When SAP recently released its tongue-in-cheek “Mobile 10 Commandments” for the Mobile World Congress, it got us thinking: Maybe all sorts of technology providers should do the same thing. After all, the best way for a business to mess up introducing a new form of technology is to not fully understand it. (Remember when your parents would try to program the VCR? Case in point.)
So, with that in mind, Fonality presents: The 10 Commandments of unified communications.
- Thou shalt not miss a phone call. Using a VoIP telephone system means missed calls can be a thing of the past. Out of the office? It’s easier than ever to direct incoming calls directly to your cellphone.
- Thou shalt not shout across the office. Send them an instant message. Don’t freak out everyone else in the office.
- Thou shalt not travel for business unless you absolutely need to. Using video and audio conferencing tools can drastically cut down on the cost of travel.
- Remember mobility and keep it productive. People are going to be glued to their mobile devices anyway. Put them to use by extending UC onto your employees’ smartphones and tablets.
- Honor your co-workers – don’t forget the mute button. Participating in an audio conferencing? For God’s sake, use the mute button liberally. No one wants to hear your dog barking in the middle of a meeting.
- Thou shalt not use a fax machine. They’re less efficient than getting faxes directly sent to your email account.
- Thou shalt not fall down the Facebook rabbit hole. Instead, start up an internal social network so employees can get their daily dose of oversharing in a productive way.
- Thou shalt not use a phone book. UC platforms can include corporate phone books from all over the world. And with click-to-dial functionality, phone books are starting to look downright archaic.
- Thou shalt not use copper wires. If you still have telephones connected with old-school copper wire, rip it all out. VoIP phones are cheaper, more productive and are packed with efficiency-boosting features.
- Thou shalt not go it alone. If you listened to none of the last nine commandments, listen to this one. The survival and growth of a tech-savvy business these days depends on constant communication and collaboration. Have an idea for the company? Share it. Have a complaint? Send an IM to the appropriate people sooner than later. UC solutions allow everyone’s voices to be heard.
Your first step toward a more communicative business environment is to get in touch with a good UC provider. For this, look no further than the experts at Fonality.