The world is changing. Fixed office locations and nine-to-five schedules are fast beginning to feel like relics of another age.

And as flexible working becomes the norm, we need new ways of keeping in touch with colleagues. Popping over to someone's desk and giving them a tap on the shoulder just isn't possible when everyone's working from home. (Unless you fancy a lengthy drive and a possible restraining order.)

Enter: unified communications, or UC.

UC solutions bring together all the communication and collaboration tools we need in our new, more flexible world. Everything is accessible from one central dashboard, so you avoid the faff of managing multiple logins and juggling different applications.

Need to send an instant message? Or call a colleague? Or set up a video meeting? A good UC platform should let you do this quickly and easily, all from the comfort of your dashboard.

What's all this about bees, then?

Well, that's because we're going to talk about one UC platform in particular. One that takes lots of inspiration from our busy, buzzy, laws-of-physics-defying friends.

It's called, appropriately enough, x-bees.

X-bees is made by Wildix – the same minds behind one of our favourite VoIP phone systems. Here's what they have to say about x-bees:

"[It's called x-bees] because bees are the most collaborative animals in nature. They are fast, productive and most of all, cooperative in working to expand their hive."

Makes sense. For bees, teamwork is second nature. Each member of a hive has a well-defined role and knows innately how to act in a given situation – whether it's gathering pollen or fighting off an invading horde of army ants.

X-bees promises to do the same for your business. It aims to make collaboration so easy, you'll hardly have to think about it. In short, it helps you be like a bee.

(Hopefully, though, you won't have to deal with an aggressive ant invasion anytime soon.)

Can improving our communication tools really bring out our inner bees, though? Obviously, we're not going to sprout wings and start bothering flowerbeds… but is there at least some truth to the claim?

Ladies and gentlemen, we're about to find out…

FACT: some bees work from home

It's true! While we think of bees as living in bustling hives, many species are solitary creatures. In fact, out of approximately 270 bee species living in Britain, around 250 are solitary bees. 

These winged homebodies are quite happy to gather pollen and do other bee-y things from the comfort of their own nests. They don't even need a hive, thank you very much.

In this case, x-bees does a better job than the insects that inspired it. Because it has a raft of tools that help homeworkers connect to their hive… err, HQ.

Employees can access video conferencing, instant messaging and more, all from a single, easy-to-learn communications suite.

FACT: bees do long-distance communication

Sort of.

Like many animals, bees have access to an olfactory world that's beyond the capabilities of our underpowered human noses.

If a queen bee wants to send a message to her hive, she'll release a pheromone that's picked up by all the workers in the vicinity. As soon as they detect this special scent, they know exactly what to do.

Now, we can't rely on pheromones to communicate with colleagues, and we really don't want to think about how that might work anyway.

But – who cares? You've probably got a better communications solution in your pocket right now.

See, x-bees is built on clever technology called WebRTC. This allows it to work seamlessly across any internet-connected device – laptops, desktops, smartphones, tablets… you name it.

As long as you have access to a modern web browser, you can access x-bees. The whole platform is browser based, so you don't have to worry about platform incompatibilities or slow, bloated apps.

Pfft… who needs pheromones?

FACT: bees are serious about security

Remember we said queen bees use pheromones to communicate? Well, she's not the only one with this superpower. Worker bees use scent cues too.

If a worker is attacked, it lets out an "emergency" scent that lets her pals know they need to come to the rescue.

Suddenly, the aggressor isn't faced with a tiny defenceless insect, but a whole swarm of angry, buzzing bees, ready to sting.

Again, x-bees seems to have taken cues from its six-legged counterparts. Because, like the insects that inspired it, x-bees has robust security features built in.

And it's all thanks to that clever bit of tech: WebRTC.

Because WebRTC allows communications tools to be delivered in-browser, x-bees is inherently more secure than its software-based competitors.

Most browsers include cutting-edge security safeguards as standard. The biggest browsers, like Chrome and Safari, have whole teams of security experts working to identify and fix flaws.

Can you say the same for your instant messaging app? Or your video conferencing software? Probably not.

X-bees takes the features of these disparate programs and delivers them using your browser's built-in encryption. Now that's a buzz-kill for any would-be hackers out there…

FACT: bees make terrible salespeople

[Body]

Bees are terrible at closing a deal. They just buzz about like they own the place, looking for nectar and stinging prospects at random.

Why are we telling you this? Well, because we've been saving x-bees' best feature for last – its incredible sales-boosting capabilities.

See, x-bees isn't just any UC solution. It's specially designed to help sales teams generate and nurture leads, all from one intuitive, collaborative dashboard.

Here's how it works. You add a tiny bit of code to your website, which generates a chat widget or click-to-call button. This lets visitors get in touch with your representatives with a single click.

This could be via a text chat, voice call, or even video meeting.

In any case, they're routed through to the x-bees system, where your sales team can work their magic, providing useful advice and heaps of good old-fashioned charm.

And here's the really clever bit: x-bees remembers returning prospects, even if they're calling from a different device.

All chat histories are saved on a customer-by-customer basis. This means it's easy to recall pertinent details ("of course I remember your dog's name, Mr Smith"), or for other staff to step in if a colleague is absent.

It used to be that a dropped chat meant a lost lead. But with x-bees, you'll never lose track of a prospect again.

Sorry, bees. You just didn't stand a chance on this one.

What's next?

Want to know more about x-bees and Wildix's other awesome UC solutions? Check out our dedicated page here.

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