We’ve all been there. We get a calendar invite from a customer or vendor, but the online meeting service is unfamiliar. When the meeting starts, we fumble around with the link and dial-in, wasting precious time and guaranteeing an awkward start to the call. Even worse? We can’t join the meeting because our systems can’t communicate.
These collaboration roadblocks between organisations are real. When a company rolls out a new technology, such as Skype for Business, its users become ingrained in that service. The workflows and features become second-nature, and familiarity reigns.
But what happens when you need to meet with someone outside your company, who does not use that same tool?
For many people, this is extremely difficult. Their videoconferencing service doesn’t talk to other videoconferencing services or devices, leaving users stuck somewhere in the middle. For instance, what if Company A has deployed Skype for Business on their desktops, but Company B (its law firm) uses videoconferencing room systems, and not Skype for Business? Those employees cannot call their attorneys on their videoconferencing units, and the attorneys cannot join Skype meetings from their units. When users cannot join meetings quickly and easily, enterprises face:
- Lost productivity – Participants lose time fiddling with an unfamiliar service and interface
- Obsolete investments – If participants cannot connect videoconferencing units (SIP/H.323 devices) to their service like Skype and vice versa, they’ll stop using them
- Frustrated users – If users cannot easily meet with third-party contractors, vendors, consultants, or other outside companies on video, adoption of collaboration tools could plummet
One of the most common challenges that enterprises face is connecting standards-based videoconferencing units with Skype for Business. The popularity of Skype has exploded over the past few years as more organisations deploy Office 365. In fact, a recent study by Spiceworks found that Skype for Business is one of the most common collaboration tools, with 36 percent of organisations using it. Employees love Skype, too, for its intuitive chat, presence, and audio call features, and this adoption trend is only expected to continue.
However, organisations that use Skype for Business must consider how often employees collaborate with external companies and how a communication challenge like this could impact the business.
Breaking down barriers
To address the interoperability issue, companies need a way for their systems to talk to each other, and cloud-based solutions that bridge these ecosystems are the answer. It’s no surprise that enterprises are moving to the cloud. While digital transformation (DX) may be a buzzword to some, this shift is taking the business world by storm. In fact, it’s the leading factor in cloud adoption as companies look for ways to work smarter. Need more proof? A recent survey by LogicMonitor found that a whopping 83 percent of enterprise workloads will be in the cloud by 2020.
Enterprises should evaluate cloud-based solutions that act as a gateway between videoconferencing services and videoconferencing devices. These solutions provide the best of both worlds – familiar, easy video meetings and a high-quality experience for boardrooms and huddle rooms.
They extend the reach of videoconferencing so that users can connect with others on any service or device. For instance, you can call Skype users or join Skype meetings from any standards-based videoconferencing device, or call into that device using your familiar Skype interface. You can also join meetings from other videoconferencing services including Videxio, Zoom, BlueJeans Network, Cisco Spark, and more.
In today’s global culture, companies must be able to work with third parties just as easily as they do with their own colleagues. Business communications do not stop, and you must ensure that your company has the right tools in place to keep up with this fast-moving environment. Chose a service that enables video to work in harmony with your existing workflows to bring devices, technology, tools, and users together in the cloud. Interoperability is not an excuse.
Guest blog by Michel Sagen. Michel is Chief Operating Officer and Co-founder of Videxio, a cloud video and collaboration provider that makes business communication easy, fun, and productive. Its video meeting and calling service seamlessly connects devices and users through the cloud for professional videoconferencing. Built on a dedicated global network, Videxio is interoperable with endpoints, extends the reach of Skype for Business, and offers live streaming and recording.
