Using UCaaS For Collaboration

As work places and employment patterns change, there’s now more need than ever to develop ways of bringing workers together to share ideas and team up on different projects.

VoIP phone systems and Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) platforms are providing new options for collaboration. They’re also bridging continents and filling gaps in the skill-sets and toolkits available to many businesses, through the power of the internet.

The VoIP Advantage For Communication And Collaboration

VoIP or Voice over Internet Protocol is a communications technology that converts voice signals into digital data streams, capable of transmission over the internet. With VoIP, you can make and receive calls through your internet connection using VoIP-enabled handsets or mobile phones.

Related: What Does VoIP Stand For?

With a good VoIP system, you can receive and listen to voicemail messages – often with the ability to convert voicemail to email, for easier message handling. Call handling features include presence panels (which give real-time information about who’s available to take calls at a particular instant), and call routing to alternate lines. Other features include auto-attendants (a type of electronic receptionist system), call monitoring, and VoIP call recording.

For collaboration, VoIP enables dial-in conferencing, using an internet connection to make conference calls available to participants from around the globe, all at an affordable price.

But perhaps most significantly, the fact that VoIP converts its signals into digital data and operates from software is allowing providers to expand their offerings to include multi-modal communication features like Instant Messaging, chat, video conferencing, screen sharing, and video meetings. These are being packaged into multi-channel delivery systems known as Unified Communications-as-a-Service or UCaaS.

Related: What is UCaaS?

Collaboration With UCaaS

The native tools of a UCaaS platform provide several options for collaboration, using VoIP technology as their voice handling component. One-to-one video calls, chat, and text enable workers to interact with their colleagues on a more personal and real-time basis.

Video conferencing tools also enable businesses to conduct virtual meetings with potentially hundreds of participants. During the meeting, participants can share their screen with everyone attending, and share or receive files – from specific individuals, or even with the entire group. Participants at the meeting can also send private chat messages, if they need to clarify points or cover sensitive topics not intended for general discussion.

Unified Communications as a Service platforms are hosted in the cloud, and usually able to integrate with third-party software solutions. So users can export data to various compatible tools, and pull information in from business platforms like the company CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system or ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) platform.

These third-party integrations with UCaaS are particularly useful for companies that need to respond to help desk tickets or provide customer support. With UCaaS tools and VoIP call handling features, support staff can add notes to customer records while on a call, and tie this information back into other relevant systems for future reference.

In addition to all this, integrated UCaaS solutions provide a consistent set of tools and functionality that’s far more cost-effective than putting together a mix of disparate software from multiple vendors.

net2phone provides cloud communication solutions with everything you need to run your business communications successfully at scale – from robust voice features and powerful messaging tools, to powerful analytics and dashboards.

If you’d like to know more about how net2phone’s UCaaS solutions can improve your productivity and facilitate collaboration, contact a net2phone expert.