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When natural disasters struck and traditional and mobile communications failed, people and enterprises may find Web- and cloud-based communications more reliable.

Below are three benefits that businesses can gain from the use of cloud-based collaboration, according to Avaya, a US-based business communications solutions provider.

Many organizations today deploy communication and collaboration solutions but usually within the “walls” of their enterprise. The other way is by using technology to assist in universal collaboration. Universal collaboration trumps unified communications by delivering on-demand collaboration and customer service capabilities -- voice, data, video and messaging, but also presence, location, sequenced applications and multivendor integration.

All of the capabilities enable an entirely new collaboration and customer service model that is not just limited to the enterprise but can be scaled up for the benefit of customers and vendors as well. 

For Internet and cell phone users, downloading “apps” has become second nature in recent years. But what if you could offer your company’s workforce a communications “app store” -- a platform where the workforce could download individual apps, such as call-recording or multipoint conferences, to devices? Or they could take advantage of entire solutions that you have downloaded for use across the business.

The benefit of this structure can also be extended through SaaS-based applications that employees can use by subscription, on demand. A hosted cloud-based collaboration solution such as Avaya web.alive, enables organizations to meet, sell and learn. Avaya’s web.alive connects participants from around the world in collaboration sessions featuring 3D visuals and spatial audio.

Turning over the management of the communications systems to a service provider through an Infrastructure-as-a-Service, Platform-as-a-Service and Communications-as-a-Service model brings ease, flexibility and cost-efficiency for some businesses. In fact, recent industry research indicates that outsourcing adoption, including migration to managed services, tripled from 2006 to 2010.

Organizations are doing this to overcome barriers associated with adopting next-generation technologies, such as large capital investments and spending for training and tools.