Unified communications: It's about efficiency, not cost savings

Since the 90s, every man and his dog has been on about the benefits of convergence, with cost savings punted as among the dominant justifications. However, in reality, cost has little to do with what makes convergence great for the business consumer. Rather, it is efficiency which tops the list, and indeed, many consumers are quite prepared to pay for it.

That's the contention of Louis Yssel, CEO of communications provider YSL Group. “Convergence is not about saving money, it is about increasing convenience,” he affirms. “In the age of information overload, a top gripe for busy people is the hassle of communicating. The cellphone, the desk phone, the e-mail, the voice mail, the SMSs, faxes and now even video messages can be a bit overwhelming. Juggling between all these modes of communication, which are often linked to different devices, is frustrating,” he says.

More than that, it can also result in gaps in communication. “Juggling these modes of communication and the devices can result in the proverbial 'dropping of the ball'. A message is missed, someone gets upset and productivity and reputation can suffer,” Yssel says.

It is this overload in which, he believes, is the compelling reason for companies' directors to consider equipping themselves with a unified communications suite. “Big business is doing it already. A single centre for all messaging and communications means it is easier to get hold of the people you need to contact. It is also possible to view the context in which that person finds themselves and therefore to use the appropriate communication mode to contact them,” says Yssel.

The convenience of a single location for all messaging and the potential reduction in the number of devices means office workers are able to be more effective in their daily tasks. They miss fewer messages. They are able to respond to anything, from a request for a quote to placing an order, more quickly and in the recipient's preferred mode of communication.

But there is a fly in the ointment for the small-business owner. Deploying a unified communications solution to gain these benefits can be prohibitively costly. Servers, software licences, connectivity and expertise are among the underlying resources; taken together, these items can quickly add up to hundreds of thousands of rands. “That is clearly an unlikely investment for a business with only five or ten employees, and perhaps even for one with 100 employees,” says Yssel.

Does that mean the convenience of unified communications remains a tool for corporations? Not with the emergence of hosted models and software-as-a-service (SaaS), Yssel continues: “The availability of bandwidth as well as the emergence of the concept of SaaS means even micro-enterprises can enjoy the full benefits of a unified communications solution,” he says.

As a hosted service, the business pays a monthly fee per user and can add or remove users as staff come and go and as the company grows or shrinks. “The benefits and even the nature of the solution are exactly the same as they are for the large corporation. Centred around Microsoft's Outlook, the user gets all their messaging - e-mail, SMS, voice, fax - in a single inbox for easy management and easy communication directly from the PC,” he explains.

If anything, Yssel says, the SME has more to gain from such solutions since the average business owner must perform a multitude of tasks - everything from making the tea to running the business - and hence his or her time is valuable. “With a managed unified communications solution, the SME owner benefits from the convenience of getting the message and responding to it quickly, efficiently and without frustration,” he concludes.