What can Microsoft Lync provide your SMB or enterprise?

Microsoft Lync is gaining significant traction in both the enterprise space and small and medium-sized businesses market. A T3i Group survey from June discovered 38 percent of enterprises have completed trials for Microsoft’s communications solution, while 16 percent of SMBs have done the same, up 24 percent and 8 percent respectively from the previous year.

The study also found 34 percent of enterprises and 18 percent of SMBs are currently conducting trials for Lync. Fewer enterprises – 23 percent – are planning to start such initiatives than the 46 percent of SMBs expected to take this path. Overall, only 5 percent of the former companies have no plans to implement Lync, compared to 20 percent of SMBs.

What makes Lync so effective?
Today’s workforce is no longer restricted to performing tasks in an office setting. Plenty of employees are dispersed throughout different locations, including their own homes. This makes unified communications solutions essential to connecting all workers to one another for collaboration and efficiency purposes.

Microsoft Lync includes a robust feature set that offers instant messaging, video conferencing and Voice-over-Internet-Protocol capabilities that enable workers, regardless of physical location, to communicate with one another without limitations.

For employers, Lync makes it possible to avoid spending money on separate Internet and phone bills. Internet-connected devices such as PCs, tablets and smartphones can receive and make calls through the Web.

As is the case with Microsoft products in general, Lync integrates well with the vendor’s entire suite of offerings. Businesses currently using Office 365, Microsoft Dynamics CRM, SharePoint and the like can incorporate Lync throughout the entire organization, offering end-users the tools to perform their jobs more effectively day in and day out.

Lync is making significant progress in UC industry
With all of these benefits rolled into one suite, it is no wonder Lync is rising up the ranks throughout the UC industry. An Infonetics Research report indicated that although the PBX – private branch exchange – phone market struggled during the first half of 2014, the UC sector improved 31 percent from the same period in 2013.

“The trends we reported on the enterprise telephony market in the first quarter of 2014 carried over into the second quarter, with the PBX market continuing to take hits as businesses evaluate cloud alternatives and hold onto existing solutions while investing in unified communications (UC) applications,” noted Infonetics Research Principal Analyst Diane Myers.

Myers added UC solutions were resilient during the first half of the year, thanks to demand for solutions to boost productivity and enhance employee flexibility.

While the PBX segment dipped, Microsoft stood tall with its offerings. The research firm said Microsoft was one of only three UC service providers to post year-over-year revenue growth in the PBX sector.

Adopt Lync, other Microsoft products with one partner
Enterprises and SMBs thinking about implementing Lync or any other Microsoft product may think they have to partner with several vendors to take advantage of these different tools. With Beringer Associates, customers can receive all of their Microsoft support from one place, avoiding disparate strategies that may not always mesh with their unique operational goals.

A unified approach to IT is far more effective than having too many moving parts that just complicate matters instead of making improvements. Beringer is a trusted source for Microsoft suites. The managed IT services provider is a Microsoft Certified Partner, providing the most up-to-date knowledge for all of the Microsoft product offerings.

Beringer works closely with each customer to identify its IT infrastructure, end-user requirements, operational goals and industry standards to develop a long-term plan for all of its tech products. Once a system is in place, Beringer delivers continued support to the entire architecture. If solutions require updates and maintenance, Beringer handles all of these tasks so companies can focus on themselves instead.

UC suites such as Lync figure to achieve even greater adoption rates in years to come. The solutions are too valuable to pass up, especially for businesses trying their best to reduce spending and encourage collaboration. Firms interested in Lync or any other Microsoft product or IT system should contact Beringer today to fulfill any and all of their needs.