In a world where we are all minimising physical contact and international travel is still struggling, services like a cloud-delivered unified communications - Unified communications as a service (UCaaS) – can be a boon to the SMB sector in a region that relies on global trade.

UCaaS is a comprehensive and flexible solution that combines telephony with conferencing and collaboration tools. This can help not only transform a business’ communication systems from a simple exchange to a platform that boosts mobility across all your departments but, in some cases, has helped to drive new businesses especially in sectors like healthcare and learning.

Telephony: Whether internal or external, UCaaS solutions can also give companies an easy way to accelerate conversations with a customer from a message to a phone call, to a video chat. In addition to high-quality voice and call recording features, some of these telephony solutions also offer AI implementations for intelligent call routing and sentiment analysis. Some telephony providers offer modern, video-enabled desk phones and soft clients for computers and mobile devices. For larger SMBs, providers like Etisalat offer advanced PBX features through their UCaaS solutions like HD quality voice, the distribution of calls to a group, voicemail, call parking and pick-up functionality.

Meetings: UCaaS can bring video and meeting solutions into your business that make it easier to collaborate with employees, wherever they are. The cloud ensures that teams can now work together on projects from anywhere. With video and a collaboration tool, it’s possible to share files, host conversations, and even launch presentations from a desktop, smartphone or tablet. In the current scenario, especially, video is particularly useful in circumstances where people can’t speak face-to-face, as it ensures that the nuances of facial expression and body language aren’t lost.

Messaging: UCaaS can give businesses a way to manage and organise their messaging strategy so that they can offer a more omnichannel service experience to their teams and customers. Any device that is integrated into UCaaS technology can provide access to anything from social media chat, to voicemail, transcriptions, and instant messages.

Mobility: The demand for mobility is rising. Whether you have a hybrid model in place, businesses in some sectors will have field workers (anyone working outside the office) and they will need to support with the same tools as on-premise employees. With UCaaS, anyone can take work out of the office. A reliable solution can ensure that mobility remains a part of any business strategy. With technologies like WebRTC, people don’t necessarily need to download new software to join a meeting. Instead, people can tap to join conferences from their email account, via a web browser.

Communications: Communication Platforms as a Service (CPaaS) bring additional flexibility into UCaaS by allowing companies to integrate their preferred communication tools into their existing applications and processes. For instance, businesses can now add video conferencing as an option alongside its messaging tool or build CRM context into chat conversations with clients.