In recent years the field of business communications has progressed in leaps and bounds. New developments seem to be being rolled out on a continual basis, building upon the success of previous innovations. To remain competitive it is essential that the modern business stays at the very forefront of the telecoms revolution.

This telecoms revolution is largely built upon the proliferation of internet users and mobile phone users. Moreover, significant developments have been made in accessing online services from mobile phones, therefore enabling access to such services from any location at any time.

Unified communications

With the significant development of business communications in recent years companies can very easily become inundated with communications hardware, software and infrastructure. Unified communications make it possible for businesses to consolidate many different channels of communication within a single user interface.

Unified communications may combine email, instant messaging, video messaging, conferencing and voice calls under a single piece of software which can be accessed from a personal computer. Such a system reduces business hardware and software requirements while simplifying communications for employees and therefore allowing them to make more efficient use of their time.

SMS and voice messaging

In 2011 5.6 billion people around the world were subscribed to a mobile phone service. This aptly sums up the vast potential to reach a global audience using communications that target mobile phone users. Such targeted communications present businesses with two primary avenues: voice calls and text messaging.

Both text marketing and outbound voice messaging can be used to market the company’s products and services on a large scale without the overheads associated with individual messages. Moreover, both voice calls and text messages can be used for other services such as order confirmation, booking confirmation, appointment confirmation and surveys.

Social networking

As of February 2012 Facebook had 845 million active users with more people signing up to this leading social networking website on a daily basis. Such a large target audience presents considerable opportunities for a business that is proactive in marketing its products and services.

With very little required in terms of resources and cost businesses can directly promote themselves to a huge global market. As well as marketing social networking websites can also be used for public relations and informative purposes. Any modern business would do well to make full use of social networking as it is at the very forefront of the telecoms revolution.

The future

As time goes by the use of modern telecommunications by both businesses and the general public will only increase. With mobile devices becoming prominent that utilise a wide variety of channels of communication including voice calls, text messaging, instant messaging, email, video messaging and social networking the potential of this market is obvious.

In order to stay both relevant and competitive in the modern world it is essential that businesses take full advantage of the telecoms revolution and all of the new technologies and services that have appeared as a result.

This post was written by Amy Fowler on behalf of Collstream, who provide text marketing and outbound voice messaging services to businesses of all sizes. Photo: Ollie Crayfoord