Seven Trends Reshaping Business Communications and What They Mean for You

Transcription

1 Seven Trends Reshaping Business Communications and What They Mean for You

2 Smartphones let us talk to anyone, anytime. They and their larger cousins, tablet computers, have profoundly impacted the way business people communicate. These devices and the relentless march of communications technology have forever changed the way we work. In light of these advances, our communications habits are evolving. Among these changes, seven stand out; and they impact everything from productivity to customer service. Using these evolving habits to create business advantages takes a willingness to learn and a technology provider that can make them real. The investment is worth it, as the companies that understand the forces driving this evolution in business communications will best positioned to take advantage of them.

3 7 Trends Reshaping Business Communications Trend 1: We need to be constantly and immediately available Smartphone use has exploded since the introduction of the iphone in 2007 and the subsequent growth of the competing Android platform. More than half of American adults own a smartphone; and more than a third own a tablet computer. Improving computing power and expanding bandwidth mean that anyone can be reached anytime, anyplace and from anywhere. Managers, employees, customers and vendors have constant and instant availability. They've come to expect it in their own organizations and from those with which they work side-by-side. Worldwide smartphone sales to end-users in the third quarter of 2013: million (up 45.8% from a year earlier) Projected growth in shipments of tablet computers in 2013 from the year before: 53.4% Gartner Research The good news is that it is easier than ever to work from anywhere, so you don't have to be tied to a desk. The bad news is that everyone knows that and expects you to do it all the time. In order to turn this into net advantage for you, be sure to select a business phone system that makes remote communications easy, but respects your work/life boundaries. For example, you should be able to take and make business phone calls on your personal mobile device with the same number you use at the office.

4 Trend 2. Contact center functionality is increasingly expected. Advances in communications systems are giving growing companies contact center features that were once available only to giant corporations. For example, customers expect to be routed right away to someone with the skills to help them with their particular issue and are increasingly impatient with long hold times or multiple transfers. The good news is that it is easier than ever to work from anywhere, so you don't have to be tied to a desk. The bad news is that everyone knows that and expects you to do it all the time. In order to turn this into net advantage for you, be sure to select a business phone system that makes remote communications easy, but respects your work/life boundaries. For example, you should be able to take and make business phone calls on your personal mobile device with the same number you use at the office.

5 Trend 3. We want access to work-related files and applications wherever we are. Some of the most powerful computing platforms today exist entirely in the cloud. Think of Salesforce, the customer-relationship-management software. Users can use it to access all the important information about their prospects, deals and customers via desktops, smartphones and tablets. Various mail and document services allow people to store files remotely and share them with multiple users. Hosting software in the cloud lets companies unify all their IT hardware and software in one place. All users get the same interface with the latest version of the software, so upgrades are somebody else's problem, and they can always fetch their documents from their smart devices. This is a key enabler of remote work. Businesses of all sizes can now consider this technology when making hiring decisions. You no longer have to choose between the person who is perfect from the job and the person who lives nearby. Growing businesses are now in a better position to compete for talent wherever it may be.

6 Trend 4. We increasingly prefer chat features to for short conversations. Remember when instant messaging was something teenagers did to annoy their teachers during history class? Well, today IM has gone mainstream, from the C-suite to the shop floor. Why are some businesspeople moving away from ? It might have something to do with spam, which accounted for more than 70 percent of all traffic in the second quarter of 2013, according to Internet security firm Kaspersky Lab. Sometimes, all you need to tell somebody is "yes, that'll be fine" or "the specs are all in this link." And you can create longer documents in the cloud and IM the link to all your collaborators, sidestepping altogether. Time spent on adds up quickly. Anything that can help your team communicate and collaborate more efficiently can have a direct impact on the bottom line. <

7 Trend 5. Voic seems old and slow. For all its virtues, voic is viewed by many of its users as antiquated and inefficient. You record a message then have to repeat yourself when you get the person on the phone. Your recipient wants to respond, but often can't take the time. Instant messaging renders many voic scenarios obsolete. You can simply IM somebody to schedule some phone time and say what you need to say without having to repeat it. The person on the other end can respond in kind and avoid the trouble of fetching, reviewing and saving or forwarding your voic Today's best business phone systems help modernize the voic dinosaur. Look for one that notifies you via text when you have a new voic and gives you the option to read your voic along with your . I never realized how much time I wasted checking and listening to lengthy voic s until they were transcribed. Travis Rigby, president, Poster Garden, a West Coast-based provider of trade show and event display products

8 Trend 6. Communications capabilities can be integrated rather than spread among disparate solutions. While the latest technologies can put instant messaging, CRM, , voic , videoconferencing and contact center features in the palm of your hand, it's not enough to have all these features on your phone or tablet. To be efficient, you really need them the same package, with single intuitive user interface, that lets you seamlessly move from one app to the next. With integrated communications, you can see if a colleague is on the phone or available to chat and reach out accordingly. If you're participating in a videoconference, you can dash off an IM to a subject matter expert and get questions answered immediately rather than having to say, "I'll have to get back to you on that." Work simply gets done faster. That lets us create job opportunities and grow our business. - Co-founder William Wheeler

9 Trend 7. Companies are benefiting from cloud-based business phone solutions. More businesses are hosting their telephone systems in the cloud thanks to the rise of Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoiP, technology. VoiP has two principle appeals: lower phone bills and the capability to deploy a rich suite of Unified Communications features like chat, video, CRM and contact center capability that are unavailable in traditional PBX phone systems. Even if you were initially wary of cloud-based business phone solutions, perhaps because of a poor-quality experience with systems designed for home use, now is the time to reconsider. Recent technical advances and vendors focused solely on the business market have changed the landscape dramatically. The best providers offer solutions that can be tailored to match your needs whether they be premises-based, cloud based, software only, or a combination.

10 About Fonality Fonality has built its business around helping growing businesses use their phone systems to become more competitive and successful. It has been developing Unified Communications systems since 2004 with more than 20,000 clients serving more than 260,000 end users around the world. The company's engineering team developed the Fonality Heads Up Display interface and patented hybrid solution to meet the unique needs of emerging companies. Fonality provides business phone systems and contact center solutions designed exclusively for growing businesses. Fonality is the only provider that can deliver the same user experience in the cloud and on-premise, with innovative features that help small businesses save time, communicate more efficiently and reduce costs. For more information, visit or call FONALITY.