When Considering Transitioning To A Cloud Based Network Infrastructure....User Experience Matters!

When it comes to transitioning to a cloud based network infrastructure, here is why you should worry about user experience first and think about price last because it takes care of itself. 

You can’t afford to not move your organization to cloud based collaboration.

The power of Unified Communications and Collaboration (UCaaS) is becoming more and more recognized.  As companies consider the move to UCaaS, I see them starting with a financial model and a worry that the move might be too expensive to accomplish.  I understand cost is always a factor in business, but often the benefits of these solutions are under measured. In fact, at a recent meeting with RingCentral, they showed a success story with Box Inc. and the leadership at Box says they had achieved 80-90 percent of the cost of the solution in the savings they had achieved by consolidating the spend they were already making. 

57% of IT professionals surveyed who work in companies with 1,000+ employees said they believe the benefits of moving their communications to the cloud are either clearly identified or underestimated.
—The State of Cloud Communications, No Jitter Industry Insights Report

So, if cost isn’t as big of a factor as we may have thought, what should the factors in the decision be?  This answer makes sense if we consider one thing — How do we impact and monetize the workflow of our customer's organization? 

USER INTERFACE

Start with user interface! The user interface isn’t just one of the decision factors; it is the most important.  The user experience drives adoption, drives usage, and drives new ways to use technology that hasn’t been thought of before. It drives everything.  As you examine these solutions, make sure you are considering the mobile clients, the desktop clients, the desk phones, the headsets, the video applications, the collaboration engine, and the ability to connect to external applications and critical systems. 

INTEGRATION PLATFORM

After you get the interface selection right, the next step to consider is the integrations that will have the most impact on the organization.  As UCaaS is evolving, many of the leaders are creating platforms that will enable deeper and more custom integrations with company’s custom or purchased solutions.  The adoption of this is increasing quarter after quarter.  This critical component is easy to overlook if your trusted advisors are focused exclusively on voice replacement.

Over a quarter of survey respondents said their organizations already are or will be taking advantage of communications APIs and communications platform as a service (CPaaS) offerings in the next 12 months.
—The State of Cloud Communications, No Jitter Industry Insights Report

COLLABORATION

Collaboration is perhaps the most immediate benefit of installing a UCaaS solution in your business.  The ability to quickly share information, connect on customer issues, and communicate with team members allows employees to get out of their email inbox and back to the customers and projects that make the company successful.  The consolidation of other meeting, messaging and video solutions are often the place where cost savings are achieved.  The combination of the impact of standardizing on a single tool and eliminating alternative implementations creates huge value and benefit.  An effective video and document sharing component is crucial as more and more employees are traveling, working from home, or in other remote working situations.  Selecting the right tool reduces complexity and simplifies operational costs and provides a much more scalable and agile technology solution for users.

CALL CENTER FUNCTIONALITY

Call center functionality if often considered the domain of large organizations and brings visions of large cubicle farms of people in operator headsets.  While this is a good use for cloud-based communications, the agility of the cloud allows companies of all sizes to consider call center functionality to better support workgroups, sales groups and other teams small. There is also a benefit from the routing, measurement, and follow-up of a call center solution.  The integration of these features into a cloud based UCaaS solution lets organizations large and small benefit from the scalability and pricing of adding just a few call center seats to meet the needs of their customers and their business. It also allows partners to ensure value and increased adoption which drive the value of the solutions being offered.

PRICING

While it isn’t the first factor pricing is an issue and should be considered.  Cloud based pricing can be difficult to navigate, and fees and usage billing can be hard to estimate and understand.  As you shop for solutions, look for transparency and simplicity.  Ask about hidden fees and understand any items not included in the per seat price. Also understand toll-free pricing, international calling, and the included geographies.  Another factor is handsets; this diminishes if your company moves toward soft clients and web or mobile implementations, but handset cost can be monthly or one-time charges that need to be considered. 

USING AN EXPERT

The case to move communications and collaborations is strong and makes sense to achieve a more agile and modern approach to business communication.  The power of this also means that the selection of the right or wrong solution can have long and lingering implications either positive or negative.  Engaging an expert broker who knows how to navigate these solutions is crucial.  Our expertise and tools are unsurpassed in the industry.  A combination of selection technology and experience will be invaluable in helping your selection

For help designing a cloud based network infrastructure which best fits the needs of YOUR organization simply ask us at the link below.  It's as easy as 1, 2, 3....and our help is FREE. 

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