Integrating Communications Is Most Effective in the Cloud

A couple of generations ago, a telephone conference call was a high-tech way to hold business conversations. But these days, it’s hard to even define what a business conversation is. Businesses communicate with colleagues, partners, and customers through phone, email, text messaging, and video conferencing—each of which is a form of conversation.

Making today’s communications even more complex, an increasing number of businesses have operations spread throughout the world, and  people are communicating on multiple devices (PCs, tablets, smartphones) and through varied means (wireless,  traditional PBX phone lines, VoIP).

The New Paradigm

The new business communications model encompasses all the necessary forms of communication—data, voice, and video—as well as the varied devices and delivery methods being used and the geographical challenges of far-flung businesses.

This model has only become possible relatively recently, with the emergence of cloud computing, which allows businesses of all sizes to leverage integrated, interactive, anywhere/anytime communications.

Using a cloud provider of unified communications services frees companies from the upfront hardware and software costs otherwise necessary for a unified system, while still providing them with the network bandwidth and reliability they need.

Combining Synchronous and Asynchronous

For synchronous communications needs, an enterprise can simply use a free cloud-based platform such as Skype or join.me. But even the more-advanced platforms are inexpensive. Most importantly, they charge per use, so your communications bill stays in line with growth or slowdowns.

Likewise, asynchronous communications (e.g., emails, text messages) can also be found for free (Gmail, Microsoft SharePoint) or for a modest fee for more-advanced or customized features.

The cloud makes it easy for the synchronous and asynchronous to be integrated into a single unified system. The marketing term for this alignment is the “collaborative solution.” Interestingly, many of the services function better when they’re on the cloud.

Making Life Simple

Think of how complex a single family’s communications services can get if they’re not coordinated: multiple plans, multiple providers, many bills, unpredictable overages. Now transpose that mess to a business. It’s easy to see how costly and inefficient it is to run an enterprise without a unified communication system.

The cloud is the solution. By using the cloud as a communication platform, small and medium businesses can have communications systems that allow them to remain competitive with other enterprises that are streamlining and integrating their communications structures.