UK firms look again at UC for ‘hidden’ savings in the new financial year

London, 23 March, 2011 - With the next financial year just around the corner, mid-sized firms will be further streamlining operations to make efficiency savings and remain competitive. As their core operations come under the microscope again, senior managers are looking again at unified communications (UC) platforms because they can deliver previously ‘unseen’ telephony cost savings while enabling greater productivity from better-mobilised staff.

Companies facing the unenviable task of maintaining market share or driving savings in an uncertain economy may be surprised to find UC offers different long-term cost saving options. The public sector is also looking to make unprecedented savings within the next 12 months – it too is focusing heavily on cutting operational expenditure and drive field staff’s service delivery.

This viewpoint comes from SaintGroup, a leading independent managed service provider, which is seeing growing interest from senior managers discussing new communications innovations because of the surprising benefits they offer.

The company says companies that ‘unify’ voice and data communications can push all call charges from staff mobile devices and smartphones though the corporate private branch exchange (PBX) to deliver substantial and continual savings.

This logical step not only removes expensive desk phones while delivering these savings, it also prevents duplication of call charges when their staff make calls via their own mobile contracts: research suggests between 40-60 per cent of mobile phone usage takes place in the workplace.

This type of breakthrough – UC reducing telephony waste rather than delivering over-complex functionality - is being driven by the emergence of specialist integrators able to ensure managed services for company communications, reduce costs and make firms’ operational changes much simpler. Managed services agreements for UC also widen the scope for firms to achieve more predictable communications costs where telephony can be funded from operating rather than capital expenditure.

Another emerging possibility for firms and public sector organisations implementing UC and similar platforms is the potential to transform their operations and office space. UC cuts the number of desk phones and office facilities, allowing staff to be more productive while organisations need less office space. This could make a critical difference for public organisations seeking to build the business case for rationalising their office locations or their property estate.

By Peter Deacon, director of technology and strategy, SaintGroup Managed Services, comments: “UC has for many years been perceived as too difficult or complicated to adopt. However, we are seeing attitudes change as companies are forced to transform operations in today’s tough trading conditions. Specialists offering managed services can help organisations combine IT and communications to achieve these more efficient operations and reduce costs.

“With these experts on hand, it is becoming easier and cheaper for mid-range firms to adopt unified communications. This is where platforms such as SaintGroup’s end-to-end communications and collaboration service, SaintGroup Unify, could help. Building a UC strategy could well be the best decision that senior management and CIOs make in the coming financial year.”