It seems as though no-one can hold a conversation about the future of tech or communication for very long, without bringing up the concept of cloud computing.
The cloud has quickly emerged as a low-cost, highly scalable and highly versatile approach to managing modern business communications. Not only does it help to speed up your time-to-market, but it can also eliminate a lot of the cost and complexity involved with maintaining on-premises systems.
While it’s safe to say that the cloud has a lot of benefits to offer modern businesses – that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the cloud-way or the highway – at least, not just yet. One study by Panorama Consulting Solutions found that 85% of companies in 2014 were still implementing new on-premises solutions. Market data is showing that right now only 15% of phone systems are deployed in the cloud.. but it’s changing fast..
Taking the Right Approach to UCaaS
Some cloud enthusiasts are bound to argue that the decision makers at that 85% of companies mentioned above are old-fashioned or outdated. However, the truth is that these organisations aren’t necessarily just “stuck in a rut.”
There are legitimate reasons that decision-makers want to keep at least some of their communication strategy on-premises. For some, it’s all about better adoption rates, and for others, keeping data-based solutions in-house simply feels like a safer and more secure approach.
While UCaaS is definitely on the rise, with 51% of businesses ready to adopt cloud-based technology, communication strategies aren’t as black and white as simply choosing between on-premises or cloud. Both cloud and on-premises solutions offer a wide range of implementation options that ensure today’s companies have countless ways to make their migration, regardless of whether they want to go all-in with their cloud efforts or keep some solutions in the closet.
Revealing the Shades of Grey in UCaaS
The only reason for any company to move from on-premises communications to UCaaS is if they can see evidence of significant benefits arising from the cloud. After all, why bother spending extra money on throwing out your PBX hardware and replacing it with cloud solutions if what you have today is still working?
In a world where one-size-fits-all communication doesn’t work, we’ve got a range of different cloud-adoption strategies to choose from, including:
- Multi-tenanted Public UCaaS
- Dedicated Instance UCaaS
- Hybrid Cloud (part cloud, part on-premises)
- Virtualized in VMware or HyperV (public, hybrid or private)
Choosing your Stepping Stones to UCaaS
Ultimately, while many smaller companies and tech-savvy start-ups have immediately embraced the potential of the cloud, larger enterprises will struggle to shift their entire on-premises strategy within a matter of days. Bigger organisations have placed a lot of time and investment into their on-premises software, and they’re not ready to throw in the towel yet.
Fortunately, there’s no need to take a big-bang approach to UCaaS if that doesn’t work for your company. Hybrid cloud systems and the rise of interoperability from UCaaS vendors ensures that you can essentially create your own migration path to the cloud. You can actively choose which parts of your system you want to keep “in the closet,” and which you want to move into a cloud system, with no need for any wasted investments.
The rise of Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions has made this hybrid approach to cloud communications particularly easy for bigger and more innovative companies. With SaaS, you can implement the cloud-based strategies you need into your existing applications and networks while continuing to reap all the benefits of your on-premises PBX. It’s no wonder that the cloud shift rate through SaaS is three times faster than IaaS.
Cloud Communications to Suit You
For those worrying about the move to the cloud, the good news is that you don’t need to make an either/or decision between cloud and on-premises solutions. Even if you’re committed to your on-premises PBX, you can still access the cloud services you need to access a more flexible UC suite and deliver more convenient innovation for your company.
As the cloud environment becomes more open source, with plug-and-play as a service solutions emerging from a host of vendors, it’s becoming increasingly simple for modern companies to enjoy the benefits of the cloud, without giving up their PBX systems. The decision of how to move to the cloud is completely up to you.
