‘As-a-service’ and the cloud have brought liberation to businesses the world over.
This statement might sound dramatic, but consider the pressures IT departments are now under. Many are being asked to support a more flexible workforce that could be anywhere, while simultaneously improving operations and often with a reduction in spending.
As a result, organisations are on the lookout for any opportunity that both reduces expenditure and supports the company’s commitment to improving collaboration.
Overall, this changing buyer behaviour is transforming our industry. It is affecting how Unified Communications (UC) solutions are designed, delivered and supported. Many organisations are rethinking how legacy architecture is deployed and adopting more flexible ‘as-a-service’ applications that maximise the return on investment.
We want it now
It is fairly safe to say that few businesses are still sceptical as to whether Unified Communications improves collaboration, boosts productivity or enhances customer service. The countless use-cases available prove these benefits, however now more than ever advances in technology, deployment methods and service wraps are demonstrating what tangible financial outcomes are possible.
This is because of numerous factors:
- Better public internet connectivity which enables true workforce mobility
- Solution providers focusing on service assurance
- The growing acceptance of multi-vendor ecosystems
- Maturing managed services and ‘as-a-service’ solutions
- Flexible subscriptions and a shift to OPEX models
That said, even though these developments are improving the reliability and scalability of UC-as-a-Service (UCaaS) applications and platforms, businesses should always tread carefully. Two important elements need addressing first.
- The Network
- Security
The network essentially defines what makes a successful UCaaS deployment and what doesn’t. For example can the network support and sustain performance, especially with bandwidth-hungry applications being used across the network all of the time?
The network requires thorough testing across the business - from the boardroom, huddle spaces and the corner office furthest away from a access point to flexible remote workers who connect from other networks outside of the main corporate network.
