Insights & Outcomes: Part 2- One Platform, One Integrated Experience

Welcome back to the StrataCore Leadership series “Insights and Outcomes.” The series objectives are to share the innovative technologies that are driving change across the digital and IT landscape.

The technologies that were driving change before this global COVID-19 crisis, will serve during and long after this is behind us. 

In this second of three segments, “UCC - The Integrated Experience,” is about getting more value from technology platforms and delivering a better experience through automation and seamless integration. 

“Technology is about creating a better experience for customers and employees , not just implementing new systems.”

The global application economy is growing exponentially, year over year. While growth presents new opportunities, it can also introduce inefficiencies and serious problems across the work environment. Problems occur when new and legacy applications operate in a standalone, decentralized environment, resulting in disparate and disconnected business workflows. 

The decentralized implications extend to users needing to switch back and forth between applications and systems. The time spent navigating between systems adversely affects employee productivity, hinders client engagement and has a costly and expensive impact on the business and bottom line.

Behind the platforms, behind applications, it’s about people and providing what they need to be successful. 

Unifying Business Applications

Today, there is an opportunity to streamline the workflow process and unify everyday business applications under a single communications platform. This can be achieved by integrating Unified Communications and Collaboration (UCC) with the leading partners across the CRM, Automation and Productivity ecosystem. It starts with an integration strategy and plan.  

“No Code” Integration Plan

 What this means is organizations can now unify and integrate UCC with other platforms in a self-serve approach, ready-made with no coding expertise required. Below are a few examples of the UCC platform integration strategy, unified and working together: 

Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

Turn the CRM into a powerful omnichannel communications platform; to improve sales pipeline, productivity and get more return from the current CRM investment. 

• Click-to-call: make calls directly from within the CRM by clicking on any account contact. No need to pick up a handset; all softphone and mobile enabled supporting the modern “anywhere, anytime” worker persona.
• Instant Screen Pop: incoming calls from customers and prospects trigger the CRM to pull up account information, historical records and right on the screen. Even before connecting with the caller, making for more personalized and insightful conversations. 
• Call logging, Analytics and Reporting: assign call dispositions, auto log calls, gain new insights, send texts, chat, schedule meetings, access social media and ticketing systems.    

Automation 

Integrate UCC with secure identity management and a Single Sign-On (SSO) platform. What this means is having one, secure place to access all of the applications, with fewer passwords to remember. One password is good. 

• Auto-provisioning:  provision phone users, update and control profiles across the organization and network (from anywhere)
• Active Directory: Onboard new UCC users with Active Directory controls
• Security: Enforce security policies including multi-factor authentication and password management controls

Productivity 

Leveraging AI and next-generation automation technologies; like having a technology assistant with you helping throughout the day.

• Voice Recognition: Access messages with voice recognition, seamlessly and hands-free
• Voice commands: with voice commands, send text messages and listen to voicemails. Join and start conference calls without needing a dial-in number and meeting ID. 
• Stay connected: Manage business communications from home, office, and your anywhere work environment 

What Businesses Are Saying

With UCC and CRM integration “a company can run a report on customers who haven’t been contacted in six months, run a campaign to contact them, and on average are seeing a 30% increase in sales call volume and a similar increase in overall sales.”

UCC and CRM “the winning integrated, single solution for users, productivity, reporting, analytics, across the board, and with fewer applications to secure and administer.”

With UCC and single sign-on automation, “employees benefit from easy access, resulting in greater productivity, easier collaboration across the business and across multiple devices with security automatically built in.”

Whoever thought UCC was just a PBX replacement sitting in another data center?    

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Learn more about UCC integration by contacting the StrataCore team. Stay tuned for the third and final segment of the StrataCore Leadership series, “UCC- People Across the Org.”