Businesses Want Better, More Efficient Collaboration Tools

Businesses today depend on collaboration tools and technologies more than ever. With hybrid workforces growing, there’s never been a better time to consolidate and improve corporate collaboration strategies.

During the pandemic, when most businesses were adding digital services to ensure they could still get work and communications done during lockdowns, many redundant and disparate solutions were added to the mix. With things now shifting and better remote work capabilities being offered permanently, it's prime time for IT teams to “get it right.”

According to the latest research from Masergy, most businesses today are looking for bundled solutions that remove IT complexities from their digital interaction needs for distributed workforces as well as customers. This means better Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) and Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS) offerings that are focused on data security, network reliability, and integration capabilities.

According to the CIO study on 2022 UCaas and CCaaS Market Trends, many IT leaders fear the potential disaster that could unfold for the business if downtime occurs with their solutions. As much as 47 percent of organizations report they are using UCaaS/CCaaS now and most have also increased their use of Microsoft Teams.

As a result, having IT agility now drives their investments in addition to just data security and network reliability.

“For UCaaS and CCaaS to work well, they must function as core elements in a larger ecosystem, harmonizing communications, connectivity, and cybersecurity — the trifecta for digital transformation,” said Rudy Tibuni, director, UC Solutions, Masergy. “These three disciplines can no longer operate in silos. They must come together to create a more secure, resilient, and efficient environment to support excellent employee and customer experiences.”

The solution: A consolidated strategy that brings all applications into one cohesive system.

The report also found that 90 percent of respondents want a fully managed service with 24/7 monitoring and a software-defined network (SD-WAN) to get the job done.

“Senior IT decision makers are pointing to a new integration imperative, consolidating UC around one toolset to untangle complexities in the wake of multiple applications and multi-cloud services,” said Tibuni. “To effectively connect people, corporate communications tools and their supporting systems must all work as a cohesive collective. Businesses should standardize on their preferred cloud collaboration platform and seek holistic solutions that intersect with SIP trunking and secure network connectivity, including SD-WAN and SASE.”

Edited by Erik Linask