A look at unified communication preferences

Business communication is a key concern for any company. While it may seem easy to implement a phone system and set up an email account, doing so for an entire company can be extremely complicated, especially when you factor in emerging technologies and trends like mobile devices, the cloud and telecommuting.

These solutions, and others, are changing the way that businesses operate. Staying connected is easier than ever, but without proper management, it could spiral into numerous systems that become a bigger headache. This is where a unified communication (UC) solution can become increasingly valuable.

According to a recent survey from IT Web, 68 percent of respondents are aware of the benefits of a UC system, while an additional 21 percent are aware but not fully comfortable yet. However, despite the increased knowledge, 34 percent of those surveyed said they have no plans for any type of UC deployment.

There are a number of different options within the unified communication field. Over 63 percent of respondents stated that a cloud based solution was at the top of their list for system platforms. On top of that, 46 percent believe that a hosted voice service would be the most cost effective option.

While all of these numbers show how knowledge and adoption is growing, actually implementing these solutions is easier said than done. For example, without making sure a company infrastructure is able to handle the stresses that a UC solution put on it can lead to major bugs right out of the gate. This is why partnering with an experienced IT consulting firm can be a crucial step for businesses that are interested in improving their communication options.

From our offices in Dayton, Columbus, Cincinnati and Cleveland, PRO OnCall is your single-source technology consulting service, offering managed IT support, unified communications solutions and on-call IT support.