By Darach Beirne VP, General
Manager at Flowroute, now part of
Intrado
With a new year comes new
developments in the world of enterprise cloud communications. As 2021 recedes
in the rearview, 2022 shows promising developments on the horizon. Last year,
the industry, like many others, was significantly impacted by the shift to
remote work. Enterprises needed reliable tools to keep employees engaged and
better serve customers, with a multi-channel communication focus and voice at the center of that
strategy. As such, demand for timely and effective solutions grew. Below
are three predictions for the enterprise cloud communications industry in 2022.
No.
1: Enterprises will turn to cloud communication providers to set strategy and
ensure business resiliency
As the workforce shifts toward
hybrid models, enterprises seek ways to connect through robust voice solutions.
Communication is key for success in any realm, and that is truer now than ever
with the lack of in-person connection. Communications service providers (CSPs)
that offer flexible, carrier-grade, cloud-based communications solutions have a
unique upper hand in guiding enterprises on their journey to keeping employees
and customers engaged.
In 2022, CSPs will become more
than just vendors - they'll become strategic partners. CSPs play a central role
in helping enterprises modernize their communication stacks and cloud
communication strategies. This year, we'll also see them act as a guiding post
for enterprises looking to maintain resiliency and optimize their IT
investments.
For example, a CSP can help
companies establish partnerships and integrations with collaboration tools such
as Microsoft Teams, Zoom, WebEx and Salesforce. Businesses will also look to
CSPs to help them navigate changing regulations that impact customer engagement
across all platforms. This could include further changes to enterprise
messaging campaigns with 10DLC or ensuring they have the right security
features in place, such as E911. Further, businesses will secure enhanced
reliability and redundancy through more strategic integration with CSPs.
No.
2: Companies will strive to modernize their communication investments as a way
to boost security
In April of 2020, security
companies saw an increase of around
140% more ransomware attacks in remote working environments. Due to dispersed
workforces, it has become increasingly difficult for corporate security teams
to protect and monitor information. Many businesses' have scattered data being
hosted on several personal laptops and computers and on company devices
connected on-premises, making overarching management a complicated feat.
Additionally, phone fraud is
growing at a rate of 29% per year, according to the most recent communications
fraud control association (CFCA) report. Today, voice over internet protocol
(VoIP) devices are the primary vehicles used by fraudsters to commit telecom
fraud. VoIP phone systems are a technology that allows phone calls to be made
through an internet connection, rather than a typical landline or a mobile
network. With Internet Protocol (IP)-based telecom services becoming more
prevalent, enterprises and CSPs alike must take a vigilant approach to protect
their VoIP systems and cloud-based communications services.
This vigilant approach is also
necessary when working with traditional circuit-switched telephone networks
like Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). Because they have
no endorsed or easily-created encryption, they are
highly vulnerable to the opportunity for lines to be tapped. The switch to
cloud-based phone systems can help solve this issue, but VoIP services also
need to be encrypted for interactions to remain secure and difficult to observe
through virtual private networks (VPNs).
To thrive in this fast-changing
business ecosystem, companies
need to prepare for a future that will continue to shift. With the
increasing popularity of cloud applications, companies seek more secure levels
of communication that will combat possible data leaks from remote workers. We
will see IT decision makers turn to their CSPs to deliver secure encryption
throughout communications touchpoints.
No.
3: More companies will embrace software solutions to power cloud and virtual
contact centers
A contact center "handles inbound and outbound calls, but
it also serves customers over digital service channels." These
channels enable customers to connect with businesses by the channel or medium
of their preference. In recent years, we've seen more companies turn to
software solutions to power their customer support efforts. And with today's
hybrid workforce and growing customer expectations, it's even more important for businesses to begin
familiarizing themselves with cloud
contact centers and virtual contact centers.
Virtual contact centers are
similar to cloud-based contact centers but differ in that they typically have
agents that work across different locations. Customers have high expectations
and are increasingly expecting personalized services. Businesses need to adapt
quickly and enable communication experiences that meet evolving needs while
minimizing the impact of pandemic-related disruptions for customers.
This year, more companies will
invest in Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS) solutions that help modernize
their contact center and support offerings. With this shift and leveraging
cloud-based telecom services, we'll see a convergence of CCaaS, Unified
Communications as a Service (UCaaS), and Communication Platform as a Service
(CPaaS). Through this newfound collaboration, carriers can offer "Bring
Your Own Carrier" solutions that make it easy for businesses to merge
their telecom resources with their collaboration platforms. This shift will
allow enterprises to leverage integrations and use one platform to power call
center capabilities rather than operating over disparate systems.
In conclusion, companies turn to
software-centric carriers to manage the quality of service and communications
with customers. Throughout this year, enterprises will collaborate with CSPs to
set strategies to ensure business resiliency, modernize their communication
stacks to boost security and evaluate the role hosted contact centers can play
in their communications strategies. As the workforce continues to favor hybrid
and remote models, these adjustments will continue to shape how businesses
maintain customer satisfaction and long-term success.
##
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Darach Beirne is Vice President
and General Manager at Flowroute, now part of
Intrado. With over 25 years of experience building and leading B2B customer
success, Darach leads Flowroute's dedicated customer support team, driving
strategy for customer success and improved customer satisfaction. Prior to
joining Flowroute, Darach led professional service and sales engineering teams
for providers such as Contenix, Huawei/3Leafsytems, InQuira, Siebel/Scopus and
Ingres. He has also assisted high-tech companies in developing strategies to
improve the customer experience and increase scalability.