Unified communications (UC) has arrived and has been gaining traction in all types of businesses as they strive to remain competitive in a highly globalised economic environment, looking for ways for employees to communicate and collaborate from anywhere in the world. The umbrella term for the many ways in which we can communicate is unified communications, an integrated set of voice, text, video and web-based collaboration applications that allow workers to stay connected to each other.
What's a UcaaS platform?
A UCaaS platform is a cloud-based software system that allows users to access and manage their business applications and data from anywhere, anytime. The first goal of any UCaaS is to be cost-effective and useful. Once these pillars are in place, the other objectives can be addressed: higher sales, lower support costs and higher productivity.
Benefits of using a UCaaS platform
La computación basada en la nube es relativamente nueva, en esta tecnología convive un conjunto de sistemas de terceros conectados por red y proporcionan infraestructura, aplicaciones y plataformas como servicio, todo ello con la posibilidad de ser escalable. El coste de la computación, el almacenamiento de contenidos y el alojamiento se reduce considerablemente gracias a la nube.
En pocas palabras, la computación en la nube significa que las aplicaciones que utilizas no están alojadas en tu máquina. Además de los efectos en los costes, puedes iniciar rápidamente una sesión en estos servidores de software como servicio (SaaS) y tener tus archivos, programas e incluso configuraciones personales y seguras exactamente como las dejaste, desde cualquier ordenador con acceso a Internet.
Cloud-based computing is a relatively new technology that brings together a set of third-party systems that are networked together and provide infrastructure, applications and platforms as a service, all with the ability to be scalable. The cost of computing, content storage and hosting is significantly reduced by the cloud.
Simply put, cloud computing means that the applications you use are not hosted on your machine. In addition to the cost effects, you can quickly log on to these software-as-a-service (SaaS) servers and have your files, programs and even personal and secure settings exactly as you left them, from any computer with Internet access.
Different types of UCaaS platforms
The two main branches of unified communications are quite similar in many respects. Both offer most of the same tools: VoIP telephony service, audio conferencing, video and instant messaging at the basic level…etc.
- The first branch of unified communications is local. Local UC is a system of hardware and software elements that exists within the physical space of your office. Local UC involves physical installation, ongoing maintenance and repair of devices.
- The second branch of unified communications is cloud-based. Cloud-based UC exists as web-based SaaS applications that do not take up physical space in your office. Unlike on-premises unified communications, cloud-based unified communications requires no physical installation and is maintained and serviced by the provider. As the service is web-based, it can be easily accessed from any computer with an internet connection.