studies reveal that every time a business replaces a salaried employee, it costs 6 to 9 months’ salary on average. For an employee making $60,000 a year, that’s $30,000 to $45,000 in recruiting and training expenses for a replacement.
Unified communications deliver a high degree of mobility for both employers and employees. It shrinks the costs associated with replacing and retraining employees. As most companies are following flexible working hours, unified communication provides flexibility for companies to hire the best talent from anywhere.
The employees also need not go through the frustrations of using multiple apps or reduced access to resources and information when they work from home. Employees can attend calls and meeting from home, office or during travel seamlessly as unified communication makes working from anywhere simple. Using unified communication, companies can deliver effortless communication at a very low cost which results in happier employees and reduced turnover.
11. No upfront buying cost
With on-premises applications, companies need to make provisions for future employees regardless of their actual needs at any given time. Moreover, on-premises applications cannot support hybrid workforce who may account for a major part of the workforce now.
But still, companies need to pay for all users upfront, even when they’re not able to use the system. Unified communications, on the other hand, is flexible and scalable and uses the ‘pay-per-user’ subscription model. There is no need to make an outright purchase of the software. Subscribed users can be scaled up or down on a need basis.
12. Better customer service
When the customer service representatives use unified communication, the communication between the team becomes easy and they can avoid unnecessary delay and confusion. Unified communication drastically reduces customer response time. Customer service teams can provide better service and have happier clients who result in more business and money.
Conclusion
There are many leading providers of unified communication in the cloud like Clariti that make business productivity tools accessible and affordable to small and medium-sized companies. The capital expenditure and operational savings, happier and more productive employees make a strong case for the adoption of unified communication in all companies, big and small. The best way is to save money using a unified communication app.
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