“A dollar saved is a dollar earned.” UCaaS Nearly all organizations, irrespective of type and size, live by the maxim. When it comes to reducing costs, many of them go to great lengths to ensure that. That includes:
- Identifying unnecessary costs and eliminating those altogether
- Optimally using all available resources at their disposal
- Leveraging technology to achieve efficiency and cost reduction
- Maximizing the productivity and efficiency of their workforce
Now, when it comes to communication costs, an average organization sets aside one to five percent of its overall yearly revenue. The percentage can go a little up or down depending on the size of the organization, industry, and specific needs.
That means, for an organization that makes a hundred million dollars in revenue per year, the communication budget is somewhere between one and five million dollars. That’s a lot!
That’s why more and more organizations are looking for ways to reduce their communication costs and save some considerable greenbacks in it. And that’s where innovative communication technology such as Unified Communication as a Service (UCaaS) comes to their aid.
If you are eager to know the different ways UCaaS can reduce communication expenses and save loads of money, then this blog post is just for you. Dive right in and read on ten ways by which UCaaS can help you save money:
Different Ways UCaaS Can Save Costs
Handpicking the right UCaaS solution can save you a lot of money. Here are some ways UCaaS helps organizations in saving money and enhancing operational efficiencies:
- Reduction in Local and Long-Distance Call Costs
Traditional communication systems are quite infamous for hefty phone bills. However, the advent of UCaaS systems has changed all that. UCaaS systems use VoIP technology and many studies have found that it can reduce local and long-distance calls by 50 and 90 percent respectively. As per recent stats, switching to UCaaS systems saves businesses up to 30-50 percent of current operating costs.
All it takes is one flat monthly connection fee for UCaaS systems to run smoothly. The fee allows users to enjoy unlimited local and long-distance calls, video conferencing, voicemail, text messaging, instant messaging, and many more features.
- Zero Upfront Expenses
One of the major expenses of legacy communication systems is the huge upfront costs for hardware, installations, and maintenance. By using UCaaS communication solutions, you don’t have to pay any upfront expenses. As UCaaS systems are cloud-based, you just need to connect VoIP phones to an existing internet connection. After that’s done, you are ready to make and receive calls.
With UCaaS, you don’t need to pay a single cent before you get started. The pay-as-you-go model enables you to use the services first and pay your solution provider later. This is a major benefit for small and mid-sized companies that don’t have to set aside a huge sum of money for upfront expenses. They can use the funds for more important work.
- Exceptional Customer Service
Now, this point may puzzle you. What does good customer service have to do with costs? Turns out much more than meets the eye. For instance, did you know that poor customer service costs businesses almost $75 billion each year? A recent Forbes report corroborated that finding.
UCaaS enables companies to focus on providing exceptional customer service. In traditional communication systems, the lack of some key features makes it extremely difficult to achieve a 100 percent customer satisfaction rate. But in UCaaS solutions, resolving customer calls in the very first instance, tracking previous conversations and transactions, and making data-driven decisions ensures a higher customer satisfaction score.
- Enhanced Security and Data Recovery
Security is a topmost concern for a majority of businesses. Poor security can cost an arm and a leg to businesses. A good and reliable communication system will not only save costs but also prevent your hard-earned money from being wiped away. As per data by Cybersecurity Ventures, the costs of international cybercrime will increase 15 percent on a y-o-y basis and reach $10.5 trillion.
Being cloud-based, UCaaS solutions are extremely secure and can enable organizations to run their operations uninterruptedly during cyber-attacks, natural disasters, and any other crises. As per a recent study, about three-fourths of new unified communications licenses bought by organizations will be cloud-based by 2024.
- All-Included Cutting-Edge Features
In legacy communication systems it’s hard to get built-in advanced features. When any business or organization needs to have sophisticated features, they will have to purchase separate devices or pay an extra amount of money to include the desired features in their existing communication system.
But with a sophisticated UCaaS system, a business or organization doesn’t have to spend an additional cent to get advanced features. UCaaS communication systems come equipped with a wide range of sophisticated features including caller ID, group chats, video conferencing, integration with CRM and other business applications, and real-time analytics and reporting. One research found that seven out of every ten UCaaS buyers say that a solution’s all-inclusive capabilities influence their purchasing decisions.
- No Need to Hire a Dedicated IT Team
Why hire a dedicated IT team for your communication system when you can outsource its management and maintenance to the experts in the domain? IT team costs a lot of money and not every business can afford to have a dedicated team at their disposal to troubleshoot communication issues. That’s exactly a major challenge in keeping and maintaining a traditional telephony system. With legacy communication systems, you need to hire a dedicated IT team.
But with the UCaaS communication system, you don’t have to bear any costs related to the IT team. If you need any help from the IT people, you can reach them and get your issues sorted with just a few clicks. When you have partnered with a reputable and trustworthy UCaaS provider with a proven track record, you don’t have to worry about the IT team. You just need to focus on running your operations and the service provider will take care of the rest.
- Increased Productivity
Traditional communication systems don’t do much to enhance workforce productivity. But UCaaS systems can do a lot in that respect. With sophisticated features and automation, it helps organizations get more output per employee.
As per a study titled “The ROI of Uniting Unified Communications and Contact Center” by Aberdeen Group, Unified Communication-enabled contact centers witness a 50 percent increase in agent productivity. That’s not all. They also see a 2.9 times improvement in average handle time on a y-o-y basis and an 80 percent drop in customer complaints.
- Enhanced Scalability
Can a scalable communication system be cost-effective? They sure can. Unlike legacy communication systems, UCaaS solutions are highly scalable. In legacy communication systems, a business that invests in a certain number of systems or seats (users) cannot easily scale up the seats during peak seasons or scale down during lean seasons.
But using the UCaaS solution, an organization can effortlessly scale up or scale down its operations with the click of a button. It can add an unlimited number of users and pay for the services they use. Nothing more, nothing less. That’s a major advantage UCaaS solutions provide when it comes to controlling costs.
- Remote Working Facility
Let’s rewind to 2020. With the onset of the pandemic, organizations all over the world had no other option other than allowing their employees to work from home. Remote working, which was the exception till then, suddenly became the norm. In such a scenario, organizations that leveraged UCaaS communication systems got a massive advantage over the ones that used legacy communication systems.
The businesses that used legacy communication systems had to bear huge costs to provide their employees with the right tools and devices to continue with their work the way they performed in the office. That shot up their costs. However, companies that leverage UCaaS solutions enable remote working.
- Easy Integration With Existing Systems
If a communication system doesn’t integrate with existing systems such as a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, then it makes its users ill-equipped to know the callers’ identity, the issues they’re facing, details of previous conversations, and the right course of action. But when a communication system integrates with existing CRM systems and other business applications, then it not only eliminates inefficiencies but enhances productivity by leaps and bounds.
UCaaS solutions easily and seamlessly integrate with extant business applications. UCaaS often deals with existing business applications and systems, reducing the costs associated with transitioning to a new platform. This integration can also improve overall operational efficiency.
Taking Everything Into Consideration,
Not only are UCaaS solutions highly cost effective compared to legacy communication systems, but they help in achieving huge cost reductions immediately after use. Businesses and organizations can save their hard-earned money by handpicking the right UCaaS providers in the market.