Identifying ROI from Unified Communications Applications

Here I explore the different types of packaged applications available today within the Unified Communications framework, and how these applications can generate an ROI for your business.

1. Interaction Management

Enabling customers, employees and partners to communicate anytime-anywhere-anyhow is at the heart of a Unified Communications strategy. As well as providing the advanced telecommunications infrastructure to facilitate this, Unified Communications applications can allow both customers and employees to reach the right person to resolve their problem; from customers being able to ‘click to call’ for an instant voice response to their query, to an employee using instant messaging with colleagues.

The ROI of these applications, such as IP telephony, presence and instant messaging, can be found in faster transaction completion, the reduction in the need for returning calls and ultimately improved first contact resolution.

2. Mobility

With your workforce on the move, based in different locations and environments, and requiring a variety of applications, they all need to be equipped with a single contact number on the right device with the right applications. By empowering your people with the technology they need to do their job efficiently and productively, they can dramatically influence the quality of service they deliver to your customers.

These applications, including smartphones, unified messaging and speech recognition technology, can generate an ROI in months. The trick is making sure that your employees are trained proficiently in how to use the technology.

3. Collaboration

Having the telecommunications infrastructure in place across your business, your employees can take advantage of working collaboratively. Unified Communications applications such as instant messaging, application sharing, conferencing, shared workspaces and workflow management all allow online collaboration between employees and with customers. This method of working can boost productivity whilst reducing the cost of working with others.

ROI can typically be found through a reduction in email, improved communication both internally and externally and a reduced time to search for information. In addition, businesses have demonstrated an increase in customer satisfaction through faster resolutions.

4. Conferencing

The cost of face to face meetings is spiralling; from the cost of traveling to the meeting wherever it is in the world, to the time it takes to get there and back. Throw in a natural disaster, such as volcanic ash, a terrorist attack or a recession and business either slows down, temporarily stops or alternative methods of communication are found.

Tough lessons have been learnt in recent years, and as a result enterprise conferencing applications are becoming increasingly popular. For organisations that have invested in the latest SIP infrastructure, video conferencing or telepresence can deliver ROI quickly. The latest HD telepresence applications are impressive; a real alternative to a face to face meeting.

Whether you’re looking to simply reduce the cost of your communications by deploying IP telephony, or SIP, or investing in a total change in the way your organisation communicates, it is important that you are familiar with all the applications and their potential ROI. Redwood can help you take advantage of Unified Communications, simply call the team on 0207 738 1000 or email info@redwoodtele.com to find out more.