4 COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY TRENDS FOR 2017


Over the course of 2016, a number of communication technologies have come forward and grown to encompass much of how we do business today. Communications companies have continued to improve upon their technologies and have made it possible to interact smoother and easier than ever before. Here are just a few of the trends we have seen over the course of 2016 that will continue to change the face of business communications.

UNIFIED COMMUNICATIONS

With an eye on collaboration and providing both internal and external communications solutions, unified communications is a hot topic. These systems often provide collaborative tools, screen sharing capabilities, chat functions and more. This allows your team to communicate better with customers, but also with one another in real time to solve problems. Instead of bouncing customers between multiple departments and forcing them to explain their situation over and over, now data can be passed along in an instant and all parties can be brought up to speed.

MOBILE INTEGRATION

Mobile communication technologies have been working their way into the business world for more than a decade. In their earliest stages, work-related functions were often clunky or offered only limited functionality. Today it is possible for employees to stay on the road full time and still have complete access to their network. User interfaces have improved drastically, and we have found more ways to increase security and functionality on the road, so you can make calls, answer emails and more from your mobile device.

VIRTUALIZATION

With each passing year, the cloud becomes more important to everyday operations. More and more companies are moving their communications systems to the cloud and eliminating bulky hardware on site. They are leaving maintenance to the hands of third party providers and focusing more of their energies on building their business instead of dealing with IT problems. Cloud-based solutions are also contributing to the versatility and mobilization of companies, allowing for more flexibility on the road and in the field.

HOMEWARD BOUND

For the last two decades, companies have relied heavily on overseas call centers to handle their customer service calls due to the high costs of operating a call center full time. However, now that virtualization and mobile technologies have become affordable and accessible, more companies are bringing their call centers back home. By using either a third-party call center, which serves multiple clients, allowing call center employees to work from home or placing them on pay scales based upon call volume rather than hourly wages, the U.S. is once again a competitive marketplace for call centers.

These are just four of the biggest trends in communication technologies that have grown out of 2016. Going forward, we can expect to see ongoing developments in the mobilization and virtualization of communications. In addition, there will be plenty of new unified solutions introduced to offer complete communications systems to companies of all sizes, bringing enterprise level solutions down to the small and mid-size business tier.


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