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.

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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.