Why hosted UC?

Unified communications (UC) is receiving a lot of buzz in the business world these days. Even though no one is really sure where exactly UC is going and where it will be in the future, it’s becoming the norm and businesses would be well served to get on board.

Understanding the need and value of having all of your telephone, e-mail and instant messaging functions rolled into one single service or application is easy. UC can transform the workplace, making it more productive, efficient and effective. What’s difficult is determining how to properly implement and deploy UC. Not only that, companies need to find reliable UC companies to partner with.

Hosted service providers remotely deliver and manage various IT application services using shared resources, enabling customers to consolidate and outsource much of their IT needs for a predictable recurring fee. Unlike premises-based solutions, hosted solutions require no hardware to provision, no software to buy, install or configure, and no expensive training for in-house IT staff.

“Hosted providers deliver their service from servers housed in highly secure, geographically redundant data centers,” says Monty Ferdowsi, the president of Broadcore. “Each data center contains fault-tolerant servers that are load-balanced from server to server. In the unlikely event that one data center is unavailable, traffic is automatically routed to another data center, ensuring business continuity.”

Smart Business spoke with Ferdowsi about UC and how a hosted UC service provider can help you streamline your business.

Why should a business partner with a hosted UC service provider?

A hosted unified communications solution offers a business several advantages. For one, there is a low initial capital investment. Hosted solution providers offer a service, not hardware or software, so you’ll never have to invest in purchasing network and application products. Plus, you’ll never have to upgrade or replace to support new functions or features. Upgrading and adding new functions and features is all part of the service.

UC also offers great flexibility. An on-demand, pay-as-you-use model allows organizations the flexibility to grow as fast as their business requires without investing in excessive capacity.

Bottom line, hosted solution providers enable their clients to focus on their core business objectives instead of getting involved in the ‘business’ of providing information technology tools for their employees.