Movie-buffs will tell you that one of the greatest lines in American cinema came courtesy of actor Strother Martin. In the film “Cool Hand Luke,” he famously uttered the line “what we have here is a failure to communicate.” As business professionals, we all understand the importance of communication – and the need to do it well. If your business suffers from communication technology inefficiencies, then your employees will have a difficult time being productive.

With the advent and rise of email, text messaging and instant chats, employees too frequently rely on these forms of communication to interact with one another and your clients. Email and text are quick and convenient, but they do not offer the personal and effective communication business relationships require. Reliable audio and/or video conferencing systems could be the collaboration tools you need to enhance business communication.

Determine the Best Collaboration Tools for Your Business

Collaboration systems can vary in size, function and purpose within your business. For some companies, it is as simple as a few teleconferencing units in meeting rooms that allow for efficient communication during meetings and presentations. At the other end of the spectrum are fully integrated systems that are interconnected with video conferencing capabilities to provide clear, reliable audio and visual communication between your employees and your clients.

There are a variety of collaboration tools available; no two businesses are going to have the same needs or budget when it comes to communication. Below you’ll find a guide that discusses six of the best collaboration technologies available today. Three of them represent top-of-the-line solutions, while the additional three systems present reliable, low-cost options.

Premium Audio/Video Conferencing Systems

If you have the budget of a large business, you might want to take a look at the audio and video conferencing systems offered from the major players in the IT industry. Cisco, Polycomm, and Mitel have established themselves as industry leaders in collaboration systems. Their systems range from simple IP audio conferencing systems to complex audio-visual systems with HD recording capabilities.

Cisco | Telepresence

Firstly, there is the wide Cisco Telepresence product line designed to meet business communication needs, from the small startup to the Fortune 500 company. Their systems are flexible and scalable, offering your business access to conference management systems, telepresence servers, exchange systems, as well as web and video conferencing solutions.

Cisco | Voice

The Cisco Unified IP Conference Phone 8831 was built to provide full audio conferencing capabilities to small businesses and large enterprises alike. Whether you need to discuss one-on-one or hold large meetings, the Cisco 8831 can support secure, high quality audio communication for all participants.

Polycom | Soundstation

The SoundStation line of audio conferencing systems offered from Polycom provides HD voice clarity and a range of products designed to accommodate small meeting rooms or large boardrooms. All Polycom conferencing solutions are optimized for use with Microsoft products and delivers high quality audio.

Mitel | MiCollab

Mitel audio, web and video conferencing solutions offer feature-rich products designed to meet the needs of any business. Their business phone products range from simple digital and IP phones to conference phones and peripherals. All Mitel products come with a variety of optional features which support business communication across a range of desktop devices and applications. Your employees can be on any device that is available to them and still communicate effectively with their team and your clients.

Low-cost Options

For the business with a flexible, mobile workforce or a small budget, there are a number of low-cost options that provide the same benefits as many of the major providers mentioned above.

Google+ Hangouts

Google+ Hangouts allows a maximum of 10 users to chat in real time with any combination of camera, microphone or text. In addition to working on traditional desktop and laptop platforms, Google+ is optimized for use on mobile devices, with a dedicated app available for Android and iOS-powered smartphones and tablets. Best of all, Hangouts is a free service for all Google+ users.

Cisco WebEx

Cisco’s WebEx is a web-based conferencing platform that was developed as an alternative to more expensive, hardware-based conferencing solutions. Users have the ability to share screens, files, schedule a video conference through Outlook, and even access a “presenter” feature that allows each user to take a turn leading the meeting and sharing their documents. For a low monthly fee, users can use all of these features, and have mobile access from smartphones and tablets.

Marco Managed Video

Marco Managed Video is an affordable cloud based video conferencing solution. Rather than purchasing, maintaining and/or upgrading a vast network of hardware, your company can leave those concerns to Marco. In return, you get access to video conferencing in the cloud that is HD-capable, scalable and interoperable with a variety of systems.

The best collaboration tool is the one that suits your business needs. To determine which system that is, request a consultation with a Specialist.