Unified communications from a different angle
The theme of Unified Communications ( Unified Communications , or simply UC) is moving around the planet by leaps and bounds. Feature articles and brochures are full of new terms and expressions: “presence - allows you to see which colleagues are in the workplace” or “solution X allows you to save money on purchasing equipment for a new office”. But rarely can anyone briefly, figuratively and concisely point to the daily value of UC, as it is seen by the end user manager / designer / engineer / manager / business owner when he looks at the monitor and solves his current tasks. In most cases, they do not know the technical background of the solution, but are looking for effective tools for doing business. It seems that this secret will give a key to the successful sales of UC.
So, it is customary to begin the conversation about communications with the royal phrase of communications workers - “communication overcomes time and space”. Here's what analysts at Sage Research think about saving time. They calculated that combining the most used tools saves:
 32 minutes - using a single interface for all types of communications;
 43 minutes - using a single mailbox for all types of fixed communications;
 55 minutes - using a single box for all types of mobile communications;
The calculation was for one person.
')
This is of course magic numbers, but behind them are much more interesting facts. With the development of society, the number of types of communication equipment and computer programs has grown so much that just a head is spinning. It is necessary to remember what number and to whom he gave, to solve the same question on the phone, duplicating e-mail, it is simply impossible to get used to all this diversity. Every time an average office worker has to get used to the technogenic features of a new job. If in Moscow and St. Petersburg, the population is less advanced, in the regions there are often unhappy state workers. Sectors or representative offices of large companies are horrified by these bells and whistles. In fact, man has become more dependent on the "glands" than ever, and the reaction time and decision-making began to strive in a big way.
Solving this problem is one of the main goals of UC. Users like that on the PC screen he sees a simple notebook, where by clicking the mouse pointer and with a single click you need to choose an action: make a call, start a chat or send an e-mail. By combining the telephone and the computer in such an elegant and simple way, we make communication more convenient, more efficient, in each case - the most convenient way and, as a result, increasing business activity. Three very simple actions on the tip of the fingers. Interestingly, in most cases, users do not immediately talk about this advantage, they simply use UC, with little or no additional training - a sure sign that the technology has taken root.
Another delicate moment is the social aspect of office communications. Many hundreds of business consultants have made a name in training on this topic. I do not want to admit, but it’s a fact, often we don’t have the best opinion about colleagues in the neighboring department / office / city. “Yes, he is <such-and-such>, I don’t want to call him,” “... it’s impossible to talk to him on the phone,” “I’m too busy and tired now to waste my energy on this difficult conversation” - familiar phrases / thoughts. Write a short message! Chat format is the most appropriate form for cases of uncertainty, much more convenient and more efficient than epistolary e-mails or “difficult calls”. It just so happens that we are not very open to many daily contacts, we communicate with colleagues in the same office, but as soon as a brick wall or distance appears, a social barrier immediately arises. The majority speak about this problem, a little touch on the subject and immediately agree reaction. It was interesting to listen to sales managers, designers, and programmers, especially when it comes to a distributed team - they all have different specializations, but the opinions on this topic are always the same. And it's not just the inherent mental features. The modern world works at exorbitant speeds. Each small professional is busy at the same time in several projects, leading to hundreds of tasks and a bunch of small things. Any delay or pause in the chain can lead to the natural accumulation of negative - the work got up ("Why did he not immediately answer the letter? We always quickly respond to their requests"). In most cases, this delay is not associated with unwillingness to work, but rather with employment in another process, but this is the nature of psychology - the reaction is always negative. We are inundated with unsolved cases, piles of papers and empty blisters “Novopasita”; what can be solved with two clicks and a short message is thought over and solved for several days or even weeks. As a result, negative synergy for all projects and the failure of even the most promising idea. Life in the open world requires a lightning reaction, you need a handy tool that will be comfortable and at the same time support and develop the process. This tool is a simple and familiar (thanks to skype and ICQ) communicator.
We know that every innovation requires a corporate culture of use; without it, any tool is a shovel broken against a stone. Interestingly, in the case of the UC solution, it is naturally incorporated into the company's general life; employees simply see a convenient mechanism for getting rid of discomfort. Need a quick response? - here is a short message. Need a thorough breakdown? - e-mail. Joint discussion? - conference or group chat with one click on the list of colleagues online. Go to a meeting or do not like to carry a DECT? - set up call forwarding, the call will simultaneously arrive at your work phone / communicator and your mobile. Communications flow from one type to another when circumstances so require. And if at first an innovation can frighten (as it happens with any innovation), then in a week or a month the whole team is already in the UC and does not know life without them. The team is new and united to each other.
Thus, Unified Communications overcomes two new barriers: technological (usability) and communicative (rapid flow of business processes) . It would be worth adding this fact to a well-known phrase and pointing out that it is precisely this that United Communications differ from traditional telecom. It seems that the conversation about the applied benefits of technology must begin with such moments. UC create the right conditions for doing business, and this, as you know, is the first thing for any enterprise. As a consequence, well-known benefits: ensuring business processes, increasing the quality of customer service, increasing sales, etc. With regard to savings, this is the law of development - new communication systems should surpass not only functional advantages, but also direct savings on associated costs (acquisition, maintenance , payment of bills for communication).
Previously, UC solutions were available exclusively to the large business sector, where all their power could be seen immediately. Today, there are already inexpensive products for small segments, and what is interesting is not only the “boxes”. Recently, Unified Communications is available as a service (according to the evolving SaaS model here . Any company can rent the platform online, connect their existing phone numbers or buy new ones (in large Russian cities). We get all the available functionality and pay for the number of accounts ( workstations), used disk space for mail and files, and call charges, and communication tariffs are much more profitable than regular solutions, even more profitable than Skype.
Here is our own experience in using UC. Our office is located in Moscow, here are located management, marketers and part of technical support. Other employees are located in Minsk, Orenburg, Taganrog and Novosibirsk. Also in test mode, we hooked up colleagues in Surgut and Yekaterinburg. In Minsk there are technical support engineers who constantly communicate with both clients and their Moscow colleagues; there is no intercity payment in Belorussia, although calls are made initially to a Moscow number or to the “8-800” line. In Taganrog, Novosibirsk and Orenburg there is a part of our developers, the work is cross-functional and for them the issue of team cohesion is important, as well as the interaction “internal customer - developer”. With the introduction of Unified Communications, day-to-day collaboration has become noticeably simpler, more effective, and, most importantly, less nervous. I myself in the role of "internal customer" noticed how the team became closer. It is also interesting how we connected our Moscow clients to the communication. The team leader simply and quickly (with one click) created a conference on a PC, added guys on a communicator from Orenburg, and also indicated the telephone number of the customer. In another case, the customer himself called the Moscow number, entered the pin code and found himself in the conference room, where he was expected. Since the connection with remote workers was carried out within the framework of internal calls via the Internet - there were no bills for intercity. Colleagues in Surgut wanted to solve another problem, to organize a multi-channel number in the office without buying a PBX, as well as cheap communication with the central office in Yekaterinburg. As a result, calls to Yekaterinburg are free (users also use Unified Communications here), the office has a voice menu, extras, corporate mail, fax, and all without expensive purchases. Colleagues received even more than they wanted. They especially liked the fact that a call to their office phone at the same time can be sent to a mobile, it is very convenient for frequent travels. All this was done in the framework of one service with a very humane cost.
More interesting facts. As soon as we started selling the United Communications services, we were asked how they differed from the numerous offers of the “Virtual Number” or “Virtual PBX”. We are talking about telephone services, when a simple voice menu is connected to a number and a list of numbers to which a call will be forwarded is compiled. Sometimes in addition they give a “computer dialer” with a SIP number of the form 1213131@domain_provider.com. Such solutions gained popularity at the dawn of intellectual services. I think that the above described, and the very term "Unified Communications" is enough to see the differences. These are two completely different things: a simple redirect telephone number and a new communication service, replacing the purchase of equipment, covering all communication issues in one or several offices, always available online.
We do not use "one-sided" self-written solutions. The products offered are not just richer in functionality, they are future-oriented, take into account current trends and are based on a powerful industrial platform. Unified Communications is not limited to calls, faxes, short messages, displaying “online” status, e-mail and file exchanger, the technology is open for development, now there are “web call” plug-ins (the client directly from your website’s page calls through the microphone and on the general voice menu), contact center at an affordable price - the next step.
Grosz Cyril
SoftCloud Project Manager
So, it is customary to begin the conversation about communications with the royal phrase of communications workers - “communication overcomes time and space”. Here's what analysts at Sage Research think about saving time. They calculated that combining the most used tools saves:
 32 minutes - using a single interface for all types of communications;
 43 minutes - using a single mailbox for all types of fixed communications;
 55 minutes - using a single box for all types of mobile communications;
The calculation was for one person.
')
This is of course magic numbers, but behind them are much more interesting facts. With the development of society, the number of types of communication equipment and computer programs has grown so much that just a head is spinning. It is necessary to remember what number and to whom he gave, to solve the same question on the phone, duplicating e-mail, it is simply impossible to get used to all this diversity. Every time an average office worker has to get used to the technogenic features of a new job. If in Moscow and St. Petersburg, the population is less advanced, in the regions there are often unhappy state workers. Sectors or representative offices of large companies are horrified by these bells and whistles. In fact, man has become more dependent on the "glands" than ever, and the reaction time and decision-making began to strive in a big way.
Solving this problem is one of the main goals of UC. Users like that on the PC screen he sees a simple notebook, where by clicking the mouse pointer and with a single click you need to choose an action: make a call, start a chat or send an e-mail. By combining the telephone and the computer in such an elegant and simple way, we make communication more convenient, more efficient, in each case - the most convenient way and, as a result, increasing business activity. Three very simple actions on the tip of the fingers. Interestingly, in most cases, users do not immediately talk about this advantage, they simply use UC, with little or no additional training - a sure sign that the technology has taken root.
Another delicate moment is the social aspect of office communications. Many hundreds of business consultants have made a name in training on this topic. I do not want to admit, but it’s a fact, often we don’t have the best opinion about colleagues in the neighboring department / office / city. “Yes, he is <such-and-such>, I don’t want to call him,” “... it’s impossible to talk to him on the phone,” “I’m too busy and tired now to waste my energy on this difficult conversation” - familiar phrases / thoughts. Write a short message! Chat format is the most appropriate form for cases of uncertainty, much more convenient and more efficient than epistolary e-mails or “difficult calls”. It just so happens that we are not very open to many daily contacts, we communicate with colleagues in the same office, but as soon as a brick wall or distance appears, a social barrier immediately arises. The majority speak about this problem, a little touch on the subject and immediately agree reaction. It was interesting to listen to sales managers, designers, and programmers, especially when it comes to a distributed team - they all have different specializations, but the opinions on this topic are always the same. And it's not just the inherent mental features. The modern world works at exorbitant speeds. Each small professional is busy at the same time in several projects, leading to hundreds of tasks and a bunch of small things. Any delay or pause in the chain can lead to the natural accumulation of negative - the work got up ("Why did he not immediately answer the letter? We always quickly respond to their requests"). In most cases, this delay is not associated with unwillingness to work, but rather with employment in another process, but this is the nature of psychology - the reaction is always negative. We are inundated with unsolved cases, piles of papers and empty blisters “Novopasita”; what can be solved with two clicks and a short message is thought over and solved for several days or even weeks. As a result, negative synergy for all projects and the failure of even the most promising idea. Life in the open world requires a lightning reaction, you need a handy tool that will be comfortable and at the same time support and develop the process. This tool is a simple and familiar (thanks to skype and ICQ) communicator.
We know that every innovation requires a corporate culture of use; without it, any tool is a shovel broken against a stone. Interestingly, in the case of the UC solution, it is naturally incorporated into the company's general life; employees simply see a convenient mechanism for getting rid of discomfort. Need a quick response? - here is a short message. Need a thorough breakdown? - e-mail. Joint discussion? - conference or group chat with one click on the list of colleagues online. Go to a meeting or do not like to carry a DECT? - set up call forwarding, the call will simultaneously arrive at your work phone / communicator and your mobile. Communications flow from one type to another when circumstances so require. And if at first an innovation can frighten (as it happens with any innovation), then in a week or a month the whole team is already in the UC and does not know life without them. The team is new and united to each other.
Thus, Unified Communications overcomes two new barriers: technological (usability) and communicative (rapid flow of business processes) . It would be worth adding this fact to a well-known phrase and pointing out that it is precisely this that United Communications differ from traditional telecom. It seems that the conversation about the applied benefits of technology must begin with such moments. UC create the right conditions for doing business, and this, as you know, is the first thing for any enterprise. As a consequence, well-known benefits: ensuring business processes, increasing the quality of customer service, increasing sales, etc. With regard to savings, this is the law of development - new communication systems should surpass not only functional advantages, but also direct savings on associated costs (acquisition, maintenance , payment of bills for communication).
Previously, UC solutions were available exclusively to the large business sector, where all their power could be seen immediately. Today, there are already inexpensive products for small segments, and what is interesting is not only the “boxes”. Recently, Unified Communications is available as a service (according to the evolving SaaS model here . Any company can rent the platform online, connect their existing phone numbers or buy new ones (in large Russian cities). We get all the available functionality and pay for the number of accounts ( workstations), used disk space for mail and files, and call charges, and communication tariffs are much more profitable than regular solutions, even more profitable than Skype.
Here is our own experience in using UC. Our office is located in Moscow, here are located management, marketers and part of technical support. Other employees are located in Minsk, Orenburg, Taganrog and Novosibirsk. Also in test mode, we hooked up colleagues in Surgut and Yekaterinburg. In Minsk there are technical support engineers who constantly communicate with both clients and their Moscow colleagues; there is no intercity payment in Belorussia, although calls are made initially to a Moscow number or to the “8-800” line. In Taganrog, Novosibirsk and Orenburg there is a part of our developers, the work is cross-functional and for them the issue of team cohesion is important, as well as the interaction “internal customer - developer”. With the introduction of Unified Communications, day-to-day collaboration has become noticeably simpler, more effective, and, most importantly, less nervous. I myself in the role of "internal customer" noticed how the team became closer. It is also interesting how we connected our Moscow clients to the communication. The team leader simply and quickly (with one click) created a conference on a PC, added guys on a communicator from Orenburg, and also indicated the telephone number of the customer. In another case, the customer himself called the Moscow number, entered the pin code and found himself in the conference room, where he was expected. Since the connection with remote workers was carried out within the framework of internal calls via the Internet - there were no bills for intercity. Colleagues in Surgut wanted to solve another problem, to organize a multi-channel number in the office without buying a PBX, as well as cheap communication with the central office in Yekaterinburg. As a result, calls to Yekaterinburg are free (users also use Unified Communications here), the office has a voice menu, extras, corporate mail, fax, and all without expensive purchases. Colleagues received even more than they wanted. They especially liked the fact that a call to their office phone at the same time can be sent to a mobile, it is very convenient for frequent travels. All this was done in the framework of one service with a very humane cost.
More interesting facts. As soon as we started selling the United Communications services, we were asked how they differed from the numerous offers of the “Virtual Number” or “Virtual PBX”. We are talking about telephone services, when a simple voice menu is connected to a number and a list of numbers to which a call will be forwarded is compiled. Sometimes in addition they give a “computer dialer” with a SIP number of the form 1213131@domain_provider.com. Such solutions gained popularity at the dawn of intellectual services. I think that the above described, and the very term "Unified Communications" is enough to see the differences. These are two completely different things: a simple redirect telephone number and a new communication service, replacing the purchase of equipment, covering all communication issues in one or several offices, always available online.
We do not use "one-sided" self-written solutions. The products offered are not just richer in functionality, they are future-oriented, take into account current trends and are based on a powerful industrial platform. Unified Communications is not limited to calls, faxes, short messages, displaying “online” status, e-mail and file exchanger, the technology is open for development, now there are “web call” plug-ins (the client directly from your website’s page calls through the microphone and on the general voice menu), contact center at an affordable price - the next step.
Grosz Cyril
SoftCloud Project Manager
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/109222/
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