You’ve heard about the cloud in countless conversations at home and at work, but you’re not exactly sure what it is or how to use it. It’s time to learn about this powerful tool and the ways you can use it to drive up productivity at your office.
At its simplest level, the cloud is any location on the Internet where you can store data remotely, and it has many applications that make your job easier.
Unified Communications as a Service
Using unified communications as a service allows you to access various communication tools that are based in the Internet instead of a cable network.
Because these tools are managed through the cloud, you can use them from any device, including your personal phone, your work computer, and your laptop.
Offerings vary from provider to provider, but most business UCaaS companies include these communication services in their programs:
- Phone calls
- Instant messages
- Faxes
- Remote receptionists
- Intercoms
- Video conferences
Especially if you hold many virtual meetings, UCaaS allows you to access all these features no matter where you are.
Investing in UCaaS has many benefits for your company. Most importantly, you improve your customer service through the program’s analytical tools and reception services.
By offering multiple options for communication, your employees can easily reach out to you and each other no matter what they’re doing.
For example, when employees are in difficult phone calls with clients, they send you instant messages and add you to their existing calls so you can provide backup.
Additionally, paying for all these services together rather than from individual providers cuts your costs and reduces the number of bills you have to keep track of.
UCaaS works well with your existing communication infrastructure. If you’ve already purchased a call-center-as-a-service system, you can run your CCaaS program through your UCaaS communication tools.
This improves your customers’ experiences since your employees have access to all their information through the two platforms’ merge. UCaaS also fits with customer relationship management software.
By combining your UCaaS and CRM tools, you can start calls while still operating your CRM platform and access all your customer profiles mid-conversation.
Word Processing Services
In addition to using the cloud to access UCaaS, you should also invest in cloud-based document services. Some email providers, such as Microsoft and Gmail, include word processing suites in their email programs.
Generally, these suites include a variety of add-ons:
- Project proposal outlines
- Spreadsheets
- Resume templates
- Presentation software
- Multimedia capabilities
By purchasing a word processing program, you make your memos, flyers, and presentations uniform and professional across your company.
You also don’t have to worry about saving your work. Cloud-based document services automatically upload your writing to the Internet, where you can access it from any device.
For example, if you start writing your budget on your laptop over the weekend, you can complete it on your work computer on Monday without bringing in your laptop or putting your files on a flash drive.
Cloud-based word processing services also allow you to share your work with your employees, streamlining your existing communication services.
There are many ways to incorporate this function into your day-to-day operations:
- Share minutes after meetings
- Collaborate on projects from home or between different branches
- Disburse client information databases
By sharing files instantly and editing each other’s work, you cut down on wasted time and prevent unnecessary meetings.
The cloud isn’t just a place for storing pictures you take on your phone. It’s also a great way to speed up your business’s communication services.
Through UCaaS and word processing solutions, you connect your entire workforce no matter where you’re located.