WFH & remote working requires simplified collaboration tools

The shift to working from home and remote working requires simplified collaboration tools

Prior to Covid-19, working from home (WFH) in Australia was primarily for contractors and staff who worked remotely for companies that offered flexible work arrangements. Many organisations offered work from home on a limited basis and some saw it as a luxury.

The impact of Covid-19 and the enforcement of social distancing has seen the requirement for any worker who can work from home to do so.

As more people are now working from home than ever before, all businesses require effective and simplified communication tools for telephony, online chats and video conferences.

These tools need to be secure, simple to use, cost effective and meet expected voice quality standards.

The onus is on companies to ensure they have the correct tools to support their workforce currently as well as post Covid-19. The expectation is that many businesses will be evaluating their WFH strategies and contingency plans in preparation for another outbreak.

According to Kate Lister, President of Global Workplace Analytics, it is estimated that 25-30% of the workforce will be WFH multiple days a week by the end of 2021.

Now is an opportune time for businesses to evaluate current collaboration tools and find the most appropriate solution for this new set of requirements.

Legacy systems and multiple IP telephony platforms

Many businesses are currently using legacy systems with multiple telephony and video conferencing platforms.  We recommend conducting a review of the tools you are currently using and to also research if more effective options exist to set you up to increase collaboration and future success.

For many businesses, the aim is to decrease the overall communication costs of legacy Telephony systems and to increase communication, collaboration and staff morale (especially for those working from remote locations).

Are you already using Office 365?

If your business is already using Office 365 and MS Teams – the Voice component gives you traditional voice calling capabilities straight from your MS Teams platform.

The obvious option is then to move all your telephony requirements to MS Teams Voice. MS Teams Voice is secure in the cloud, enabling staff to make calls from a PC, mobile or handset (with the software installed).

Its simple to start using MS Teams Voice Calling – you just need Direct Routing for MS Teams, Internet connectivity and the appropriate MS licensing.

Here’s the advantages of using MS Teams Voice:

It reduces complexity and is cost effective to deploy, providing all the following key benefits:

• Increased Security – a collaboration tool that is secure in the cloud
• Cost and maintenance reduction of legacy IP Telephony systems
• Compatibility – Enablis can make it work with your existing PABX and handsets.
• Visibility – IT Teams Voice provides dashboard reporting so you can see the quality of calls and historic logs of voice quality across your business
• Keep existing phone numbers – you can migrate or port your existing landline numbers, or allocate new ones
• Ease of deployment – provides the ability to roll this out in the back end with minimal impact on end users
• A tried and tested tool – Implementation of a tried and tested remote working telephony tool for your team

Take a look at our MS Teams Voice Calling site to understand how to reduce complexity and save money.  Or to chat with the Enablis Voice expert now click here.