Making the right choice for your business

Communication is the foundation of our world. All species need to communicate, be it to find food or find a mate. Humans simply have a wider range and greater depth of communications in their quest to survive.

With the advent of cellular technology, the Internet and voice over IP, the channels of communication have exploded. As a result, today, more than ever, we are faced with a wide range of choices that address our communications needs.

Unfortunately this bounty has hit a few snags with voice mail jail, phone tag and "find me follow me", which can be further complicated by a vast range of user needs - specific to the individual, the industry and the interaction.

Finding what fits best can be a challenge, particularly when technology is ever-changing. What we want is choice, but without complications.

Thankfully we are in the midst of a new era in communications, the era of unifying communications - bringing together disparate channels in order to maximise productivity. Already the ability to put voice on the data network has expanded the range of options and reduced the supporting infrastructure. It has made communications easier to use and management-friendly; where once voice and data were compartmentalised and incompatible - now they work together to create a seamless whole.

Now your day-to-day business communications can be managed from your laptop - eliminating the need to juggle countless devices and keep track of numerous passwords and numbers. Everything interacts - voice messages can be sent to e-mail and calls can be managed directly at the desktop from a low-profile telephony client. There is no need to close down documents or suspend your workflow. You become efficient and mobile. Add to that the introduction of presence information for real-time communications and businesses have found the key to restoring effectiveness to their complex communications environments.

Presence information gives the ability to know whether or not the person you are trying to reach is available. It improves the speed that an actual connection can be made and introduces greater communications simplicity.

Many choices are available for businesses looking to connect and collaborate. Employees can now share documents in real-time and interact when overseeing projects without having to walk across the building, much less fly across the country. Audio and Web conferencing applications not only maximise the ease of contact and interaction with co-workers and external partners. They also reduce the need for business travel, saving companies travel costs and reducing their impact on the environment.

For the first time, businesses have communications options that can unify and simplify, and bring relief. The abundance of choices in IP telephony ensure there are opportunities for each business to review its own needs and then obtain a tailor-made solution that truly is transformative. With the bounty of communications tools available, no business should have to accept a one-size-fits-all solution.

Many businesses quite rightly resist deploying applications that do not address their unique situation, particularly when they face scaling back their vision in order to accommodate a particular application`s limitations. IP telephony shouldn`t limit. Instead it should enable companies to rethink how they do business and implement improvements that are frankly transformative. That is where the ROI truly lies.

But choice is about more than just technology. A solution must include a range of financial models that fit each situation. Organisations once forced to purchase outright communications equipment and take on IT staff to manage it, now have options that open up the door to IP. With outright purchase, managed services, or hosted offerings, customers can be sure that a financial model exists to facilitate the adoption of new technology.

Ultimately unified communications is the wish of all users. Everyone wants choices in how and where they receive communications and want these choices to be simple, easy-to-use and seamlessly integrated into their daily interactions. And businesses want flexible ways to implement them. The good news is that it can be done and even better is that there are multiple options for companies that are intent on improving how their workers work.