According to PwC’s Remote Work Survey, 83% of employers and 71% of employees call remote working a success.
However, hybrid working creates new demands for effective business communications with greater mobility, flexibility and UC requirements. A quick fix for this can involve a mash-up of mobile phones, landlines and UC apps. This can create a disjointed experience for both employees and their customers.
There’s a further dilemma for many organisations who have previously made substantial investments in hardware, handsets, servers, communications servers and other IT equipment. Simply throwing these away to enable cloud transformation involves writing off investment in equipment that often has many years of operational life ahead of it.
Everyone understands that cloud solutions offer great flexibility for the 92% of employees that the PwC survey found are requesting to work remotely for at least one day a week and that cloud is well-suited for enabling hybrid working. Yet, for organisations that have invested in customer premise equipment such as PBXs, digital transformation must be handled in a cost-effective way that does not waste existing investments.
A new take for on-premises phone systems is needed that enables cloud-based voice on desktop devices and mobile apps to create a unified experience that also utilises existing on-premises phone system assets. Such an experience streamlines the process of enabling hybrid workers while providing consistent service and this can be achieved without having to invest in new infrastructure.
Best of both worlds
The good news is that this is possible and a hybrid approach can be taken to adopting cloud communications. A hybrid system delivers the best of both worlds by building a new communications solution around an enterprise’s existing infrastructure.
NEC has launched CONNECT BRIDGE to this end. The solution builds on the UNIVERGE BLUE Cloud Services Platform and enables existing on-premises NEC phone systems to use the power of cloud-based services and solutions while maintaining their existing system. This solution also has integration capabilities with non-NEC systems.
With CONNECT BRIDGE, existing NEC customers can migrate to the cloud at their own pace, while adding cloud-based functionality to their platforms. This transition allows users to collaborate in the office, at home, or from anywhere with integrated video conferencing, chat, file sharing and more.
The advantages of this approach are already resonating in the market place. “We are a beta channel partner for the UK release of UNIVERGE BLUE CONNECT BRIDGE,” says Tom Pearce, the Managing Director of Equations Voice & Data Communications.
“It’s a game changer, providing cloud as an add-on to existing on-premises phone systems. Improved functionality and retained investment are a win-win all round.” – Tom Pearce, Managing Director of Equations Voice & Data Communications
