Bring your calls, meetings and messages together
Your people have more ways to communicate than ever before.
They use desk phones, mobiles, Microsoft Teams, email, video meetings, instant messaging and voicemail.
But having more tools does not always make communication easier.
When those tools are disconnected, your employees spend time switching between applications, checking different devices and trying to work out the best way to reach someone.
Customers can feel the impact too.
Calls are transferred to empty desks. Messages are missed. Remote workers are difficult to reach. Employees use personal mobile numbers because the business system is too restrictive.
Unified Communications can bring these different ways of working together.
Stratiis helps organisations create one more consistent communications experience across voice, video, messaging, meetings and mobile devices.
One joined-up platform. More flexible working. Fewer missed conversations.
What is Unified Communications?
Unified Communications is the integration of different business communication tools into one connected environment.
Depending on the platform, this may include:
- Business telephone calls
- Video meetings
- Instant messaging
- Employee presence and availability
- Voicemail
- Desktop applications
- Mobile applications
- Online meetings
- File sharing
- Company directories
- Call queues
- Call routing
- Customer relationship management integrations
- Microsoft 365 integration
The goal is not simply to give employees more technology.
The goal is to make communication simpler.
A member of staff might start a conversation through instant messaging, turn it into a voice call and then move to a video meeting without changing systems.
They may also be able to use the same business number from their desk phone, laptop and mobile.
That creates a more consistent experience for employees and customers.
Are your communication systems working against your team?
Many businesses have added communication tools one at a time.
A phone system was installed several years ago. Microsoft Teams was introduced later. Mobile contracts came from another supplier. Video conferencing equipment was added separately.
Each service may work on its own.
The problems appear when employees need them to work together.
You may recognise some of these situations:
- Staff use personal mobiles for business calls
- Remote workers cannot access the same phone features as office staff
- Customers are transferred between several people
- Employees miss calls while away from their desks
- Voicemails sit unheard in separate mailboxes
- Nobody knows whether a colleague is available
- Different offices use different systems
- Video meetings regularly have sound or connection problems
- Telephone numbers and licences are still being paid for but are no longer used
- Employees use unapproved messaging applications
- Several suppliers are involved when something goes wrong
- Managers have little visibility of call volumes or missed calls
These problems are often treated as minor frustrations.
Over time, they affect productivity, customer service and employee experience.
Unified Communications can help remove those barriers.
What can Unified Communications include?
Business voice
Your employees can make and receive business calls using the device that suits how they work.
This could include:
- Desk phones
- Computers
- Headsets
- Mobile applications
- Tablets
- Shared devices
- Meeting-room systems
Employees can keep their business identity even when working away from the office.
They do not need to give customers a personal mobile number simply because they are working from home or travelling.
Video meetings
Video meetings are now a normal part of business life.
A Unified Communications platform can give employees a consistent way to arrange and join meetings from different locations and devices.
This may include:
- One-to-one video calls
- Team meetings
- Customer meetings
- Screen sharing
- Meeting recording
- Live captions
- Meeting chat
- Guest access
- Calendar integration
- Meeting-room equipment
The technology should make meetings easier, not create a new set of problems.
We can help ensure your platform, network, internet connection and meeting-room equipment are designed to work together.
Instant messaging
Not every conversation needs to become an email or telephone call.
Instant messaging allows employees to ask a quick question, share an update or check whether somebody is available.
It can reduce unnecessary internal email and help dispersed teams communicate more naturally.
However, messaging needs to be introduced with sensible policies and security controls.
Employees should understand which platform to use, what information can be shared and how conversations are retained.
Presence and availability
Presence information lets employees see whether a colleague is:
- Available
- Busy
- In a meeting
- On a call
- Away
- Offline
- Not to be disturbed
This sounds like a small feature, but it can save time.
Instead of repeatedly calling somebody who is unavailable, an employee can choose a better time or send a message.
Presence information can also improve call handling when reception or customer service teams need to transfer a caller.
One business number across devices
A Unified Communications platform can allow employees to use one business number on several devices.
They may answer a call through:
- Their office desk phone
- A laptop at home
- A mobile application
- A headset in another office
The caller continues to see the employee's business number rather than a personal number.
This gives staff more flexibility while protecting their privacy.
Voicemail and message management
Traditional voicemail can be easy to ignore.
Modern platforms can make messages easier to manage through:
- Voicemail to email
- Mobile notifications
- Voicemail transcription
- Shared voicemail boxes
- Call-back options
- Message forwarding
- Centralised access
This can reduce the risk of important customer messages being missed.
Call routing and queues
Incoming calls can be directed based on:
- Time of day
- Department
- Employee availability
- Caller selection
- Location
- Language
- Skills
- Opening hours
This can help customers reach the right person more quickly.
It can also give employees a clearer process for answering shared calls.
Features may include:
- Auto-attendants
- Call queues
- Hunt groups
- Overflow routing
- Call forwarding
- Holiday messages
- Out-of-hours routing
- Queue announcements
- Call-back options
Desktop and mobile applications
Employees should be able to communicate whether they are in the office, at home or on the move.
Desktop and mobile applications can give them access to:
- Business calls
- Internal contacts
- Voicemail
- Messaging
- Meetings
- Call history
- Presence information
- Company directories
The application should be secure, manageable and easy to use.
It should not encourage employees to create their own unapproved way of working.
Microsoft 365 integration
For organisations already using Microsoft 365, communications can often be integrated with tools such as:
- Microsoft Teams
- Outlook
- Exchange Online
- Microsoft calendars
- Microsoft Entra ID
- Microsoft Intune
- SharePoint
- OneDrive
This can make it easier to manage users, meetings, devices and access.
It may also reduce the number of separate accounts and applications employees need.
Customer relationship management integration
Integrating your communications platform with a customer relationship management system can help employees work more efficiently.
Depending on the platforms involved, integration may provide:
- Customer details when a call arrives
- Click-to-dial
- Automatic call logging
- Call notes
- Contact history
- Call recordings linked to records
- Improved reporting
- Faster access to customer information
This can be particularly useful for sales, customer service, repairs and support teams.
How Unified Communications helps your business
Make hybrid working easier
Hybrid working becomes difficult when office employees have access to better communication tools than remote workers.
Unified Communications can give employees a more consistent experience regardless of location.
They can use the same business number, contacts, messaging and meeting tools from different devices.
This helps remote employees remain part of the business rather than feeling disconnected from it.
Reduce missed calls
Employees are not always sitting beside a desk phone.
They may be in a meeting, visiting a customer, working from home or moving between sites.
Unified Communications can allow business calls to follow the employee across approved devices.
Calls can also be redirected to a colleague, queue or voicemail when somebody is unavailable.
Improve customer service
Customers should not need to understand your internal structure to reach the right person.
A well-designed communications platform can help route calls more effectively and provide employees with better visibility.
This can reduce:
- Unanswered calls
- Long transfers
- Repeated explanations
- Calls going to former employees
- Customers being sent to the wrong department
- Messages being lost
Give employees more flexibility
Different roles need different communication tools.
A receptionist may need a physical phone and switchboard view.
A remote employee may prefer a headset and computer application.
A field-based worker may rely on a mobile application.
Unified Communications can support different working styles within one managed environment.
Simplify supplier management
If your internet, telephone system, Microsoft platform and mobile services are managed by separate companies, resolving faults can become difficult.
Each supplier may investigate only its own part of the service.
Stratiis can look across the wider environment, including:
- Internet connectivity
- Networks
- Firewalls
- Devices
- Microsoft services
- User accounts
- Telephone systems
- Mobile access
- Security controls
This gives you one clearer route for help.
Support business continuity
Traditional telephone systems often depended on equipment installed in one location.
Cloud-based communications can provide more flexibility when an office becomes unavailable.
Employees may be able to work from another location using laptops, mobiles or alternative devices.
However, cloud communications still depend on internet connectivity, local networks and power.
We help you consider:
- Backup internet connections
- Automatic call forwarding
- Mobile applications
- Alternative working locations
- Emergency numbers
- Power-cut planning
- Device availability
- Supplier resilience
- Call routing during an incident
Improve visibility
Traditional phone systems may provide limited information.
Modern platforms can give managers better visibility of:
- Incoming call volumes
- Missed calls
- Waiting times
- Abandoned calls
- Call duration
- Queue performance
- Busy periods
- Employee availability
- Call outcomes
The purpose is not to monitor employees unnecessarily.
It is to understand whether customers are receiving the service they expect and whether teams have the resources they need.
Unified Communications and Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams is already used by many organisations for chat, meetings and internal collaboration.
Microsoft Teams Phone can add external telephone calling and business phone-system features to Teams.
This may allow employees to use one application for:
- Internal messaging
- Video meetings
- Internal calls
- External telephone calls
- Voicemail
- Call transfers
- Company contacts
- Call queues
- Auto-attendants
For some organisations, Teams Phone is a natural extension of their Microsoft 365 environment.
For others, a separate hosted voice platform may provide a better fit.
The right choice depends on:
- Existing Microsoft licences
- Call-handling requirements
- Contact-centre needs
- Required integrations
- Devices
- Reporting
- Resilience
- Support preferences
- Budget
- User experience
We will not recommend Microsoft Teams Phone simply because you already use Teams.
We will compare the available options and explain which one best suits your organisation.
Unified Communications or Hosted Voice?
The terms Unified Communications and Hosted Voice are often used together, but they are not exactly the same.
Hosted Voice
Hosted Voice mainly focuses on business telephone calls delivered through a cloud platform.
It can include features such as:
- Desk phones
- Mobile applications
- Call queues
- Auto-attendants
- Voicemail
- Call forwarding
- Reporting
Unified Communications
Unified Communications is broader.
It brings voice together with other communication tools such as:
- Video
- Instant messaging
- Presence
- Meetings
- Collaboration
- Mobile applications
- Business-system integrations
A Hosted Voice service may form part of a wider Unified Communications solution.
You do not need to choose based on terminology.
We will focus on the outcomes your organisation needs and recommend the right combination of services.
Who benefits from Unified Communications?
Unified Communications can be useful for organisations with:
- Hybrid employees
- Remote workers
- Several offices
- Mobile or field-based teams
- Customer service departments
- Reception teams
- High call volumes
- Microsoft 365
- Ageing telephone systems
- Employees using personal mobiles for work
- Several communication suppliers
- Plans for growth
- Offices that may move or change
It can be particularly valuable when communication problems are starting to affect customer service or employee productivity.
Unified Communications for different sectors
Accountancy firms
Accountancy practices need reliable and professional communication with clients.
Unified Communications can help accountants:
- Work securely from home and client sites
- Keep personal mobile numbers private
- Transfer calls between offices and remote employees
- Integrate communication with Microsoft 365
- Improve availability during busy periods
- Route calls to the right team
- Maintain client service during disruption
Housing associations
Housing associations often manage large volumes of calls across customer service, repairs, housing management and support teams.
Unified Communications can help:
- Route tenant calls more effectively
- Connect office, remote and mobile employees
- Support repairs and customer service queues
- Improve call reporting
- Provide continuity during office closures
- Connect several locations
- Integrate voice with Microsoft Teams
- Improve mobile working
Charities
Charities need communications that are flexible, dependable and cost-conscious.
Unified Communications can help charities:
- Connect employees, volunteers and trustees
- Support remote and part-time workers
- Reduce dependence on office-based systems
- Simplify supplier management
- Improve availability
- Make better use of Microsoft 365
- Support several premises or community locations
Multi-site businesses
Organisations with several offices or operational sites can struggle with inconsistent telephone systems.
Unified Communications can provide:
- One company directory
- Internal calling between sites
- Standardised call handling
- Centralised management
- Shared reception services
- Consistent reporting
- Easier onboarding
- More flexible business continuity
What should you look for in a Unified Communications provider?
A provider that understands your business
Technology should not be recommended before the provider understands how your organisation works.
They should ask about:
- Your employees
- Locations
- Customers
- Call flows
- Current contracts
- Microsoft environment
- Connectivity
- Security
- Business continuity
- Future plans
Clear pricing
You should understand:
- Licence costs
- Call charges
- Hardware costs
- Installation fees
- Number-porting costs
- Support charges
- Contract length
- Upgrade costs
- Early termination terms
- Connectivity requirements
A low headline price may not include everything you need.
Migration experience
Moving telephone numbers and call services needs careful planning.
Your provider should have a clear process for:
- Number porting
- Call-flow design
- User setup
- Device configuration
- Testing
- Training
- Go-live support
- Contingency planning
Connectivity knowledge
Cloud communications depend on reliable networks and internet connections.
A provider should be able to assess:
- Available bandwidth
- Network quality
- Wi-Fi
- Firewalls
- Routers
- Backup connectivity
- Traffic prioritisation
- Remote access
A telephone platform may be excellent, but the user experience will still be poor if the underlying network is unsuitable.
Security understanding
Communication platforms contain valuable business information.
A provider should consider:
- User authentication
- Administrator permissions
- Mobile-device security
- Call fraud
- Account compromise
- Recording security
- Retention
- Data protection
- Joiner and leaver processes
- Software updates
Ongoing support
Your employees will need help after the system goes live.
Find out:
- Who provides support
- How users request help
- What is included
- Which hours are covered
- How faults are escalated
- Who deals with third-party suppliers
- Whether changes are chargeable
Our approach to Unified Communications
1
Discovery
We start by understanding your organisation.
We review:
- Users
- Locations
- Existing systems
- Telephone numbers
- Call flows
- Devices
- Contracts
- Internet services
- Microsoft licences
- Mobile working
- Reporting needs
- Business continuity risks
2
Communication audit
We identify what is working, what is causing frustration and what may be unnecessary.
This can uncover:
- Unused numbers
- Duplicate licences
- Expensive legacy services
- Poor call routing
- Weak remote-working arrangements
- Limited resilience
- Unmanaged applications
- Missing security controls
- Connectivity problems
3
Solution design
We design the communications environment around your organisation.
The recommendation may include:
- Hosted Voice
- Microsoft Teams Phone
- Unified Communications software
- Mobile applications
- Desk phones
- Headsets
- Contact-centre features
- Call recording
- Business connectivity
- Internet failover
- Managed Wi-Fi
- Microsoft 365 integration
We explain the advantages, limitations and costs of each option.
4
Migration planning
We create a clear implementation plan.
This includes:
- Number porting
- Call-flow configuration
- Auto-attendants
- Queue setup
- Device delivery
- User creation
- Connectivity checks
- Testing
- Training
- Go-live support
- Contingency arrangements
5
User training
A new platform only delivers value when employees know how to use it.
Training can cover:
- Making and receiving calls
- Transferring calls
- Using voicemail
- Changing availability
- Joining meetings
- Using mobile applications
- Managing call queues
- Working remotely
- Reporting problems
6
Ongoing management and support
Stratiis can continue to support and manage the environment after implementation.
This may include:
- User changes
- Number changes
- Call-routing updates
- Device support
- Supplier management
- Licence management
- Reporting
- Security reviews
- Connectivity support
- Strategic planning
Frequently asked questions
How much does Unified Communications cost?
The cost depends on:
- Number of users
- Required features
- Platform
- Telephone usage
- Devices
- Contact-centre requirements
- Call recording
- Integrations
- Connectivity
- Installation
- Training
- Support level
Most cloud platforms charge a monthly fee per user, although hardware, installation and connectivity may be priced separately.
We provide clear pricing after understanding your requirements.
Can we keep our existing telephone numbers?
In many cases, yes.
Existing numbers can usually be transferred through number porting.
The process depends on your current provider, the type of number and the accuracy of the account details.
Do not cancel your existing service before the number transfer is complete.
Does Unified Communications replace our telephone system?
It can.
A Unified Communications platform may replace a traditional office telephone system while also adding messaging, video and mobile-working capabilities.
The exact design will depend on your requirements.
Do we need new desk phones?
Not necessarily.
Employees may be able to use:
- Existing compatible phones
- New desk phones
- Headsets
- Computers
- Mobile applications
- Tablets
Some organisations choose to remove desk phones for many users while keeping them for reception, shared areas and employees who handle large call volumes.
Can remote workers use the same business number?
Yes.
Remote employees can normally use the business communications platform through a computer, mobile application or compatible phone.
Calls can show the company number rather than the employee's personal number.
Will Unified Communications work if the internet fails?
Cloud-based communications depend on internet connectivity.
Protection may include:
- Backup broadband
- 4G or 5G failover
- Mobile applications
- Automatic call forwarding
- Alternative working locations
- Call-routing rules
Resilience should be designed as part of the project.
Is Unified Communications secure?
It can be secure when it is properly configured and managed.
Important controls include:
- Strong authentication
- Multi-factor authentication
- Secure administrator accounts
- User access reviews
- Mobile-device management
- Fraud prevention
- Software updates
- Joiner and leaver processes
- Recording protection
- Data-retention policies
Can Unified Communications integrate with Microsoft 365?
Yes.
Many platforms can integrate with Microsoft 365, Outlook and Microsoft Teams.
The depth of integration depends on the solution selected.
Can Unified Communications support several offices?
Yes.
It can provide one communications environment across several offices and remote locations.
Employees can share directories, transfer calls between sites and use consistent features.
Is Unified Communications suitable for a small business?
Yes.
A small organisation may benefit from having professional call handling, mobile applications, video meetings and business continuity without maintaining a traditional telephone system.
The solution should be kept proportionate to the organisation's real needs.
How long does implementation take?
The timescale depends on:
- Number of users
- Number of sites
- Number porting
- Connectivity changes
- Hardware
- Call-flow complexity
- Integrations
- Contact-centre features
- Training requirements
A straightforward project may be completed relatively quickly, while a complex multi-site migration will require more planning.
Make communication easier for your people and customers
Your communication systems should help employees do their jobs.
They should not make customers wait, force remote workers to use personal devices or leave your team juggling several disconnected applications.
Stratiis can help you bring voice, video, messaging, meetings, mobiles and Microsoft services into one more consistent environment.
You will receive practical advice, clear implementation planning and ongoing support from a team that understands your wider IT environment.
Let's review how your people communicate today and identify where a more joined-up approach could help.
