UC Service Management 101

Your Guide to UC Service Management Software

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uc service management 101
Unified Communications

Published: February 1, 2020

Rebekah Carter - Writer

Rebekah Carter

In a world where businesses rely on countless crucial pieces of software each day, the key to success is in finding a way to manage everything seamlessly and effectively. Excellent management tools are how business leaders and CIOs stay agile in an environment that’s constantly changing.

Unfortunately, in the past, keeping track of everything from your contact centre to your back-end file management has been a complicated process. It’s only recently that vendors have begun to introduce new solutions for a complete birds-eye view of the business landscape.

Service Management tools take a significant amount of strain off growing companies by giving them a space where they can monitor everything from quality of service to the risk of fraud and data breaches. Today, we’re going to be introducing you to the world of service management in the communications landscape, and how it works.

What is UC Service Management, and How Does it Work?

The concept of service management began in the IT and networking landscape. It referred to a solution that could provide CTOs and CIOs with a helicopter view of their entire enterprise. This all-in-one overview made it easier to assess things like network performance, security breaches, and more. Using graphs, charts, and notifications, leaders could track down the bottle necks that were preventing excellent outcomes.

In the same vein, service management in the communication sector provides today’s teams with the insight that they need to deliver better user and customer experiences. When you can see where agents are struggling with contact centre calls, and when conversation volumes are spiking, you can make informed decisions on how to enhance your environment.

Service management tools also offer remote access to a communication environment, so that technology experts can provision technology, provide permissions, and remove access to tools from a distance. This is crucial in an environment where many members of staff are beginning to operate remotely.

Like many other aspects of the communication market, service management tools come in a range of shapes and sizes, with features to suit each company’s needs. For instance, a service management solution might come with location tracking and real-time WFM data reports. You could also access things like automatic failover report, redundancy, and reporting and analytics in the same space. Just some of the things that businesses can do with service management tools include:

  • Easy provisioning: With remote technology based in the cloud, business leaders can easily onboard new employees and deliver permissions to staff members from a distance. This is essential in a globalized environment, where team members might not be present in the office.
  • Track software performance: Service management tools allow business leaders to track the essential components in their business. When lag happens, you can track down the source of the issue and eliminate any potential bottle necks.
  • Access professional services: Many service management vendors offer professional services to assist with things like support and security. This makes it easier to reduce things like data breaches and improve user experience.
  • Engage employees: Some tools come with gamification tools like wall boards and leaderboards so that you can show team members who’s solving the most problems or taking the most calls on any given day.
  • Improve security: Service management tools may come with access to various solutions for security and compliance. For instance, you could access voice and screen recording, encryption services, and granular access controls.

Service Management Trends

As the communication environment becomes more complex, business leaders are relying on service management tools to provide an end-to-end view of their stack. According to the Forrester report issued in 2019, artificial intelligence and RPA are combining with the service management stack to provide access to a more cognitive enterprise. Forrester believes that this smart business environment with a granular view of all operations will make teams more effective.

In the years ahead, we’re expecting to see the rapid introduction of various trends in the service management space, including:

  • An increased focus on the cloud: As the communication landscape continues to add new platforms and environments into the mix, the only way to track your full-end-to-end stack will be on the cloud. Business leaders will need an all-in-one space where they can monitor every customer interaction, every employee action, and every touchpoint. The cloud is the only space that’s flexible enough to grow and evolve at the same pace as a business.
  • Artificial intelligence: Artificial intelligence in the service management space will make it easier for business leaders to get access to the information that they need in real-time. AI tools will be able to collect and process huge amounts of information quicker than any human being. Additionally, AI systems can even include automation elements so that business leaders can fix problems as soon as they happen. AI in the service management environment might also include access to virtual assistants that can provide useful information about various parts of the comms landscape in an instant.
  • Better protection for toll fraud: As the issue of toll fraud continues to rise, businesses from all backgrounds are looking for ways to upgrade their security. In the service management landscape, business leaders can implement forward-thinking strategies to protect their teams and customers. For instance, solutions implemented into a call centre could instantly track biometric markers in voices to determine if a person on the end of a phone is legitimate.
  • Omnichannel management: Business leaders and specialists don’t have the time to jump between multiple applications to track all aspects of the comms stack. Service management tools that provide full end-to-end omnichannel management will be critical in the years to come. This may also include access to multi-stack environments, where businesses can bring together overviews of tools from a host of vendors.

Read our latest Service Management Trends Round Table

Service Management Vendors

So, which companies should you be looking at for help accessing the best service management tools? As demand continues to soar, the number of options is increasing. We’re seeing a host of service management providers not just in the communication landscape but appearing from the IT industry too. The decision of which vendor is right for you will depend on a number of factors. However, you can learn more about your options here.

If you need help choosing the right provider, ask yourself:

  • What do I need to monitor? Are you looking for a company that can help you to track everything from your internal collaboration stack, to your contact centre?
  • What sort of security solutions do I need? If you’re worried about toll fraud and data breaches, then you might want to look into a vendor that has the best reputation in improving privacy, and compliance.
  • How future proof is my vendor? Is your service management company constantly rolling out new functionalities so you can access things like AI and IoT support?
  • What kind of customer service do they provide? How much support are you going to get when it comes to learning how to use your new tracking tools?
  • How is data collected and managed? If you’re collecting data on the back-end of your service management solution, where does it go? Do trends and personal data points have protection to keep them anonymous and compliant to GDPR standards?

Service Management Events

Service management in the communication landscape is still a relatively new concept. However, as businesses place more of their companies into the cloud, they’re looking for vendors that can help them keep track of everything from adoption rates to potential security breaches.

In many cases today, service management solutions are offered as part of a complete communications stack, alongside UCaaS or CPaaS offerings. There’s also technology available for service management in the CCaaS world. If you want to learn more about service management and how it can help you to develop a more secure and compliant environment for your business operations, why not check out some industry events?

Here at UC Today, we can give you a behind-the-scenes insight into some of the latest developments in the marketplace. However, if you visit your own local events, then you’ll also have the opportunity to speak with vendors face-to-face and view use cases for yourself.

Check out some of the best UC events showcasing service management solutions here.

Service Management Reviews

As valuable as events can be for giving you an overview of some of the latest and greatest technology in the communication landscape, sometimes you need the insight of a specialist. That’s why here at UC Today we’re constantly exploring the latest offerings in the management environment for our readers. With our UC service management reviews, you’ll be able to learn everything you need to know about the features and benefits of the top offerings in the landscape.

While the things that sway your decision of who to work with will depend on your unique needs as a growing and digitally transforming company, there are a few factors we recommend keeping in mind:

  • Features: What can you do with your service management technology? Can you track where your latest devices are using geographical insights? Are their artificial intelligence solutions and automation services built into your stack so you can quickly detect problems and solve them immediately?
  • Provisioning and ease of use: How easy is it to use your service management solution? Is provisioning new technology a simple experience that takes a matter of seconds? How quickly can you change the permissions that your users have, or onboard a new member of staff without compromising on security?
  • Compliance: How can you ensure that the data that you collect and use in your service management tools is compliant according to the latest standards? Do you have tools in place that allow you to adhere to the demands of things like PCI-DSS and GDPR? Is your information encrypted in transit and at rest?
  • Integrations and flexibility: How well does your service management solution integrate with the rest of your technology stack? Can you ensure that you have a complete end-to-end view of your entire environment, or are you dealing with silos because you’re working with multiple vendors?
  • Security and control: How much control do you have over your service management solution? Are you happy with the level of security that your provider offers? Can you choose exactly where your data is stored if that’s necessary in your industry?

Service Management Comparisons

After some in-depth evaluations of the current vendors in the market, and a trip to some local events, you may eventually narrow your options down to a few key choices. When this happens, you need a reliable way to compare your potential vendors.

Once again, it will be up to you to decide what matters most to your business when it comes to service management tools and functionality. For instance, you might be more drawn to service providers that can deliver customized solutions for your network. If you have a multi-stack environment, then you might need to look for an open environment that allows API and SDK integrations for a more complete end-to-end overview.

Another option that some companies may need to look into is the presence of fully managed network capabilities. A fully managed network service provider should be able to give you incredible quality of service, a geographically diverse infrastructure, and a reliable environment for business continuity. Many leading vendors in the marketplace today offer a wide selection of service management packages to suit different companies.

What’s more, make sure that the service management company or vendor that you choose can provide access to the right analytics and insights for your business. One of the biggest benefits of management tools is that you can use them to track real-time and historical issues in your communication stack. The right analytics will help you to overcome issues with latency and quality of service. At the same time, real-time alerts and notifications could prevent you from falling victim to severe security breaches.

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