Vodafone and RingCentral team up to make unified comms easier for businesses

Two people texting on smartphones
(Image credit: Pixabay)

Unified communications should now beeasier and more seamless for businesses across the UK to implement due to new enhancements to RingCentral’s and Vodafone’s Business Unified Communications (VBUC) platform.

In a press release, the two companies promise businesses will be able to turn their mobile devices into “full extensions” of the office, whether to work remotely, or on the go. 

At the heart of these enhancements are RingCentral’s mobile apps, the application of a Unified Directory System, and an intuitive, unified experience for calls, messages, and video meetings in HD quality.

Improving the worker experience

The two companies said that the decision to make these enhancements came after extensive market research. Surveying more than 2,000 workers across businesses in the UK, RingCentral and Vodafone found that issues with broadband connectivity (25%), technology not working properly (23%), video calls freezing mid-flow (15%), and calls dropping out (11%), were some of the biggest issues plaguing hybrid and home workers. 

There were also issues of a more personal nature, the report further claims, as people missed “office banter” (23%), or were annoyed by family members walking in on virtual calls (20%). Some (16%) said they were feeling lonely working remotely or in a hybrid environment. 

For Claire Harris, Head of Small, Medium and Enterprise at Vodafone UK, turning mobile devices into a “true and complete” extension of the office is positive news for remote workers. “We will continue to add new enhancements to the VBUC platform over time, as we continue to empower businesses with the tools they’ll need to rapidly adapt to an ever-changing work environment.”

For almost a decade now, remote working has been slowly moving into the mainstream, with market analysts expecting the trend to surpass office workers in the near future. The pandemic has significantly sped up the process, which prompted telecommunications providers and software developers to quickly improve products and services to facilitate the change. 

“We are delighted to go one step further with our partnership with Vodafone, bringing to the market a powerful differentiated solution that puts mobile at heart of the user experience. VBUC new capabilities will enable customers to work anywhere on any device, simplifying the way they communicate to answer most of today’s hybrid work concerns,” added Yves Desmet, Senior Vice President of International Service Providers, RingCentral.

Sead Fadilpašić

Sead is a seasoned freelance journalist based in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. He writes about IT (cloud, IoT, 5G, VPN) and cybersecurity (ransomware, data breaches, laws and regulations). In his career, spanning more than a decade, he’s written for numerous media outlets, including Al Jazeera Balkans. He’s also held several modules on content writing for Represent Communications.