Cost Isn’t the Same Thing as Value in UCaaS

NEC says cheap UCaaS can hide bolt-ons; buyers should compare PBX, CCaaS and telephony quality to protect CX.

With enterprise adoption of UCaaS increasing, it is becoming apparent that the headline price of an offering doesn’t necessarily provide a true indicator of the overall value a service can deliver. Extra charges for essential services can significantly skew the cost of an apparently cheap service whilst other solutions in the marketplace lack telecom capabilities which can result in reduced voice quality and a shortage of call functions such as re-routing to the correct person or department.

Why voice matters to customer experience

“The absence of basic call or contact centre capabilities and telephony features has resulted in many dispersed teams and mobile workers utilising multiple communications solutions that have been linked together with a lack of coordination,” says Andrew Cooper, Sales Director, NEC. “This is far from ideal when a customer calls in and needs to be directed to someone who can deal with their query. Often, the only option is for the agent to say: ‘I’ll give you their mobile number,’ but imagine the impact of this on the customer if they were looking to place a substantial order.”

The effect lack of call routing is having on customer satisfaction is significant. The recent Contact Babel: The UK Contact Centre Decision-Maker’s Guide 2022 (19th edition) has uncovered that call abandonment rates have risen again, rising from 6.5% last year to 8.2% this year. That’s a sharp increase in any metric but if you apply that to the potential number of callers hanging up unsatisfied there is a clear and costly business issue to address.

“In UCaaS as in so much of life, cost isn’t the same thing as value,” adds Cooper. “A low cost UCaaS service might look appealing on a per-seat basis but once you tot up all the bolt-ons and assess the inflexibility and potential reputational damage services that have no telecoms heritage suddenly look to offer poor value.”

Beware hidden UCaaS costs

Cooper advocates:

Comparing UCaaS offerings in the same way you would a budget airline. The upfront figure may be small but, by the time you’ve added seat reservations, hold luggage and speedy boarding, an apparently more expensive airline may provide a better value experience

The same is true in UC so it’s important to ensure you are comparing the same capabilities and features when you assess which UCaaS offering to select.

Once you are comparing the same level of service, you can clearly see which provider offers the best value. In UCaaS, this comes down to assessing what PBX features are supported, which contact centre as-a-service (CCaaS) features are included at no extra cost, and whether the provider has the telephony capabilities your business needs to avoid lost calls and sales.

“UCaaS doesn’t have to be expensive or inefficient,” confirms Cooper. “A cloud-based single open platform, such as NEC’s UNIVERGE BLUE, brings together telephony features and quality voice in a package that enables investment to be lower than for comparable offerings. In addition, it leaves the way open for businesses to flexibly add locations, channels and applications as needed. Value has always been subjective but in UCaaS it should be the foremost topic.”