What’s Microsoft Lync? An emerging unified communications tool

The unified communications (UC) market has experienced healthy growth over the years, as more businesses have opted to replace a disparate approach to collaboration with an integrated one where workers, regardless of channels, can converse with colleagues, clients and customers. Microsoft Lync is gaining steam as a popular UC solution in this space, delivering instant messaging, Voice-over-Internet-Protocol and video conferencing capabilities.

What’s more is that Lync is a part of Microsoft Office 365 – the company’s cloud-based Office suite, which allows employees to access their favorite productivity products such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint, OneDrive, OneNote and Outlook anywhere at any time. Workers in the field can use Lync for video conferencing purposes or screen sharing to view what a coworker is looking at on his or her computer or other device, so they are always connected to the office in some capacity.

All of these capabilities lead to a more efficient and productive workforce, enabling businesses to reduce operating costs by replacing aging communication tools with more agile solutions. Microsoft highlighted how users, such as UniCredit Business Integrated Solutions, have benefited from incorporating Lync into their operations. Stephan Gerold, head of eCollaboration at the firm, said the organization has reduced its travel budget by nearly $136 million annually using desktop sharing and conferencing functions.

Customer service is also improved greatly with Microsoft Lync. Lea Roelle, member service manager at LA Fitness, emphasized Lync is used for all sorts of tasks, including renewing memberships, front desk management and updating billing data.

“With the presence information I get from Lync, I can reach out to a colleague and resolve customer issues much faster,” Roelle said.

Microsoft expected to gain UC market share
Microsoft is trending up throughout the global UC industry. A Transparency Market Research report said this sector – which includes both cloud-based deployments and on-site ones – was valued at roughly $23 billion in 2011 and, between 2012 and 2018, will expand at a compound annual growth rate of 16 percent, reaching $62 billion. The firm listed Microsoft as one of the leading vendors expected to thrive during this time frame.

The report also noted that a number of industries are using UC suites, including health care providers, governments, enterprises and educational institutions. These fields will be the main adopters of the solutions to decrease operating costs, improve efficiency and increase productivity with real-time communications.

If your company is interested in learning more about Microsoft Lync and other products, you can receive support for all of the vendor’s tools from one source. At Beringer Associates, we help clients adopt Microsoft tools and provide continued maintenance and updates once the solutions are in place.

We are a Microsoft Certified Partner, fully understanding how suites such as Lync, Office 365 and others can benefit your business. With more than 20 years of experience assisting companies, we can be your one-stop shop for all of your Microsoft-related needs. Contact us today.