Technology Reseller - v08

01732 759725 ENTERPRISE COMMUNICATIONS 32 teams operating remotely, a fixed point of collaboration isn’t enough to satisfy the communication needs of businesses. Instead, what’s needed are mobile- enabled collaboration tools. The challenge today is to unify on- premises PBX telephony with the benefits of providing universally accessible Unified Communication and Collaboration (UC&C). Enter hybrid solutions The answer to how you do this lies in hybrid communication solutions that have been developed to give IT departments the option to integrate existing PBX hardware with cloud-based UC&C offering key services such as presence, messaging, web conference, video, files and application sharing. This allows businesses to protect and optimise previous investments, whilst also enabling a gradual approach to cloud adoption – as business requirements shift, more services can be moved to the cloud. The deskphone – it just won’t go away This integration is important, because, for the time being, the deskphone is here to stay. According to Wainhouse Research, the deskphone remains the single most common communication device used today, with almost 85% using one for business communications. But – and it’s a big but – most users do not use just a single device. The same survey shows that upwards of 70% of end users leverage a combination of a deskphone, PC and mobile device. And, with new end user technologies such as VR, wearables and personal assistants coming to market, the number of us leveraging multiple devices is only likely to increase. Managing a multi-device mash-up – it’s hybrid again Business technology procurement needs to recognise this, but business operations tend to evolve gradually and don’t just jump from one technology to the next. A platform that gives equal support to ‘traditional’ and next-generation communications is the ideal solution. If a business was to jump and solely use the latest technology, it would risk alienating users and disrupting business, and lose value from its existing investments. Hybrid cloud deployments remove these risks by augmenting the existing with the new. They also have the benefit of being easier to deploy, support and maintain – removing the burden of complex software or hardware management. ‘Good enough’ not good enough – vendors need to open up Another key finding from Wainhouse Research’s study is that end users no longer accept ‘good enough’ quality from collaboration solutions. Its survey shows that quality is the top end user requirement, with 90% rating it as highly important. However, a true quality platform should also encompass the other four top requirements identified in the survey – workflow integration (70%), borderless communications (63%), mobility (54%) and global access (39%). Open architecture platforms make it easier to integrate collaboration tools into business processes and systems. A connected communications platform can bring together HD voice, video and workflow integration delivered across devices via the cloud, allowing users to work together and collaborate seamlessly – regardless of location or device. To get the quality users want, unsupported tools are ‘out’ and enterprise-grade is ‘in’. The transition to a new era of communications technology is not always plain sailing, and most organisations currently find themselves trapped somewhere between the legacy world of on-premises systems and the new world of cloud-based services – siloed and not truly connected. New Wainhouse research shows that most businesses use multiple vendors for telephony, with 75% using two or more, and 21% three or more. Alongside this, 33% have two or more Unified Communications (UC) vendors, with some using as many as five to deliver additional services. With so many moving parts, it’s no wonder organisations find it difficult to deliver a consistent and unified enterprise- wide communication experience to end users. In an era of flexible working and How to bring ‘Smooth Talking’ to enterprise communications Enterprise communications are struggling to meet the needs of modern workplaces as they become more flexible, collaborative and mobile than ever before. Add in connected devices, the rise of bots, advanced analytics, focus on regulatory security and privacy concerns and you have a communications landscape that is growing rapidly in complexity. Drawing on the findings of a new Enterprise Unified Communication and Collaboration (UC&C) Survey from Wainhouse Research, Moussa Zaghdoud, Senior Director and Head of Cloud Business Unit at ALE, explores the trends and preferences in business communications and the technology that exists to help end user organisations deal with this growing complexity. Moussa Zaghdoud

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