Remote Communication Trends That Will Transform Businesses In 2020

When 2020 dawned a few months ago, no one could expect it to be one of the most disruptive years in the history of human existence. Truly, it has changed our perspective towards life. While social distancing is now a norm, businesses have witnessed the greatest work-from-home experiment ever. And it seems that remote operations are here to stay because the virus is going nowhere for the coming months at least. The good thing is that organizations have adapted successfully, with advanced remote solutions that have enabled them to deal with the crisis effectively.

In today’s market, remote communication trends for businesses are more advanced than ever before. Before the evolution of Internet and technology, the idea of having a “remote” employee was unheard of just a few years ago. It wasn’t long ago that companies only employed these types of workers when necessary. These days, however, remote solutions for businesses have become common place.

When it comes to operating remotely, the biggest concern is related to communication because that’s what keeps the businesses going. Without proper communication between teams and with customers, you cannot expect to run smoothly. Thankfully, companies across the globe have discovered several remote communication solutions that have helped them sustain even in this crisis situation.  Apart from the solutions that are already in place, there are some more solutions and trends on the horizon as well. Let us highlight the ones that are ruling the business landscape in 2020.

Trend #1: Virtual Meetings are Real with Remote Workforces

Nothing matters more to business continuity than interactions, involving both employees and customers. But lockdowns and travel restrictions across the globe have literally redefined the face-to-face meetings and client interactions. With this, virtual meetings are perhaps the only means to communicate and stay in touch. Thankfully, applications like Zoom and Google Meet are saving the day for companies that always want to stay connected. The best thing is that the capabilities of these apps are huge. They can handle meetings with a few participants across the same city with as much ease as an international conference with thousands of participants across the globe. No doubt, we have found the way to be closely connected even while maintaining social distancing etiquette

Trend #2: Cloud-Based Solutions are Redefining Customer Experiences

Although much has been said about the potential of cloud based solutions in the context of business continuity over the years, all the hype has become a reality today. The entire applications that support business sales and customer support processes and operations now are actually running in the cloud. For example, you need to have cloud call center software in place if you want a virtual call center solution up and running to deliver seamless services to your customers even during the pandemic. This is something you cannot miss out on because you wouldn’t want to lose your customers today by being unavailable and inaccessible. Similarly, whatever solutions you may be using for internal meetings and team collaboration are also cloud based.

Trend #3: Virtualization is Keeping Businesses Connected

When it comes to remote solutions for communication, you cannot overlook the role of virtualization. As physical offices are locked down and people are working from home, businesses are ramping up their network infrastructure to enable secure data access from anywhere. And this is done by unlocking the potential of virtualization.

This is an equally important part of business communication because teams require access to shared organizational resources to be on the same page. Virtualization has emerged as the key solution as it renders all the scalability, flexibility, agility and cost-effectiveness that any company would want.

For instance, one of the most important remote communication trends for businesses along the lines of virtualization is that remote employees can access their business email on their smartphone. This is an incredibly convenient feature for any business, whether they have a physical office or not.

Fortunately, because of advanced smartphones, the workforce can now do this. Work isn’t just limited to what you can access through your laptop. Beyond just checking business emails, these smartphones can also enable the sending of files and other work-related documents. This has revolutionized how people communicate within a company.

In fact, many people can now use their smart phones as their main home office computer, depending on the kind of work they have to accomplish for the day. There are plenty of remote PC apps or software, like SalesHive, available that make it possible to access work emails and even documents on the go. It’s an excellent way to keep your business running smoothly without having to worry about getting back to the office to do everything.

Trend #4: AI and ML are Making Communication Smarter

Innovative technologies such as Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning are spearheading the remote solutions that facilitate business communication. It will not be surprising to see it becoming smarter than ever in the future, which surely is the silver lining of the situation. The communication systems will be continuously monitored by AI/ML systems that can actually empower networks to choose the best parameters to deliver content on the basis of network load, data type and number of users. With these smart decision making capabilities, networks will be able to deliver improved user experiences on their own.

Trend #5: Unspoken Communication Protocols are in Place

Apart from the technology aspect of communication trends, businesses are witnessing unspoken protocols being in place. With the move to remote model, the work-life boundaries are becoming blurred. In these circumstances, open and frequent communication is the only way to set expectations on groups collaborating and coming together for achieving common goals. It is important for people not to overcommit as they communicate with colleagues and customers. For businesses, the focus needs to be on keeping things simple and expectations realistic. They need to recognize that work flexibility is going to be gradual, regardless of the tech investments they make.

Trend #6: It’s not Just about Communication but Business Transformation

Although we are talking about remote communication trends for businesses in the pandemic era, it is not just about communication but business transformation as a whole. Again, this is an area where cloud based remote solutions offer a compelling advantage to organizations. These communication and collaboration tools are actually enabling transformation for enterprises so that they are able to operate without any glitches. And this business continuity advantage offered by cloud-driven solutions is not just for now but for the post pandemic world as well.

If you’re looking for a way to improve communication within your company, then you need to think about purchasing a communication system. You can choose from ones that are very basic and only allow you to read and reply to emails, ones that provide a more full-featured service, ones that provide voice and video call capabilities and more. It’s important to choose the right system for your company and your needs. The best way to do this is to contact a communication management company.

The integration of distancing-capable solutions into the business operations will be critical for all organizations, regardless of their size and scale.

Is Your Business Geared up for These Remote Communication Trends?

COVID-19 has made business owners realize the significance of business continuity and disaster recovery plans, which they once considered as only frivolous and unrealistic issues. The pandemic has shown that you can never be too sure and too secure, no matter how invincible your workplace culture and operations appear. There can be a disaster waiting around the corner, so you must always have a plan B ready to counter the crisis. Right now, the cloud has emerged as the biggest and the most in-demand technology when it comes to implementing remote solutions to keep companies in operation. While you will probably have embraced most of these trends, it is always good to stay one step ahead, specifically during the crises. If your business already isn’t leveraging all the modern cloud-based communication solutions, make sure that you do it right now. After all, it is a matter of survival and continuity!