Every company is constantly striving to improve its organization’s processes for sustained growth. In the current trend of the 4th Industrial Revolution or Digital Transformation, companies are engaged in various activities to maintain their competitiveness by rapidly embracing the latest digital technologies and adapting to the ever-changing environments.
From a company process perspective, communication systems play a critical role in company activities as a link between members or organizations and customers. As cloud technology becomes increasingly common with evolving IT technologies, there is a growing trend of change in the way communication systems used to be owned and operated by most companies in the past.
What is UCaaS (UC as a Service)?
Unified Communications refers to the efficient management of all means of communication, from telephony, e-mail, messaging to video conferencing systems, on a single platform. UCaaS (UC as a Service) is the service of a unified communications (UC) solution through a cloud service provider, which is the same as the existing on-prem unified communications solution in function but different in operation.
Only a few years ago, cloud solutions were often seen with doubts that it was not yet proven enough in the areas of security and options of customization. However, as cloud technologies and services advance, the market’s general concerns have been complemented, and cloud service providers are also offering cloud services at a more convenient and competitive price based on this technological maturity, increasing interest in UCaaS.
UCaaS offers many advantages.
Gartner Inc., a research firm, predicted in a recent report* that the cloud-based communications market will grow at an annual rate of 12.2% by 2023 to lead the future unified communications market. In 2019 alone, UCaaS has rapidly become one of the pillars of the communication market, with a 14.6% year-on-year growth rate.
* Forecast Analysis: Unified Communications, Worldwide (Gartner, Jan 2020)
Why is UCaaS, a unified communications service through the cloud, so rapidly being embraced in the market?
Scalability & Flexibility
UCaaS is optimized in the cloud environment which can provide the utmost flexibility in providing capacity expansion much easier than the conventional on-premise UC platforms. UCaaS does not require additional hardware but utilizes the data center’s hardware provided as a cloud service that through software settings can flexibly manipulate the capacity on demand. Therefore, UCaaS is seen attractive for its efficiency to the companies that have seasonal workloads or to companies like start-ups that would not expect to scale to their potential organizational bulk without costly adjustments according to the constantly changing circumstances.
Smart investment & expense management
The high upfront cost that could be a burden can now be minimized by using a cloud solution deployment. With a cloud solution there is no need to calculate the investment cost for an IT infrastructure, instead you simply focus on the needs of today without forecasting and analyzing the uncertain future capacity that may or may not be necessary. Most cloud service providers will give options for a PAYG (Pay as You Go) monthly charge model as a service, reducing the customer’s CAPEX by shifting investment cost to an OPEX for a more flexible management of cash flow.
Efficient use of company resources
As mentioned, UCaaS will optimize your investment in your IT infrastructure by enabling you to deploy a platform to meet the capabilities and capacity you need today and then scale as quickly as you need it. In addition, cloud platforms are maintained and managed by cloud service providers, eliminating the need to have separate in-house IT staff for maintenance. As a result, companies can maximize business performance by focusing their human and physical resources on their strategic areas through rational investments and operations.
The latest technology
Another great advantage of UCaaS is that you can always use the latest features and technologies. Cloud service providers periodically update and upgrade their UC platforms and apply new features and technologies to each site with less effort from remote locations. In addition, the cloud makes it easy to change systems as your business grows and your communication needs change. This means that you can quickly update or upgrade features to support your business needs, which greatly improves flexibility in changing business environments and technology changes.
By adopting UCaaS, you benefit with the functionalities from the conventional on-premise communications solution but at the same time benefit from additional merits like better expandability and flexibility that comes from utilizing the cloud environment. It’s surely a smart choice for your business communication. Click here and find more on iPECS UCaaS solutions from Ericsson-LG Enterprise.
The time has come. After much consideration you and your company have decided to transition your communications to the cloud. Congratulations! To make your transition a success, you still have some work to do. While your future cloud provider will do a lot of the work, there are three “must-do” steps that you need to make sure your cloud provider takes. These steps will help you navigate the transition, providing a look into the nuances that will guarantee the success of your transition to the cloud.
1. Assess the Quality of Your Network
To determine the quality of your network, your potential service provider must provide a network assessment. The network assessment will review your network to ensure that it can sustain your cloud communications. If there are problems that appear during the network assessment, your service provider can offer solutions, so that you can successfully move forward with your transition to the cloud. A network assessment looks at a few things:
The Configuration of your Network
Reviewing your network configuration will provide a look into any settings that can impact that quality of your calls. Your firewall settings will be reviewed, as well as your network router settings. This will help make sure that all of your settings can support Voice Over IP (VOIP).
Available Bandwidth
The amount of bandwidth you have directly correlates to your download and upload speeds, which impacts the quality of your calls. During the network assessment, your provider will review the total bandwidth you have available, and how much you need for VOIP. Inadequate bandwidth often results in packet loss, where parts of words or sentences aren’t delivered to the receiver. While it is normal for occasional packet loss to occur, it should be a rarity- not the norm. Compare this to receiving mail. If a piece of mail is occasionally lost, you don’t worry. However, if 50% of your mail never shows up, occurring on a regular basis, you know you’re having a problem. Reviewing bandwidth ensures that you almost always experience quality phone calls, and all your voice packets are delivered.
Jitter Inconsistency
Jitter also has to do with speed of a connection, but instead impacts the order of the words or sentences between callers. Jitter occurs when packets are moving inconsistently, and then arriving out of order. So, if the conversation were the alphabet, the letters would arrive out of order, making it difficult or impossible to decipher. A network assessment can determine why Jitter is occurring, making sure that this problem doesn’t occur in your new system.
Should Your Network Assessment Cost Money?
If your vendor is charging for the Network Assessment, consider it a red flag. Why? Because without a Network Assessment, your transition to the cloud can’t be a success. The Network Assessment allows both you and your vendor to understand the viability of a cloud communications system, and any roadblocks you may encounter when trying to implement the system. A good comparison is to imagine you’re having your home painted. For your painting company to know how the job will be completed, they need to see how many rooms are in your house, how big they are, and how high your ceilings are. What if they charged you $200 just to come and assess the home and see if they can accept the project? What if they charge you for the assessment and then don’t have the capability to complete the project? The same is true for the Network Assessment. As an integral piece of your transition to the cloud, the Network Assessment shouldn’t be one more fee for you to pay. It should be a step made by you and your vendor, helping you both find success in your transition to the cloud.
2. Review Your Current Communications System
Understanding how your current communications system is set up will help your vendor determine how your new system should be architected. Not only will they learn what “must-haves” that your company has, but also what can be improved to support your business strategy.
During the review of your system, all aspects of your communications will be reviewed. This may require input from team members company-wide. First you will review your communications as a whole, considering questions like:
- What’s your call flow?
- How are calls handled?
- What phone numbers do calls come in on, and where do they go?
- Do you have an auto-attendant?
- Do you ring groups of people?
- Do you have a dedicated call operator?
- How are all of your calls being handled?
- Do you have applications, like call recording, or a contact center?
These questions will be answered for every phone /phone number at your company. You will review every way that communications come into your company.
Next, you will consider other communications features that you may already have, or should consider. For instance, do you have an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system? This system may be used to take customer responses, to communicate hours of operation, or for bill paying. What features can support your IVR system to support your business strategy?
You should also review your company’s turnover, or attrition. Understanding how frequently your employees are leaving, will help you understand what variety of system you will need. Do you have people coming and going all the time? It may be important to get an ease-of-use system, which includes on-going training. Is your workforce very stable? You may be able to move forward with a more in depth system, but doesn’t require ongoing training.
Considering Service and Support
Understanding the value of communications to your company will help you determine what level of service and support you will require once you transition to the cloud. This is important to understand from the get go, to avoid surprises. The truth of the matter is, all cloud solutions require support at some time or another. And when your communications system has a problem and you need service, quality and timely support is critical to your business. After all, without your communications system you can’t talk to your customers or prospects, which means you’ll lose money.
The type of support that you need is dependent upon how critical your communications are to your business. For instance, if people can’t call you, is this an inconvenience? Or a catastrophe? Assessing the importance of your communications will help you determine how much service and support you require for your communications. Understanding which type of user will help you determine what kind of support will be necessary for your communications usage.
Many cloud providers operate on a cookie cutter support methodology, with the goal of turning over as many customer help desk tickets as possible. However, every system is different, and your communications system is a valuable investment. You need custom help to support your unique needs. While you’re reviewing providers, consider their support methodology, focusing on support team size and location, emergency support, on-site vs. remote support, and the service request and escalation process.
3. Craft Your Implementation Plan
Your final step will be to work with your provider to clearly outline your implementation plan. Crafting an implementation plan can be broken into two important parts: Project Management and Project Planning. Trustworthy companies will have a well-documented process for these steps.
Project Management
Proper project management includes a project plan and a specified project manager. The project plan guarantees that both you and the phone provider have a clear-cut understanding of the scope of your project. The project manager will help to create a realistic implementation schedule. They also have deep experience in the nitty gritty details of an implementation that may not be obvious to you and the technicians on your project. They will have the knowledge to plan for unexpected minutia, such as building access, background checks, and more.
Project Planning
In order for any implementation to be successful it is pivotal that your provider not only craft but also adhere to a project plan. A project plan will take you through the necessary steps to guarantee the implementation is completed to the exact specifications of your business needs. Project planning includes a discovery period, during which overall design and configuration is reviewed. It then takes into account Network Topology, physical installation, training planning, and takes time to consider what could go wrong. Once all of this is completed, a scope of work document and timeline should be created, followed by scheduling and a kickoff meeting. Before your company transitions to the cloud, make sure to select a provider who can meet your expectations of Project Management and Planning. Without this, your transition is at risk for failure.
Understanding the value of project management and planning is essential to the success of your cloud installation. So, when you’re selecting your phone system provider, take the time to discuss and review the planning, project management, and implementation process. If they’re skipping steps or unwilling to provide transparency in their processes, it’s a bad sign- they may not be a good provider for your new phone system.
What’s Next?
Making sure that you work though these three steps before moving forward with a transition to the cloud will help guarantee your success. Before selecting your cloud vendor, make sure to review how they handle assessing the quality of your network, reviewing your current communications, and crafting an implementation plan. Make certain that they have clearly outlined processes for each of these items, and that they are completely transparent in their approach. If your provider brushes off your questions, or doesn’t treat these items seriously, you should be wary. Completing these steps and doing the work upfront, will help protect your investment and make your transition to the cloud a success.
Find out more about the transition to Cloud here.
The cloud is where it’s at, quite literally. Everything from getting medical advice and booking a taxi through to ordering from your favorite restaurant can all be done online thanks to cloud-based services.
It doesn’t really come as a surprise that your customers, the same consumers who do all of the above and more online, are looking for the same levels of convenience and mobility from the business applications they consume. Your ability to deliver a communications solution that works within the environment they operate in today and grow with them into the future will determine your success.
To be really customer-focused, we need to be able to go against the flow. If you look at any online article or industry publication, you will see that everybody has jumped on the cloud bandwagon, there are many ‘experts’ telling us that the days of on-premise PBXs are numbered, some even go as far as saying that investing in on-premise technology is dead money. Yes, on-premise is on the decline, but it’s far from dead, and that, puts you in a unique position if you’re an Ericsson-LG Enterprise reseller.
IHS Markit noted in its recent report that a reduction in on-premise PBX licenses drove the global market to decrease by 8% in 2017 from 2016, to $5.7 billion. What many fail to see that despite the decline, the industry is still worth billions and if you are to capitalize on these trends, you must be able to sell a solution that grows with your customers and helps them transition to the cloud at their own pace.
Unified communications, future-proofing and a host of other buzzwords and phrases are regularly thrown around, but the truth is, today’s customers are savvier – they are demanding more flexibility and functionality from their communications infrastructure than ever. The good news? Ericsson-LG Enterprise has got you covered. You are uniquely positioned in the market because you can:
a) Sell an on-premise solution now, and when your customer is ready, retain the handsets and some of the hardware for resilience and move them through to the iPECS Cloud.
b) Sell iPECS cloud today and your customer is set for the next 5 years and beyond.
Your advantage lies in the fact that while Ericsson-LG Enterprise forges ahead with their cloud offering, continued investment in R&D goes into on-premise technology as there is still a genuine demand in the market-place. A great example of this would be their latest output, the new iPECS eMG100, a completely redesigned PBX that is expected in early 2020. While there has been a lot of great news this year, the next 12-18 months will see Ericsson-LG Enterprise helping their partners reach greater heights.
In a nutshell, there are many competitors with good solutions, but often, customers have to choose from either cloud or on-premise solutions, not both. By pushing what they’ve currently got on offer, most competitors overlook the actual needs of their customers.
With Ericsson-LG Enterprise you have the flexibility to sell a solution that works for your customers. Our approach is to sell solutions, not just technology. If on-premise is right for your customer, sell UCP, if Cloud is the right move, then sell iPECS Cloud. The important factor here is that with either technology, Pragma ensures your customers are set for the future.
We have a complete portfolio of solutions, packed with features and functionality, and a strong product roadmap well into 2020, all to ensure that you can stay ahead, differentiate and deliver the solutions your customers need.
Find out more about strong iPECS product portfolio here.
Are you considering transitioning from a premise communications system to a cloud system? A recent survey shows that 74% of Enterprises are planning to implement cloud communications in the next two years. The immense power, first rate technology, reliability, seamless communications and scalability, makes Cloud an ideal solution for many businesses. As companies need to update their communications systems as they age or the company grows, the cloud is standing out as the natural choice.
Cloud is an incredibly powerful telephony option, but that doesn’t mean it’s the right fit for every company. The choice between cloud, premise, (or even a hybrid system) is unique to every business and there is no wrong decision.
So why are some companies transitioning to the cloud?
First-Rate Technology
For many companies, cloud denotes leading technology; 80% of North American IT investment decision makers believe the cloud communications provide users with access to advanced features and capabilities.
Companies with cloud communications are able to stay up-to-date on the latest advances in communications technology. While this is possible with premise too, updates to cloud technology can be applied to a company’s system remotely, with no effort on the company’s part. With cloud, as your business grows and your communication needs change, you can easily make changes to your system. The ability to quickly upgrade or downgrade features to support business needs enables great flexibility at times of rapid change. This flexibility means that 72% of cloud users feel that they’re able to swiftly adapt to stay ahead of competition.
365/24/7 Reliability
Cloud communications are extremely reliable. This is largely due to the fact that cloud communications are hosted on off-site servers, with geo-redundant data centers. In the event of an unexpected failure or weather occurrence, the cloud system can failover to a different data center without missing a beat. Your phone system will stay up and you can continue with business as usual.
Because of the geo-redundant design of cloud communications, 85% of North American IT investment decision makers believe that cloud communications improve business continuity and disaster recovery. For many cloud users, guaranteeing that their communications stay up and running no matter what, ensures that their customers can always get in touch, keeping them happy.
Seamless Communications Across Multiple Locations
Is your company geographically distributed? Do you have remote workers? Cloud communications make it easy for all of your locations and employees to have a business phone at their desk, use the same communications on the go, and access advanced services anywhere. Through a Cloud Unified Communications (UC) platform, all of your employees can use the same communications no matter where they’re located. Even better, they have the option to choose the best communications tool for the circumstance and their personality. UC tools typically include audio calls, instant messaging/chat, video calls, and conferencing from a single platform. Companies with more robust platforms are also able to offer email, fax, SMS, and more. Some companies also allow for collaboration platforms like Twitter, Google Hangouts, Skype, Slack, and more to be integrated into their UC platform, completing their communications loop. Providing consistent, reliable tools to all employees and locations means that communication isn’t a roadblock. In some cases, your employees may even be communicating better than if they were in the same office. Studies have shown that the seamless communications created by UC can save companies 191 hours of company-wide time each day in productivity – which equals around 29,000 hours per year.
Telecom Provided Support
Cloud communications also divest your company of the responsibility of maintaining and supporting your own communications. Because the solution is hosted by someone else, they are responsible for its maintenance. This way, you can free up your IT team’s resources for more strategic tasks. In fact, 76% of North American IT investment decision makers appreciate that cloud communications allow them to reassign internal IT/Telecom staff to more strategic tasks.
For companies that are rapidly growing, cloud communications are ideal. They easily scale, and your provider can quickly make changes for you, such as adding seats and functions. All you have to do is determine what type of functionality you need, and you’re on your way.
Find out more about the Migration to Cloud here.
Assessing which cloud solution is right for your unique needs.
In recent years, there’s been a notable shift in telecom solutions, moving from premise deployments, to cloud or hybrid deployments. In fact, by 2020 80% of businesses will move to the cloud. While cloud isn’t right for every organization, this shift is mostly due to the quick-to-update technology, scalability, and operational budget that cloud delivers. It’s also projected that by 2020, the use of premise solutions will have gone down 10% from 2018.
What many users don’t realize, even with all the talk of cloud, is that when moving to a cloud deployment, there are actually three different types of cloud: private, public, and hybrid.
Private, public, and hybrid cloud deliver nuances to you, the end user, in terms of control, flexibility, scalability, cost, and security. When deciding which form of cloud your organization should purchase, there isn’t one answer. Instead, it’s important to fully understand the different aspects of each solution, so that you can select the best option for your strategy.
Option 1. Private Cloud
Private cloud, sometimes referred to as an internal or enterprise cloud, is hosted behind your company’s firewall, on your personal hosted data center. Private cloud can be particularly beneficial to organizations that have already invested in their own data servers, or require specific security measures for their data.
The pro of private cloud is that because it’s behind your firewall, your company has total control of who can access your data, mitigating your risk of a data breach. And, because you have your own private cloud, you have the flexibility to transform the infrastructure based on ever-changing business and IT needs of your organization. You will also have high scalability and efficiency to meet unpredictable demands without compromising on security and performance. Private cloud is also a CAPEX model, which may reduce TCO and allows your organization to make a depreciation write-off.
The con of private cloud is that your company will need to make an initial investment to get your cloud up and running. And, because the private cloud is behind your firewall, your company is responsible for maintenance and for ensuring that your network can withstand a data breach, which decreases redundancy.
In short, private cloud is a good fit for you if you require:
- A high-level of security, where your resources won’t be shared with others and you have a high level of control.
- High scalability, so that you can quickly adapt to quickly evolving business needs.
- Additional flexibility, so that you can customize your cloud environment to specific business needs.
Option 2. Public Cloud
Public cloud is hosted on a by a third-party service provider and is delivered over the internet. Because your data is hosted by someone else, they manage and maintain the data center, relieving your organization of the responsibility.
While your data is stored elsewhere, it doesn’t mean that it is under any additional risk. Your storage space is your own and under layers of security. To understand, compare this to using a bank’s safe deposit system. While there are hundreds of safe deposit boxes in the safe deposit room, your box is separate. It is completely your own, and under lock and key that is unique and available only to you. The security of public cloud is based on the security measures your hosting company takes, and you have room for a substantial amount of data. You can even increase the space you have, allowing for high scalability and flexibility.
The pro of public cloud is that because it is hosted off site, no investments are required to deploy and maintain your IT infrastructure. The high scalability and flexibility can help meet unpredictable workload demands. Public cloud includes off-premise hosting and management, and, like all cloud environments, the cost savings are significant. Public cloud is an OPEX model, which enables predictable monthly cost for organizations.
The con of public cloud is that it isn’t the most viable solution for organizations that must adhere to high levels of security compliance or require availability in sensitive mission-critical IT workloads. Low visibility and control into the infrastructure may not suffice to meet certain regulatory compliance, and there are limitations in regards to customization and integration with business processes.
In short, public cloud is a good fit for you if you require:
- Lower costs, so that you won’t have to purchase hardware or software. You will only pay for the service you use.
- No maintenance, so that you can focus on your business objectives
- Nearly unlimited scalability, so that your features can be updated remotely to meet your business needs.
- High reliability, so that you don’t have to worry about failure.
Option 3. Hybrid Cloud
Hybrid cloud combines the use of private and public cloud to increase redundancy. Hybrid cloud is ideal for companies that have multiple locations, with business-critical communications, that have one or more locations that experience poor network connectivity.
When an organization selects hybrid cloud, they start by choosing between private and public cloud, based on their unique needs. Then, to create the hybrid solution, a local gateway is hosted on site. During normal connectivity, the gateway uses the cloud to complete communications functions. In the event of poor network connectivity, the gateway takes over to complete the communications functions, creating increased redundancy. This ensures that your communications stay up and running no matter what is happening with the internet in your area.
The pro of hybrid cloud is increased redundancy in the event of a poor connection due to the network or extreme local weather.
The con of hybrid cloud is whatever cons are associated with the public or private cloud that you select.
In short, hybrid cloud is a good fit for you if you require:
- Redundancy, due to low network connectivity or frequent extreme weather in your area.
Which Cloud Solution is Right for You?
So which cloud solution is right for you? When it comes to selecting a cloud deployment, there is no “correct” answer. The best solution is the solution that best supports your business requirements and needs.
Find out more about the benefits of iPECS Cloud here.
