Unified Communications is the new black when it comes to business, thanks to the explosion of digital technology in recent decades. Businesses not wanting to get left in the dust have had to adapt to how they operate — especially how they communicate. Enter Unified Communications. This is not your father’s wired, outdated phone system. Traditional desk phones and answering services are becoming obsolete and virtual is taking over. Before, when companies wanted to lower their phone bill by eliminating traditional phone lines, they turned to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). VoIP was great for businesses with a fixed workforce and when most communications were done by speaking on a phone. Today for innovative companies, the days of being chained to a desk in an office are long gone.

Team leaders need to be able to communicate with their colleagues anytime and anywhere to get the work done. Mobile phones, email, messaging apps, video calling—these are the collaboration tools of today. As technologies continue to grow and develop, team members, managers, and business owners pick up another piece of the communication puzzle.

So what’s the problem if you’re unwilling to innovate and adapt? Each puzzle piece is from a separate box.

Using outdated communication systems can wreak havoc on the growth and productivity of your business. Using different technologies for communication means that messages and real-time communications come in from separate devices on different platforms. Employee X won’t get a voicemail notification while she is away from her desk because she is unable to merge her cell with her business phone. When she gets back to her desk, she doesn’t get the instant message about an important task because she has the app on her computer turned off.

Email accounts, voicemail, and chat applications not connected to a larger system tend to get lost or overlooked, which can be damaging for businesses that need to boost their productivity and maintain cost-effectiveness. If you add to this the fact that people prefer messaging to calling, having a communication system based solely on VoIP services may come up short. Without some way to integrate these different tools, we can’t get a complete picture of the communication landscape.

The solution? Unified Communications.

What Unified Communications (UC) offers businesses is a centralized hub for their chosen array of communications technologies. Essentially, it makes these different puzzle pieces compatible. With the way the business world now works—increasingly virtual, with voice calls, video conferences, instant messages, and emails all standing in for the boardroom—UC is practically a necessity. With a UC solution in place, your team can even use the voicemail to text feature and translate their voicemails to a text format, which makes the virtual workforce run smoothly because your team is always connected — on their computer, tablet, or cell phone.

Our partners at Broadview Networks® have perfected the UC game. Their gold-medal-winning OfficeSuite® platform delivers UC solutions to more than 250,000 users nationwide, offering businesses an easier way to send and receive calls and messages and stay connected.

When it comes to your business, you know that clear, seamless communication is essential to success. Enhancing your business’s future requires you to embrace the newest technology available. If you want a more unified, productive team, reach out to the experts at nQuery Technology Solutions today.