Why Collaboration Matters in the SMB Market
Why Collaboration Matters in the SMB Market by Fonality
Sponsor-Provided Article
Today’s growing businesses can very oftentimes feel like the “Little Engine that Could” when compared to large enterprises—so focused on chugging along and competing aggressively with some of the biggest and best out there and constantly having to maintain a “can-do” attitude. But to pull the train over the daunting mountain, they need the right tools in place. And it all starts with robust collaboration solutions.
In an effort to continue offering best-of-breed products and successful end user experiences, large enterprises are casting an eye toward unified communications and collaboration solutions (UCC). In fact, IT decision-makers in large organizations are predicted to spend $53 million on services to support UCC over the next two years, according to research released by global ICT solutions and services provider Dimension Data. Moreover, 78 percent of IT decision makers who were polled in the aforementioned study stated that they already have a current strategic plan and budget to implement “select components” of UCC. Simply put, today’s SMBs have to play in this space as well to keep up with the large enterprise.
Let’s take a look at some of the chief reasons why collaboration is so important for an SMB:
1. Workforce is Spread Out: To keep costs low, SMBs are more apt to have a geographically disparate workforce, a great deal of who are road warriors or remote workers. Therefore, no matter where employees are located, seamless collaboration between in-office and remote employees is critical. Robust UCC solutions allow employees to communicate as if they were just a cubicle away as the technology can simulate the on-site office environment. Moreover, advanced features like Find Me/Follow Me, voicemail to email notification and call forwarding keep SMB key stakeholders from knowing that their teams are miles apart, allowing smaller companies to seem more powerful and wide-reaching.
2. Collaboration is Tough: According to a 2013 survey by Google, collecting feedback from team members, using email seamlessly and sharing documents all prove to be a real challenge for SMBs. Moreover, while 39 percent of SMBs who were surveyed across the globe plan to increase their use of collaborative tools, many are still hanging on to archaic tactics like phone and email. But with advanced UCC tools like unified messaging, instant messaging, presence and video/audio conferencing, collaboration can be seamless among SMB team members.
3. Cost Savings Matter: Every cent counts for the SMB but having a robust UCC platform enables smaller organizations to cut CAPEX/OPEX corners in a number of ways. From being able to say goodbye to the costs associated with maintaining legacy hardware to eliminating the need for out-of-pocket costs, such as telecom bills, meeting fees and travel expenses, UC offers a wealth of benefits. In addition, by providing tools designed to enhance productivity and bolster performance, companies are able to increase the workflow of each and every worker.
Today’s small business needs the proper collaboration tools to keep pace with the biggest of enterprises and make smart decisions faster. To learn more about how Fonality’s collaboration tools can greatly enhance the business climate for SMBs, click here.