The way we work has changed drastically over the past few years. As remote work options have grown, the demand for accessible, flexible communication and collaboration has exploded. Naturally, many organizations are looking to UCaaS solutions to help solve this.
In fact, Gartner predicts that through 2025, 25% of office workers in the US and Europe will not be provided wireline telephony. This is a notable increase from the 5% prediction in 2020.
In this post, we’ll cover some things to consider if you’re in the market for a UCaaS solution.
Scalability
Adding new users to your UCaaS solution is typically a straightforward process that can be completed by the system administrator or by contacting the provider’s support team. Usually, adding new users involves creating a new user account and assigning the appropriate licenses and access level. While you can expect an additional license fee for your new user account, be aware of other costs associated with adding users, such as hardware costs, training costs, professional service fees, and increased network costs. Understanding these before choosing a provider can help you avoid unpleasant surprises in the future.
Reliability
No one wants to encounter downtime when it comes to their business communications. UCaaS providers can typically provide proof of uptime through service level agreements (SLAs) and uptime guarantees. These agreements outline the level of availability the provider guarantees for their service and often include penalties if the provider fails to meet the agreed-upon standards. Often, they can provide uptime reports to show historical uptime and availability. It’s important to review these during the consideration process to ensure that they meet your needs and provide adequate protection against outages.
Security
It’s imperative that your UCaaS provider can protect your data. They should have a range of security measures in place, including encryption of data in transit and at rest, access controls, network security (firewalls, intrusion detection/prevention systems), and data protection (regular backups, redundancy, disaster recovery). Depending on your industry, compliance with relevant security or privacy regulations (GDPR, HIPAA, PCI) may also be a consideration.
Integration
Are there other business tools you need your UC solution to integrate with? For example, your organization’s customer relationship management (CRM) software, project management tools, or Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software? Integrations can improve collaboration, increase productivity, and provide valuable insights into your business.
Example: RingCentral’s integration with Salesforce allows users to access and manage their Salesforce contacts, leads, and accounts directly from their RingCentral app. It also enables RingCentral users to view their Salesforce contact details during inbound and outbound calls, providing valuable context and enabling better service. Through the integration, sales teams can also track their sales activities and monitor goal progress in real-time using data from both platforms. This helps identify areas for improvement and make data-driven decisions to improve their performance.
8×8 offers a similar integration with NetSuite.
User Experience (UX)
Moving an organization to new technology can present challenges when it comes to adoption. A new UCaaS solution should be easy and intuitive to use, with reliable customer support. Providers may offer support at different levels and types. Depending on your organization, you may need more support than others. Some support options to consider include training/onboarding, self-help knowledge bases, technical support, or dedicated account management.
Cost
Costs associated with UCaaS can vary widely depending on the provider. Other influencing factors include the number of users, features, support tiers, integration needs, etc. There are often different pricing models, and discounts may be available for larger deployments. Remember to factor in hidden costs like professional services for integrations or implementation.
Companies moving to UCaaS can substantially reduce communication costs, by up to 30%, depending on their current environment.
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