For companies around the world, Unified Communications (UC) has evolved from a nice-to-have solution for workforce alignment, into an essential investment. In an era defined by distributed workforces and the constant quest for improved productivity, few things are more important than a synchronised landscape for communications.
However, developing a strong UC strategy is about more than just implementing the right platform. As companies continue to transition into the age of the cloud, working with huge streams of information on a daily basis, challenges are emerging. Specifically, companies need to determine how they can protect their data in the UC landscape, even with employees working across numerous different apps and tools, in a distributed environment.
Evolving regulations and compliance requirements are opening the door to new opportunities for service providers and partners to act as a crucial security partner for their clients. Recently, I spoke with Dr. Scott Allendevaux, Co-founder of the Allendevaux & Company to explore how UC data protection is introducing new opportunities for UC providers.
The Changing World of Data Protection
While the importance of data protection may be nothing new in the UC landscape, the risks and challenges facing businesses have evolved in recent years. Transforming threat landscapes have prompted the need for new strategies and enhanced efforts in data protection.
First and foremost, we’re now dealing with more data than ever before. Approximately 99% of the world’s data has been produced in the last 10 years, and it’s growing exponentially each day. All the while, we’re moving more of the data we produce into the cloud, to leverage a landscape that’s scalable enough to adhere to this massive increase in volume.
Scott told me while the cloud delivers benefits for businesses reliant on huge amounts of data, it has also become a target for hackers and criminals. Data loss, data breaches, and ransomware attacks have become increasingly common, forcing companies to rethink their security strategies.
“Managed service operators and UC vendors around the world are recognising that we’re all putting more of our lives into the online world. Protecting data is becoming just as important as protecting financial information or healthcare records.”
This increased focus on the value of data has prompted a significant change in the approach businesses take to managing data. In the past, a lot of organisations had rather limited strategies in place for data protection. Now, they can’t afford to go without the right strategies, particularly when the fines and penalties for data breaches can be astronomical.
“Security requirements have transformed, and companies are being forced to treat data with a higher level of care and respect. It’s not enough to just have a password anymore. We need to encrypt data, wherever it is, on whatever channel and keep private information private, and ensure we’re defending our customers.”
Due Diligence is on the Rise
The increased focus on data protection in the UC landscape is only growing as UC and collaboration services become a more commonplace component of the enterprise communications stack. Companies are becoming more focused on finding ways to stay up-to-date with the latest regulations and protections.
“We’ve seen companies performing a lot more due diligence in recent years. They’re working with us to develop a clearer understanding of what security they require, what privacy standards they need to implement, and where their most sensitive information lies. They’re thinking more about the security risks in the UC landscape, from the meetings they have with teams, to where audio recordings are stored and managed. The transforming UC space means companies need to think more holistically about the types of data they’re working with.”
As Scott noted, it’s not just a matter of protecting audio calls anymore. Today’s businesses need to think about everything from messaging and chat, to video meetings. There are even new challenges to think about in the use of generative AI and conversational assistants, and how they process the data they’re given for self-service interactions.
“The data landscape has come so far in the last ten years, and today’s vendors and resellers need to accommodate for that, while also considering what the next 10 years is going to look like. I think this mindset is going to accelerate the need for data protection even more. Inevitably ten years from now, there will be even more to think about when it comes to securing and protecting data.”
Scott told me he believes data protection will become a common component of our everyday lives, and the demand for it is only going to increase. Ultimately, data protection strategies need to be intertwined into every aspect of the communication stack, and vendors are beginning to realise this, alongside the companies they serve.
“We live our lives online, and we can lose our livelihoods in the digital world too. Data protections are there to really ensure we can continue to honour and respect each other in this changing space.”
Win BIG with Trust as a Service
Allendevaux views data protection not just as a necessity in today’s world, but as an opportunity for vendors, service providers, and resellers looking to better-serve their customers. The company works with partners on developing solutions for data protection that can be embedded into the UC solutions organizations are already using every day.
Scott told me his team is seeing the demand for this kind of support and assistance beginning to increase. UC operators and service providers are seeing the benefits of implementing data protection into their offering, in the form of happier, more satisfied customers.
“We’re partnering with companies to help them build a culture of privacy and security. We’re helping them understand their obligations to the world of data protection, and ensure they can comply with expectations. That means we’re helping them to develop a deeper sense of trust with their audience.”
As Scott noted, trust is perhaps the most important thing any business can cultivate in today’s competitive space. With data protection solutions from Allendevaux, service providers and UC operators aren’t just building trust with their customers, but helping them to capture the respect and trust of their end-users too.
“It’s not just bigger companies that benefit from building this foundation of trust either. Even the smallest organizations need to ensure they can support their customers in protecting their end-users. We’ve helped certify companies with as little as 10 people, and they’ve still seen amazing results.”
Scott told me that by investing in UC data protection solution, today’s resellers, managed service providers, and UC operators can unlock better security and privacy practices, ensure compliance with laws around the world, and protect themselves from damage to both their data and reputation.
“It’s about demonstrating due care and due diligence, which every organization has a responsibility to do. Most importantly, it instils a sense of trust that operators can actually process the data they encounter lawfully, and responsibly. It really does help an organization be able to win bigger deals, establish stronger differentiators, and build better relationships with customers.”
