What is UC Service Management? An Introduction 

Understanding UC service management 

What is Service Management
Unified CommunicationsInsights

Published: March 10, 2020

Rebekah Carter - Writer

Rebekah Carter

The Unified Communications landscape has evolved drastically over the last couple of years. As the way we connect continues to transform, accelerated by digital growth and innovation, the technologies and solutions involved with “UC” are changing.  

In the last few years, we’ve seen the rise of everything from “UCaaS” (Unified Communications as a Service) to UC&C (Unified Communications and Collaboration). UC Service Management, or “UCSM”, is another concept that has begun to gain attention in the modern world. Yet, countless companies still don’t fully understand what this term means.  

Today, we’re going to define “UC Service Management”, and explore what kind of benefits UCSM solutions can deliver.  

Defining UC Service Management: The Basics 

The term “service management” is nothing new. It’s a phrase that most people associate with the IT industry. For instance, “ITSM”, or IT Service Management, is the phrase used to refer to how IT teams manage the comprehensive delivery of IT services to customers. It includes all of the processes and activities involved in ensuring processes, people, and technology operate according to expectations. 

So, what is UC Service Management? 

Essentially, it’s a concept that follows the same principles of “IT Service Management”, but focuses on the Unified Communication ecosystem instead of the general IT space. Just like in an IT environment, UC innovators need to be able to monitor, manage, and provision services and solutions effectively in order to access the right results.  

UCSM solutions are designed to give companies the visibility and control they need over their unified communication stacks so that every organisation can unlock the full benefits of their technology. With UC Service Management systems, organisations can gain useful insights into systems which may have previously escaped the attention of traditional IT monitoring tools.  

UC Service Management systems can allow companies to improve quality management in their communication ecosystem, pinpoint the source of connectivity issues, improve network configurations, and even streamline zero-touch provisioning methods.  

What are the Components of UC Service Management?  

As a relatively new concept in the Unified Communications space, UCSM solutions are still in the early stages of growth. Companies offering these solutions can provide a wide range of different tools and technologies designed to give organisations more control over their communications systems.  

Ultimately, the core purpose of UCSM is to help organisations preserve a consistent level of UC service by offering access to analytics, monitoring capabilities, configuration and provisioning tools, and compliance systems. Some of the core components of the UCSM solution may include the following: 

  • Cloud configuration systems: UCSM solutions are often extremely valuable for companies building a zero-touch provisioning strategy for their technology. In the world of hybrid and remote work, companies can rarely afford to send engineers out to each employee to ensure they have access to the right tools. A UCSM solution can make it easier to provision and configure technologies, policies, and access settings from a single, remote environment. 
  • Quality management: Service management tools in the UC landscape can provide business leaders with better insights into the core issues causing communication problems. Monitoring and analytical tools can track everything from the sources of lag and jitter to problems with technology performance. There are even solutions with built-in troubleshooting capabilities and automation systems which allow businesses to address and repair issues quickly.  
  • Integration capabilities: A UCSM solution can also act as a platform for bringing a multitude of different UC solutions together. Companies can use an all-in-one platform to connect systems for accounting, analytics and reporting, UC fulfilment, recording, and more, from multiple UC vendors. This allows organizations to build a best-in-class solution for their needs without being tied to a single vendor.  
  • Security and compliance: With UC Service Management tools, organizations can improve their compliance standing and minimize security risks. Some tools can use automated systems to track potential compliance issues and data breaches, sending automated notifications to the right employee when a problem is detected. Most offerings will also come with role-based access control capabilities so that leaders can assign specific tools and privileges to different members of staff based on their needs.  
  • Communication management: UC Service Management tools allow companies to determine how they want to manage calls and bandwidth throughout their network. It’s possible to create routing and connectivity strategies within an online platform and make sure every conversation is as efficient and consistent as possible.  
  • Device management: Service management tools can also help companies to maintain control over devices distributed among employees in the UC landscape. The right solutions can help companies to track device health from a distance, roll out updates to critical software, and even ensure resources are being used effectively.  
  • Diagnostics: Many UC Service Management tools also come with environments which allow companies to diagnose the cause of various communication issues effectively. These solutions can track where bandwidth limitations are impending on communications or provide insights into where the UC strategy may be struggling. This can help businesses to make better decisions for future growth. 

Why is UC Service Management Important? 

As companies become more dependent on a range of Unified Communication tools and services offered by different vendors and ecosystems, UC Service Management is growing more essential. Many organisations don’t rely simply on one UCaaS provider to leverage all the necessary video conferencing, meeting, recording, and analytics systems.  

In growing companies, it’s possible to have multiple different vendors, carriers, and providers connected in the same UC ecosystem. When all of these solutions are siloed, managing the technology and ensuring everything remains secure and reliable can be extremely difficult. A suite of tools for service management removes the need to handle the administrative tasks associated with the UC landscape manually and reduces the risk of errors.  

UC Service Management tools can effectively connect the distributed parts of a company’s Unified Communications strategy for a truly synergised and aligned system. The result is more productive employees, upgraded visibility, reduced costs, better uptime, enhanced communications, and fewer security issues.  

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