Unified Communications Goes Mainstream

If you pick up any business or technology-related magazine, you are likely to read about some announcement or article discussing “unified communications”, a term used to describe the integration of all disparate communications systems, applications and devices such as fax, voicemail, email, instant messaging, web conferencing and more. Some of the largest software and telecommunications companies are helping to mainstream this concept of centralized, unified communications, therefore ushering in a new wave of technologies.

However, the concept of unified communications is not new, and has actually been around for quite some time. It’s just now getting the attention of large companies, and, in turn, the attention of the media. But smaller businesses can now embrace it too. Unified communications can reduce costs and enhance productivity by helping smaller businesses handle more calls, become available anytime, anywhere, appear larger and more professional, and, in turn, compete in their industry and excel. Simply put, unified communications is largely meant to combine the various modes of your communications in a single, seamless fashion, allowing people who wish to be reached to be found easily, and, when found, able to communicate with ease, no matter where they are.

For small businesses that are often short on human capital, the impact and cost of a missed phone call, lost fax, or buried email can be far larger than for a medium-to-large business. For example a purchase order could sit on a fax machine for hours or even a whole day before someone picks it up and begins processing. That delay between arrival and recognition of the order could push back the entire project, affecting billing and even cash flow.

Hosted unified communications (which means using a hosted service provider from the Internet) enables small businesses to overcome these barriers by affording them a very cheap, quick-to-set up Web-based technology option that can scale up or down depending on the company’s growth, and deliver messages to users no matter where they are. Users can also design how they prefer to be contacted, including having voicemails delivered to email, so that they never miss a contact. These capabilities alone allow a small business to accomplish more than what they would have otherwise been able to do. By using collaborative technologies, such as instant messaging, you can determine the immediate availability of a colleague, and if they are available, initiate a conversation with them, even if that colleague is half way around the world. This, in turn, means higher productivity and a greater impact on the bottom line.

Options

There are different vendor approaches to delivering unified communications – which vary wildly in architecture and cost – to take the best advantage of the opportunities. Small businesses will find that if a unified communications solution is based on the purchase of hardware and software, then the upfront cost of such a purchase along with the ongoing maintenance and IT personnel managing it may add up significantly. Alternatively, it may be more cost effective to consider the “hosted” unified communications option. Hosted unified communications allows companies to signup with a ser vice provider and host all of their communications in a centralized location through the Web without extra equipment, upfront costs or sophisticated technical expertise. Furthermore, the hosted option incorporates continuous upgrades that can be available online or downloaded as soon as they are released by the service provider.

You can implement unified communications using a hosted service provider for as low as $9.95 per month plus usage fees. (There are more costly services, but they also offer more elaborate and dynamic features, and may still be cost effective.) Features will vary by vendor, but a basic package provides a virtual phone number and auto attendant; follow-me services; fax and voicemail to email; alerts; music-on–hold; phone extension management and a web console for managing settings. Other features may be available from vendors, but they may require additional cost. These include conference calling, click-to-call (from your computer) and other features. For a-non hosted unified communications system, however, specialized equipment, such as a VoIP phone system with an integrated server package for unified communications, is often a necessary purchase.

The best way to get started in the search for the perfect unified communications provider is to search the Internet with keywords such as, “unified communications,” “hosted phone systems,” or “virtual phone systems,” to identify vendors that offer the specific features that meet the communication needs of your business.

As small business owners continue to evaluate various unified communications offerings, they will find that the services provided vary from vendor to vendor. What’s important to remember though is that there is no single definitive feature set that defines unified communications, so a business owner should seek the capabilities that best meet their needs in an affordable package. Be careful not to overspend on features that aren’t essential to your business. Since unified communications is so loosely defined, many vendors are trying to pack more and more into their offerings to capture a larger portion of your technology budget. (For a list of features most useful for a small business, see below).