Starting the year off with resolutions is a time-honored tradition, but here are three UC trends that will deliver business value today—rather than in 12 months. The following are ways UC-as-a-Service (UCaaS), mobile UC and video collaboration can change the way you work—right now.
- UC-as-a-Service (UCaaS) – Organizations are no longer dipping their toes into UCaaS—they are moving to the cloud with gusto. Hosted PBX and UC services grew at a double-digit clip last year, according to market research firm Infonetics, who predicts the market will be grow quickly to reach $12 billion by 2018.Cloud UC and VoIP makes it easier for workers at many small and midsize organizations to collaborate and save money. Having a business phone system that combines voice, video and instant messaging communications in a single, intuitive interface that is accessible anywhere, anytime is just the start of increased productivity. A cloud UC solution helps IT by offloading the work of buying, building and maintaining the necessary hardware and software, allowing them to focus on more strategic projects.ShoreTel lets organizations have their VoIP systems their way: on-site or in the cloud. ShoreTel’s onsite PBX is ideal for organizations that want hands-on control, while ShoreTel Sky, our hosted VoIP PBX service, is designed for companies that want to get out of the business of running their phone system.
- Mobile UC – More people than ever are using their personal smartphones, tablets and laptops for work-related tasks, from accessing email and applications to phone calls and texting. Gartner calls tablets “the sweet spot of BYOD programs” and predicts that by 2018, twice as many employee-owned devices will be used for work than enterprise-owned devices.People want the same capabilities and UC features on their tablets and smartphones that they have on their desk phones. They want to transfer calls, dial extensions and access calendars and corporate directories from their mobile devices. Even greater convenience comes from the ability to collaborate instantly through video and place phone calls from within business applications, such as Salesforce.com.ShoreTel Mobility integrates your employees’ favorite smartphones and tablets with your existing phone system—securely, simply and cost-effectively. Employees can use personal or company-owned devices and stay connected anywhere around the world on any network.
- Video collaboration – Once the domain of formal meetings and expensive room-based systems, videoconferencing is fast becoming an important form of communication that is breaking down barriers of time and place. With a few taps on a mobile app or clicks on the laptop, your employees can have an instant collaboration experience that’s almost as good as being there—but far less expensive and time-consuming than traveling.With ShoreTel Collaboration, you can give your workers simple, seamless, mobile-enabled video conferencing, whether you’ve deployed ShoreTel onsite or in the cloud. Users have single video calling from the keypad. Workers can make video calls or connect with a team using a room-based video conferencing system. And with ShoreTel Conferencing, user can view spreadsheets, presentations and work sessions from others’ desktops.
Learn how ShoreTel’s onsite and cloud UC can help your team communicate better. Contact us for a demo today.