By Willona Sloan
Do you often find that you’ve wasted half an hour, an hour, or longer searching for an important message, only to realize that you can’t remember in which of your accounts the message was received? Was it an email, text, or a Facebook message? With multiple email, social media and networking accounts, tracking communications can be time-consuming.
It might be time for your small business to consider streamlining your communications system. You can invest in a small-scale solution that will synchronize multiple accounts, or create a unified communications solution that can bring the entire organization to one platform.
Often, for small businesses communication systems can feel like an afterthought. Because of the expense, it might seem that you are merely safety-pinning services together. Here are a few options to consider as you look for ways to restructure your business’ communications system.
Sync Multiple Email Accounts
Applications such as Mailbird might offer the right solution for your small businesses. This Windows-based service offers the capacity to integrate the apps you use most, including Facebook, Whatsapp, Twitter, Dropbox, GoogleDocs, Slack, Evernote and Google Calendar, with multiple email accounts. With powerful search options and a unified inbox that is populated by all of your connected apps, this type of service can help to create a more efficient organizing system for your business. A benefit is the ability to try it for free and or upgrade to the Pro or Business versions.
VMware offers streamlined solutions that can sync multiple accounts or link an entire company on a single platform. The Boxer application allows users to use a single app with integrated mail, calendar and contacts, and integrate accounts from Exchange, Office 365, Outlook, Gmail, Yahoo and iCloud email systems, as well as third-party business apps like Box, Evernote and Google Drive.
The service includes pre-determined email replies, predictive move to folders and one-tap sharing of calendar availability. For companies wanting to invest in a large-scale solution, the VWware Workspace ONE offers a secure platform that can connect users across the organization.
emClient is another Windows-based service that can also link and sync email accounts, including Gmail and Outlook, and it’s free to try.
Check out this list of additional applications that can help you to sync and manage multiple accounts.
Unified Communications
Although making an investment in large-scale technology may not be in your budget, a unified communications system just might be worthwhile. For small businesses, unified communications can offer big returns in terms of increasing organization and collaboration. With services that allow users to combine technologies such as phone, video conferencing, instant messaging, email and other communications channels using cloud-based technology, team members can access the systems both in the office and remotely.
A UC Today recent article, “Selecting the Best Unified Communications Platform for Your Small Business” highlights unified communications benefits. “The rise of cloud technology, combined with a growing need for communications systems that work seamlessly together has led to the UC revolution. Unified communications aims to deliver a connectivity strategy that breaks down the walls of the legacy business space and gives small businesses access to a single-pane-of-glass solution for communication,” states Rebekah Carter.
Services such as Monday, that help to simplify workflows, integrate calendars, apps and accounts and increase organizational communication and collaboration are the wave of the future.
Learn more about the variety of unified communications platforms available to determine what solution could work for your business.
We would love to hear from you. What communications tools does your business use?
