The year 2020 sent people and businesses spiraling into chaos. Now that the global situation has finally begun to stabilize, evaluating their unified communications strategy has become a top priority for businesses across the country.

As the pandemic quickly spread around the world in early 2020, businesses everywhere began to look to different tools that would allow them to stay online and be productive. Many have found that the tools they selected in their haste might get the job done but are not the best fit. Now, however, you have the chance to look beyond the patchwork creation of a “good enough” set of remote tools and see how a unified communications strategy can actually help you excel.

For those beginning to evaluate their options, two of the biggest players that come to mind are Microsoft Teams and Mitel Teamwork. We want to explore each with you so that you can start to see the benefits that each presents and the value you can obtain when you find a platform that not only lets you get by with remote work, but actually enhances your entire business.

Don’t waste time and money trying to piecemeal a variety of positions. You need to see the power of a unified solution.

Exploring Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams has become a popular option for both personal and work communications. This platform has been put to use by schools interested in engaging their students, as well as business professionals and even families interested in staying in touch while having to remain distant.

The platform offers a variety of helpful tools for professionals, including meeting notes and a chat history that is always available. Maintaining access to this valuable information can enhance productivity and help people remain connected with their colleagues even when working remotely. Allowing people to stay regularly in touch also can enhance the customer experience the brand creates, as the team can provide a consistent, engaged experience for their customers.

Diving Into Mitel Teamwork

Mitel Teamwork also works to bring team collaboration, chat and video conferencing together. Users can easily share files and pictures, which can then enhance collaboration and teamwork, even over long distances. Co-workers feel as though they can engage similarly to how they do in an office building, even when separated by miles.

Users also have a unified experience across their devices. The platform features, including task management and project management, can be easily reached from computers and mobile devices alike. People find it easier to remain engaged even as they step away from their workstation. This enhances uptime and keeps team members engaged and moving forward on their projects.

Bringing Together the Best of Both Online Collaboration Tools

Many businesses quickly discover that each of these communication options have many similar functionalities. Separately, however, Microsoft Teams can fall short of providing an outstanding level of service for businesses and hinder the customer experience businesses can then provide. One of the biggest gaps in services with Microsoft Teams, is that it does not offer full telephony functionality at the enterprise level.

THE POWER OF INTEGRATION

MiCloud Connect solves this problem by integrating both services into a high-powered unified communications service. It integrates Mitel enterprise cloud telephony with the Microsoft Teams client interface, allowing users to access this integrated system from the standard Teams collaboration app, while also gaining access to valuable MiCloud Connect features.

Your team will have access to capabilities such as:

• The ability to use a variety of different types of phones, including smartphones

• The capacity for ring group control

• Integration options with a contact center

• Integration options with your CRM

By taking advantage of these options, you will be able to connect with users from anywhere.

Imagine the productivity levels you can reach when you don’t have to worry about using a particular device to access your files or connect to meetings.

Consider what you could accomplish from a customer service standpoint if you integrate directly with your CRM and your contact center.

By bringing these two powerful options closer together, you can experience a cost-effective solution that also offers you a high level of security. The platform is powered through the Google Cloud, working to keep sensitive information secure and keep your business running. The security level offered by the platform will keep you HIPAA and SOC 2 compliant, helping you run your business effectively. In fact, MiCloud Connect offers 99.99% uptime, which is a boost over the 99.9% offered by Microsoft Teams alone.

Ending Confusion & Embracing Effective Unified Communications

Online collaboration tools offer you a powerful way to keep your business connected, even when disruptions to in-office work occur. Without having to worry about employees traveling or what your business would do in the event of an emergency, the right tools can help you work effectively and maintain your productivity.

Do not get held back with inefficient tools that do not work well together, confuse your users, leave gaps in your capabilities, or do not ensure the security you need to work effectively. The modern workforce calls for you to be able to connect anytime with your team.

At CRI, we can help you tap into the power of MiCloud Connect. See how this powerful tool can enhance your own business’ collaboration.

Reach out to CRI today to learn more about how these capabilities will power your business.