The communications landscape is one of constant transformation, and innovation. This has been particularly evident in the last couple of years, with the challenges of the pandemic pushing companies to rethink every aspect of the way they work. Experts say the events of 2020 accelerated digital transformation by around 7 years, hurtling us into a new future of communication and collaboration. As companies in the UC sector work to maintain the momentum of this fast-paced, creative marketplace, what can we expect from the years ahead? We spoke to innovators Aircall, BlueJeans, Content Guru, Talkdesk, and Thetalake to find out.
What are the most significant customer trends from 2021?
Innovation is often empowered and enhanced by the changing demands of companies, and the challenges they need to overcome. In the last year, we’ve seen a number of new innovations emerging throughout the communication landscape, from increasing demand from differentiated customer experiences to a new focus on remote and hybrid work. Here’s what our experts had to say about the trends of 2021. Heidi Elmore, Head of UCaaS for Zoom:
Zoom’s Heidi Elmore told us that a recent study they commissioned highlights the rapidly increasing demand for remote work. Most businesses expect over a third of their employees to work remotely after the pandemic, thanks to the flexibility and versatility offered by the work style. The shift to remote work is prompting an increased need for technology catered towards hybrid work. According to Heidi, “Zoom unveiled dozens of new innovations that empower the hybrid workforce and meet this growing demand. This includes Zoom Rooms Smart Gallery, which we’re enhancing to enable remote workers to be represented equally on the screen with other in-office participants, creating a more inclusive meeting experience for everyone.” Heidi also noted the hybrid workforce has prompted a demand for a more inclusive workforce. “With employees remote, hybrid and in-office, customers need to accommodate all settings and ensure a level playing field.” David Gardner, VP of Research, and Insights for Talkdesk: Talkdesk VP of Research and Insights, David Gardner says the modern, digital age means customers have more control in how they choose to interact with brands. There’s a growing demand for fast, frictionless, and more personalised service, no matter the context of the interaction.”
“The CX stakes have never been higher. As businesses strive to deliver better, differentiated CX, the modernization movement of 2020 and 2021 will further expand. Financial services, healthcare, public sector organizations, and more will increasingly offer the type of CX traditionally associated with retail and hospitality companies”
Notably, Gardner says the technology powering these solutions won’t be a one-size-fits-all investment. Every industry will need their own tailored technology. Jeff Reekers, Chief Marketing Officer for Aircall: Aircall’s Chief Marketing Officer, Jeff Reekers said the pandemic has shifted customer expectations and behaviour son a massive scale. Most companies are seeing an increase in inbound conversations from customers. Indeed, a recent study from Aircall found customers believe quick resolutions during the first interaction with a brand is the key to good customer service. “This highlights the benefit of integrated communication systems, which allow businesses to streamline their functions to provide a consistent and smooth experience across all platforms to meet the needs of customers effectively.” Aircall believes providing businesses with a dedicated solution for voice that integrates with their Help Desk, CRM, and other channels will be essential going forward.” Lydia Runnels, VP of Product Management for Bandwidth:
Bandwidth’s Lydia Runnels says working from home has been a major trend over the last year, and it’s something we’re likely to continue seeing going forward. The new style of hybrid working is increasing demand for tools like Microsoft Teams, and interoperability of those solutions with existing technology. The popularity of “BYOC”, Bring your own carrier tech is on the rise too. “Consolidation and Centralization. Providers, platforms, and major players were either consolidating with M&A and scooping up complementary functionality like Bandwidth’s own acquisition of Voxbone (and the more recent Zoom Five9 attempt) or they were creating strategic integrations and alliances (8x8 Voice and Teams etc) to facilitate interoperability and enable enterprise choice and flexibility. In tandem, enterprise customers were attempting to consolidate vendors as they migrate and centralize on more nimble platforms that are investing in the characteristics they desire and compete on. All indicators point to this trend continuing to accelerate in 2022.” Eric Spadafora, VP and General Manager for BlueJeans: VP and General Manager of BlueJeans, Eric Spadafora, says the first trend BlueJeans is seeing is a new category of video devices being provided to the remote work community, to help deliver better video experiences. These tools are providing a new digital canvas for annotation, whiteboarding, and other collaborative features.
“The second trend is the need for a seamless and comprehensive events platform. Hybrid events aren’t going anywhere. BlueJeans Events leads the virtual event industry with the ability to host up to 150,000 worldwide interactive event participants multi-language support for over 70 languages”
BlueJeans have also noticed a rising need for innovative technology embedded in video conferencing platforms, such as BlueJeans’ most recent integration with Google Glass for hands-free meetings which “delivers stunningly clear streaming video and enables all participants to have pristine line-of-sight into vantage points that matter most for a ‘see what I see’ experience.” Martin Taylor, Deputy CEO and Co-Founder for Content Guru:
Martin Taylor, the Deputy CEO and Co-founder of Content Guru told us hybrid working became a permanent fixture in all industries during 2021. The demand for hybrid working to continue is crucial for both employees in search of more workplace flexibility, and businesses who can see employee and customer experience are intrinsically linked. “While flexible working is hugely appealing in many ways, businesses have had concerns around how workforce management (WFM) might work away from the closely supervised physical contact center. As such, contact center leaders in 2021 have sought out distributed working solutions that offer effective Quality Management (QM) capabilities. Screen recording, auditing and performance management can provide exactly the same insights to supervisors as when agents are in the contact center itself.” To keep companies running as normal during these difficult times, band and front-office teams need better alignment. Integrated access to tools like MS Teams can help with this. Marc Gilman, General Counsel and VP of Compliance for Thetalake: According to Thetalake’s Marc Gilman, innovation from UC platform providers, and an increased focus on providing comprehensive collaboration suites across video, voice, are common trends in the last year. Companies have been investing more in interoperability between different tools, particularly when it comes to using services from Microsoft Teams, RingCentral, Zoom, and Webex. We’re also seeing an expanded set of use cases and more external usage of UC platforms according to Marc, they’re “no longer just a tool for internal communications, but powerful and effective way to engage and communicate with customers and other key stakeholders.”
What will be the top challenges facing end customers in 2022?
Transitioning into a new year of innovation for 2022 means companies should have a lot of exciting new opportunities to look forward too. However, risks and challenges will be present too. We asked our experts what they believe will be the biggest challenges for 2022 customers. Heidi Elmore, Head of UCaaS for Zoom: Head of UCaaS at Zoom, Heidi Elmore noted that keeping employees engaged in a hybrid workforce is particularly challenging for many companies. Zoom is attempting to address this problem with the introduction of new functionality, like Zoom Apps:
“Zoom Apps makes meetings more engaging, productive, and fun. There are apps for brainstorming and collaboration, which allow teams to get things done together. Or you can boost efficiency and streamline your workflows with apps for note-taking and task management. Additionally, you can create unique, fun moments with apps for games, icebreakers, virtual backgrounds, or wellness”
Heidi also acknowledged the importance of making hybrid work more engaging and collaborative, without compromising on security. “While this hybrid workforce creates flexibility and scalability, it presents a complex IT challenge that will require a more thoughtful approach to security.” David Gardner, VP of Research, and Insights for Talkdesk:
David Gardner believes challenges will definitely be on the rise around security issues, fraud, and other common privacy concerns in a rapidly changing communication environment. To survive in this new landscape, companies will need to invest in the right tools. “This includes leveraging a technology solution that provides AI-enhanced monitoring, detection, and notifications to help protect sensitive customer data and the integrity of their contact center operations. By proactively taking control of their contact centre’s security management, organizations can mitigate risks from data leakage, fraud, identity theft, and privacy-related breaches.” Jeff Reekers, Chief Marketing Officer for Aircall: According to Aircall and Jeff Reekers, end customers have a negative opinion of service when they’re forced to wait long times or interact with multiple representatives. Consumers want solutions to their problems fast.
