Unified communications trends for 2012

Due to the overall sluggish economy, many employers are looking to increase the production they receive from their workforce as a way to stay competitive. As a result, many business owners have begun to invest not in new employees, but in new technologies that can help their existing workers function at maximum capacity.

For example, one trend in the unified communications sector has been that businesses continue to invest in videoconferencing as a way to improve worker collaboration and productivity. Many experts are expecting videoconferencing investment to rise in 2012, as virtual desktop infrastructures – which separate a computer from a physical machine – and cloud computing solutions – which provide workers with a way to access essential documents from any of a businesses multiple locations – become more widely available and affordable for owners.

In addition, bring your own device (BYOD) policies are expected to become more mainstream in the business world, as companies look to cut costs by relying on employees with their own high-quality devices such as tablet computers and smartphones. However, with this infrastructure comes a renewed emphasis for videoconferencing, and the VoIP tools that are required for its smooth use.

By purchasing videoconferencing tools from a VoIP telephony services provider, business can gain the means to reduce their travel expenditures while becoming more competitive with their hiring. For example, many of today’s top executive candidates come from overseas, where they may have difficulty obtaining a visa to work in the United States.

As a result, businesses that typically find that they are losing out on the top talent due to this concern may want to invest in videoconferencing and high-quality VoIP business phones, so that they can expand the parameters of their office and better compete.

To successfully combat these potential problems, a best practice is to ensure all members of the business are on the same page when it comes to BYOD security.