We all use different parts of the Unified Communications puzzle. Skype, Webex, Citrix, Chime, Slack, WhatsApp – the list is almost endless. We love them because it helps improve our ability to stay connected and get things done, inside and outside of the workplace.
At this level UC is easy – it consists of simple-to-use point solutions and everyone must be on the same platform to use them. But it’s not really “true” UC and as far as the workplace is concerned, we’re nowhere near exploiting the benefits of what analysts estimate will be a $57bn global market by 2024.
True UC is still in its infancy
The fact is that traditional voice calling based on PSTN networks has been around for 100 years, it’s reliable and consistent. Many firms have asked “why change?”, and those that have tried to have found that combining the benefits of UC data and voice calling is surprisingly hard. That is starting to change, however, and we in the channel are set to benefit – providing we upskill and properly embrace the changes that are occurring in this space.
The issue is that Enterprises still need a voice solution that answers, diverts and transfers calls in every location that the organisation has presence. Then it must integrate into whatever Contact Centre platform the organisation uses and deliver the same experience from the HQ, board room, train or coffee shop.
Move PBX to the Cloud and let everything else follow
One of the core issues holding the industry back is that UC Cloud adoption is still relatively low; typically, of our 4000 customers we estimate that only around 15% are using UC in the Cloud. There is a good reason for this; most PBX systems are on-premises, and firms have decided to keep that and the rest of their comms infrastructure together. However, it’s an outdated approach as most PBX systems can run from the Cloud these days. Making the move means that other infrastructure can follow, and firms can start to get the benefits of digital transformation (DX). Yes, it’s a buzzword, but running systems in the Cloud means they can “talk” to each other much more easily, the data becomes richer, and firms can find out more about how they’re operating than ever before.
As an example, giving staff their own analytics tool is incredibly powerful. It will tell them how many hours they spend in in meetings, how many hours they’ve been on calls, how many hours they spend travelling etc, and can really highlight productivity gaps and ways of improving processes, and once Cloud enabled everything becomes much easier to maintain. This is particularly true if using Private Cloud since it gives companies full control to run everything just as they would in their own datacentre, but without the overhead of powering and maintaining their own servers.
Adopting a coherent approach
It’s my view that we’re now at a “tipping point” in the market but the biggest danger is that with so many innovative solutions around, the temptation is to go for what’s “hot” now rather than taking a step back and looking at the comms infrastructure holistically. There are many firms I have seen that have done this; they simply end up with a mish mash of many different point solutions – none of which work together – and as well as taking up staff training time, it makes it very hard for firms to glean any data.
One of the current “hot” solutions in the market is Microsoft Teams, and Microsoft has been very effective in promoting Skype (and now Teams) as a PBX replacement. But there is still a lot that needs to be done by the channel to turn this promise into reality, and we think that the impact of Teams is still at least two years away. It doesn’t yet have Enterprise-grade SLAs and doesn’t integrate with Contact Centres, so is therefore not a true replacement…just yet.
But Skype for Business is booming. In the last year, we at GCI have seen an increase in adoption of it as the primary PBX and communications tool in the Enterprise and Public Sectors. In the last 12 months, our volume of users on Full Enterprise Voice Skype for Business has grown by 40% and we are unlikely to be alone; there is a huge opportunity for the channel and it’s big enough for all of us, but collectively we need to get it right so the market continues to be excited and not put off by hearing of the failures.
Regardless of what solutions are chosen, it must be coherent and there must be an underlying strategy. Companies – and the channel partners that support them – must think about interoperability. For example, will the UC system work with the Contact Centre function, and will it offer call recording and integrate with the room-based Video Conferencing? What analytics will be available, and can this give an overview of the entire business to improve performance? Only when these questions are answered is it possible to get staff buy-in and will true return on investment be realised.
Guest Blog by Dominic Hughes, Director Strategic Channel Partner Accounts at GCI
