Written by Jeff Blackey, SVP Marketing, Broadview Networks
4 Steps in Preparing Your Business for Transition to Unified Communications
IT executives have been challenged to streamline technology
and spending, resulting in an industry-wide drive to unified communications
(UC). Many businesses adopting cloud-based UC find they can
downsize
their data centers, as they consolidate applications using the service. As the link
in an increasingly mobile workplace, UC is expected to surge as the UCaaS
market
grows
to $5.3 billion in 2018.
Cloud-based unified communications is particularly powerful,
offering scalability, continuity and ease of use. These attributes boost
productivity, allowing businesses to realize a strong ROI - in fact, 79
percent of companies that have completed post-UC installation ROI analyses
have met or exceeded goals.
As businesses prepare for the transition to cloud-based UC, they
should follow the below steps.
Determine the best
strategy for your business
Understanding the needs of your business is critical to UC success.
Enlist the support of executives and seek their input from the beginning, as
various departments may require different services or nuances. Understanding
the business will influence the features you prioritize when vetting solutions.
For organizations like Interact,
where employees regularly rotate between multiple offices, a flexible, cloud-based
UC solution is imperative to seamless customer communication and undisrupted
business operations.
In addition to understanding business needs, recognize how a
change in communications solutions could affect existing business infrastructure
or critical software such as Salesforce. Adopt a cloud-based UC solution that
has integration capabilities, streamlining workflows with the user in mind.
Choose a user-centric
solution
With employees and their productivity in mind, prioritize
ease of use when selecting a solution. If features are complicated or
counter-intuitive, then moving to UC will be a wasted effort, creating a
solution no better than the legacy system.
Cloud-based UC offers universal access and true mobility, a
necessity for the modern user. Solutions with one centralized dashboard give
users control of their personal preferences and profiles from anywhere. This flexible,
streamlined self-management reduces hassle, increases productivity and boosts
ROI. Employees who are able to easily access and make changes to their work
preferences in real time can eliminate the need for technical support, returning
valuable time to workflow.
Recognize the
importance of security and preparedness
Housing your UC solution entirely in the cloud offers major
benefits for backup
and disaster recovery. In the event of a crisis,
natural disaster or office closure, your business can remain connected and
retain access to critical data and files from anywhere. To ensure business
continuity, look for providers who can manage your infrastructure in secure,
geo-redundant data centers.
Also essential is considering your company's policies and
needs around privacy, security and data sharing and how they align with your UC
service. In addition to your own virtual security and encryption, choose
providers whose data centers offer carrier-grade security. Housing data
off-premise ensures secure access from any employee's location.
Consider long-term cost
savings
When comparing solutions, approach cost with a long-term
perspective, as cost savings are not realized as immediately as the benefit to communications.
Housing servers in the cloud is often much more cost effective, as businesses
don't bear the burden of maintaining the IT infrastructure. Staying ahead of
the technology curve can be costly for individual enterprises and SMBs, as new
services may require expensive and frequent hardware updates. By contrast, an
excellent cloud-based UC solution should include ongoing maintenance and
support, ensuring your technology stays up to date and fully operational.
Consider ROI in customer service and relations, selecting a
provider that integrates with your CRM software and offers advanced features
such as a virtual auto-attendant that routes calls and streamlines customer
service. Providers should include ongoing software updates, the latest
applications, and any required hardware, so you are not met with unplanned
costs.
The cloud is the foundation of a fully-optimized UC system,
and modernizing business
phone systems provides unmatchable benefits. Grounded by an understanding
of what both the business and individual users need, IT leaders can realize
long-term benefits with a secure and adaptable solution, positioning the business
to meet industry challenges and produce the greatest ROI.
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About the Author
Jeff
Blackey is the Senior Vice President of Marketing for Broadview Networks, one of the top 10 UC cloud providers in the nation.
Broadview's cloud offerings include OfficeSuite Phone, the easy-to-use hosted
phone system that is 100% cloud-based using technology unique to
Broadview. Mr. Blackey has more than 25 years of marketing management
experience in the communications industry.