It is time to move on from Unified Communications: Welcome to Converged Contact

Converged contact brings communications, productivity and network solutions into one seamless environment. It blends smart network access, CRMs, ERPs and other apps contact centre functionality, marketing automation and more. The term more accurately reflects how people work today and will provide better control over their availability, the management of their business and their personal identities. They can even improve work-life flow while maximising organisational efficiency. Benefitting users and creating opportunities for partners, converged contact goes beyond traditional UC.

Understanding its necessity helps to explain converged contact. We live in a world full of multiple types of contact existing as separate siloes; fixed voice, mobile, video, chat, email, SMS, and social channels. Plus, connectivity and the user experience are inconsistent, and mobile is isolated.

People have to think about jumping from one form of communication, collaboration or productivity to another, contributing to technology overload. They are bombarded with incoming contact and risk being ‘always on’, contributing to burnout and impacting quality of life. 

Furthermore, it is hard to have a seamless flow of customer conversation throughout an organisation, not just for voice but other channels. So, omnichannel marketing remains complicated, with reduced visibility of customer engagement journey. Also, employees do not have all the tools and information they need to manage customer contact effectively, particularly when on the move or working remotely.

Technology islands removed

Imagine if all those standalone, individual ways of connecting could be seamlessly integrated into one user-controlled, context-based and flexible environment. Everything is accessible from anywhere, across different networks, apps and devices, internally and externally, planned or ad-hoc, business or personal, one-to-one or in a group, and with a consistent user experience. That is converged contact.

Physical and digital barriers disappear, so everyone feels as if they are in the same room, with a digital workplace that fits around them invisibly and effortlessly. Users also have the controls to define their availability and manage their personal and business identities, meaning they can maintain a better work-life flow while maximising organisational productivity. The walls between IT and comms are broken down, and there can be a consistent user experience. For example, all PSTN, Teams and mobile calls are handled the same way.

Better customer contact

Smartphones become intelligent customer engagement systems with access to CRMs and other apps across multiple contact channels. In addition, there is a flow of customer conversations throughout an organisation: not only for voice but true omnichannel, including video and chat. Engage with customers from within CRMs and apps, launch a customer call or take an incoming enquiry with instant access to customer information even before connection. Bring customer service into the organisation’s heart, with all information and inbound/outbound contact channels in one, easily accessible fluid environment.

Converged contact can dramatically improve how people communicate, collaborate and work, and will help partners to develop and differentiate new solutions. Converged contact is the future, and it is already here from Enreach.

This article was published in UC Today's UC Market Guide on April 14^th. Download here the complete market guide.