If you’ve heard the term “UCaaS” and wondered what it could do for your business, you’re in the right place. Here, we’re going to discuss the needs of businesses in today’s fast-paced, modern communication climate, and we’ll go over how UCaaS providers (like Mastor) can help you keep up with it all.
From all the features you can expect, to helpful tips for making the implementation process as smooth as possible, we’ll discuss everything you need to know to get started with UCaaS. You’ll learn the benefits of choosing a great UCaaS provider like Mastor, and by the end, you should be ready to start a conversation about switching. Before we get into any of that, though, we need to define some terms.
What is UCaaS?
UCaaS stands for unified communications as a service. When we talk about unified communications, we mean combining lots of different communication services into one system. UCaaS means that one provider gives you cloud-based tools for all of your communication needs, like messaging, chat, voice and video calling, and meetings, all in one service.
Promoting synergy between different communication channels is vital for modern businesses. There are lots of different ways to get in touch with people, but it’s not helpful to have many tools if they don’t work in conjunction with each other. UCaaS makes it so that your business can take full advantage of modern communication tools.
Common UCaaS Features
- Voice calling and telephony – UCaaS provides you all the traditional phone system capabilities you’re used to, using your existing internet connection. These features include call routing, call transfer, hold, mute, and many more.
- Video conferencing – Allows for face-to-face meetings remotely, making it easier to hold meetings with team members or clients who are not in the same location. In today’s increasingly digital-first, remote working environments, video conferencing is a must.
- Instant messaging and chat – Real-time text-based communication allows for quick, informal conversations, cutting down on unnecessary emails.
- Mobility – UCaaS solutions often come with mobile applications, enabling employees to use communication tools from anywhere on their mobile devices. This provides your team a lot of flexibility, which is something workers are increasingly valuing these days.
- Voicemail to email transcription – Converts voicemail messages into text and sends them to your email, allowing for easy reference and action.
- Integration with other applications – UCaaS solutions often integrate with other business applications such as your CRM, email, calendar, etc., making it easier to streamline workflows.
These are just a few of the features you can expect from a UCaaS provider. Lots of other, more advanced features are available. Get a comprehensive list of features you can expect from your preferred provider to make sure they’re compatible with all of your business communication needs.
UCaaS vs CCaaS
CCaaS, or contact center as a service, is a related term people sometimes get confused with UCaaS. They are quite similar, but they do have a few important differences. CCaaS is mostly for customer outreach purposes. UCaaS, on the other hand, is mostly for collaboration within a business. Common CCaaS capabilities that you likely won’t see in UCaaS include customer experience tracking, ACD or automatic call distribution, and customer self-service options like interactive voice response.
They’re both cloud-based systems that allow for the integration of many communications tools. Many offices make use of both UCaaS and CCaaS, so don’t think they’re in opposition. UCaaS and CCaaS can both be used to great effect in many businesses.
Benefits of Implementing UCaaS in Business
If you’re new to UCaaS, it might seem overwhelming to switch over your communication provider. Here are some of the top reasons you should make the leap anyway — these helpful features make it worth learning a new system.
- Enhanced collaboration and productivity – We already touched on this point briefly, but it’s worth reiterating how much easier it is to collaborate when your various communication tools work well together. Your team will be a lot more productive when they have the proper tools to help them make sure everyone is pulling in the same direction.
- Cost savings – There are ways to cut down on the amount of hardware you need to purchase when you go with UCaaS.
- Scalability and flexibility – UCaaS affords your business a lot of wiggle room, and your plan can grow alongside your business. It’s easy to have your UCaaS provider add users or services as your needs change.
- Improved customer service – Reaching your customers is a much easier task when you have the proper tools to do so. UCaaS can provide you a whole suite of ways to make sure your customers are getting all the information you need.
- Business continuity and disaster recovery – Storing data in the cloud means that if you’re not able to access your physical devices, you should still be able to run your business effectively.
Overcoming Common Challenges in UCaaS Implementation
If those points were enough to sell you on the need to switch to UCaaS, then this section is for you. We’ll identify some areas where a little extra effort might be required to make the implementation as smooth and painless as possible.
- User adoption – Not everyone is going to be ready for change. Some employees might resist adopting the new system. They might feel overwhelmed at the prospect of learning new ways to do what they’ve always done, and they might perceive the system as too complex or difficult.
- Integration with existing systems – Businesses usually have an array of communication and collaboration tools in place before they decide to implement UCaaS instead. Integrating these with a new UCaaS solution can be a complex task, requiring careful planning and execution.
- Network infrastructure – UCaaS solutions require a robust and reliable network infrastructure to function optimally. If the existing network isn’t up to the challenge, it can lead to quality issues, like lagging or dropped calls. These disruptions can be frustrating for businesses trying to make the switch.
- Regulatory compliance – Depending on the industry, businesses may need to comply with various regulations related to data privacy and security, like GDPR or HIPAA. Ensuring the UCaaS solution adheres to these can add to the complexity of implementation.
Some of those potential challenges might sound off-putting, complicated, or burdensome. When you partner with a reliable UCaaS provider like Mastor, though, all of these potential pitfalls will be taken care of with ease. They’ll use their expertise to alleviate any issues you might find with switching over to UCaaS. Bringing up any concerns you have during the sales and implementation processes can help make the process easier.
Choosing the Right UCaaS Providers
There are a lot of UCaaS providers out there, and trying to choose the right one for your business might feel intimidating or overwhelming. You could sift through all the different options with a fine-tooth comb, or you could go with the first one that catches your eye, but neither of those methods sounds very appealing. Instead, have the most important qualities of a UCaaS provider top of mind, and select one that ticks all those boxes
What to Look for
- Reliable customer support – Are you going to be able to get the help you need when you need it? It’s important to develop a strong, ongoing relationship with your UCaaS provider. If the company seems like they’re not ready and willing to answer any questions you have or help you out through the implementation process, that’s a bad sign.
- Security and compliance – UCaaS providers deal with some sensitive information. You need to be sure you can trust all your data with them, so you should know what their security protocol is like.
- All the features you need – This one goes without saying. Don’t settle for a provider that can’t give you everything your business needs to thrive. Plus, you should be looking toward the future. Do the UCaaS providers you’re considering have the capability to scale up your services as your business grows? Are there certain features you think you’ll need in the future, and can your preferred UCaaS provider fill those needs?
- Transparency and good communication – You don’t want to enter into a partnership with a provider that won’t give you the information you need. It should be easy to get a straight answer out of a UCaaS provider.
- Reasonable price – Now, it’s important to not simply seek out the cheapest option available to you. That’s a slippery slope toward compromising on poor service. Instead, make sure the pricing structures of the UCaaS providers you’re considering makes sense and aren’t hiding anything.
- High quality – You need reliable, powerful communication tools for your business. That’s a given. The services UCaaS providers offer should be of the highest quality so you can get your business done as effectively as possible.
Why You Should Choose Mastor as Your UCaaS Provider
Among all the UCaaS providers out there, Mastor is an excellent choice. As a NUSO Platinum Partner, we can provide all of the features we suggested looking for in a UCaas provider, and a local support component unmatched in the industry. We’re passionate about making sure all of our customers have all of the communications services they need to run their businesses efficiently.
Here at Mastor, we distinguish ourselves from other UCaaS providers through our superior service, expertise, and longevity in the industry. We work with NUSO to offer all kinds of important features for your unified communications, like ad-hoc conferencing, HD audio, intercom, call recording, and tons of other capabilities. The exact specifications of your UCaaS plan will depend on what you need. It’s important to choose a plan that will offer you all the features your specific business will use, and we can guide you through our different plans so you can choose the best one for your exact situation.
It might feel overwhelming to choose from all the UCaaS providers in the field. Mastor is a great place to start looking. We’d be happy to discuss our offerings in more detail if you reach out!
UCaaS Trends to Watch: Preparing for the Future with Mastor
As we’ve mentioned, it’s important to look forward to the potential UCaaS has in the years to come. There are a lot of exciting developments on the horizon for this technology. UCaaS providers that stay up-to-date with the times are going to help your business in the long run.
The first UCaaS trend to watch in upcoming years is AI integration. There’s been much to say about the emergence of AI tools over the past year, and there’s likely going to be a continued boom in that sector. UCaaS already uses AI in features like virtual assistants, priority setting, and meeting aides, and those capabilities will likely expand as AI gets more advanced.
Other UCaaS innovations coming soon are enhanced security measures. That field is always in flux, given that it needs to stay one step ahead of potential bad actors. It’s important for there to be new features that protect against any weaknesses that are discovered. Good UCaaS providers will keep you up-to-date, especially in the security department.
Future-Proof Your Business with Mastor’s UCaaS Solutions
The capabilities of UCaaS are advanced already, and as you’ve seen, they will only become more so over time. The efficient features, the integration with other parts of your business, and the eye toward the future all should have you convinced that UCaaS is an essential for your organization.
Now that you’re fully aware of what all Mastor can do for you as a UCaaS provider, you should be ready to take the next step. Your business needs to stay connected as efficiently as possible. UCaaS can make that happen. With all the features we talked about, both current and future, there are tons of opportunities to upgrade your communications if you’re still using outdated landlines.
Our expert team here at Mastor would be thrilled to guide you through the process of implementing UCaaS and cloud-based communication systems. We can work with you to make sure your organization is getting all of the advanced features you need to keep communication flowing smoothly. All you have to do is reach out and start the conversation.