It is widely understood that a VoIP phone system (a.k.a. cloud phone system) is much more cost-effective than a conventional landline phone system — potentially saving tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in overall telecommunication costs.
However, there is another key reason why organizations in all sectors are upgrading to VoIP. They want to access a range of must-have unified communications and collaboration tools, including:
Unified Communications and Collaboration Tool #1: Video Conferencing
During the pandemic, many employees went from never having experienced a video conference, to experiencing a few video conferences a week (or sometimes a day!). A VoIP phone system makes it easy for employees to connect face-to-face — whether they are for a formal strategic meeting, or enjoying a casual “virtual happy hour.”
Unified Communications and Collaboration Tool #2: Mobile Apps
Pre-COVID, only 17% of U.S. employees worked from home at least 5 days a week. But the proportion of full-time remote workers surged to 44% during the pandemic. And while many workers have returned to the corporate office (or store, plant, warehouse, etc.), experts say that hybrid working — i.e. working at least part of the time at home — is here to stay. With a VoIP phone system, employees can make/receive calls, participate in video conferences, and carry out many other tasks (as highlighted in this article) from any location through their smartphone or laptop.
Unified Communications and Collaboration Tool #3: Screen Sharing
VoIP enables screen sharing so that employees can save time, improve productivity, and boost quality when working in small or large groups. “A picture is worth a thousand words.” is a common saying. Well, in the same spirit we might say “screen sharing is worth multiple meetings!”
VoIP Tool #4: Presence
Presence is one of those “how did we ever survive without this?” unified communications and collaboration tools. It allows employees to instantly see in real-time whether their colleagues are available, busy, or away. This tool also drives customer service, since employees can check to see a colleague’s availability before transferring over a customer.
VoIP Tool #5: Messaging and Chat
A VoIP phone system has built-in messaging and chat (a.k.a. SMS/MMS). You can access this helpful tool through a desktop, laptop, or smartphone device. This also ensures that employees are using the same messaging and chat tool vs. using various apps, including some that may be unapproved or insecure.
Unified Communications and Collaboration Tool #6: Integrated Voicemail
A VoIP phone system automatically converts voicemails into audio files, which are then forwarded to one or multiple recipients (e.g. the entire sales team). In addition to picking up voicemails much faster, you can also save audio files for reference, auditing, and compliance purposes.
Unified Communications and Collaboration Tool #7: Cloud-Based Faxing
Cloud-based Faxing lets employees send/receive faxes from anywhere, including home offices. Cloud-based Faxing is significantly more secure than scanning and emailing documents, and detailed reporting shows precisely when faxes were sent/received. And there is another welcome benefit as well: employers do not have to purchase and maintain physical fax machines!
Unified Communications and Collaboration Tool #8: Call Center Analytics
“Are we meeting our performance standards?” “Are some employees idle while others take on most of the customer calls?” “When are we getting the most customer calls?” These are just some of the questions that businesses can answer with call center analytics in a VoIP phone system.
Ready to Learn More?
Schedule a demo of our all-in-one VoIP phone system, which offers ALL of these must-have unified communications and collaboration tools. We can connect with you at your location or over the web. Call us today at (336) 544-4000.