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July 11, 2014

Webinar - Now is the Time for Large Enterprises to Move Hosted Unified Communications (UC)


In a previous posting on how large enterprises are benefiting from hosted unified communications (UC), I noted that while small and medium businesses (SMBs) were quick to understand how moving to the cloud was advantageous for a number of financial (moving CapEx to OpEx)  and improved operational reasons, large enterprises have been less enthusiastic in their adoption of hosted real-time communications.




I also noted that thanks to the maturity of UC, and the elimination of connectivity and security concerns, this reluctance was not necessary. In fact, market research is showing a growing interest by some of the largest organizations, including major multi-nationals, in moving their voice and UC functionality to the cloud, and are relying on hosting companies to service their needs. Hosted is in fact, emerging as a preferred platform for meeting large organization demand for not just VoIP and UC, but also video, mobile and contact center communications solutions.

Confirmation of why now is a good time for large enterprises to move UC capabilities to the cloud can be seen and heard by accessing the recent webinar I had the pleasure of moderating, “Why Larger Businesses are Moving to Hosted Communications,”  where Russell P. Markman, Executive Vice President, Business Services, and Jim Mundy, Manager, Sales Engineering, Fusion, detailed why the myths that have given large enterprise IT pause for moving to the cloud are exactly that, and why the use cases for such a move are so compelling that the question of moving really should not be “if”, but rather “when” and “how fast.”

As an enticement to download the webinar, some proof points that were presented and explained are cited below.

Yes, this is a substantial and growing market.

In short, after years of promise, the business value of UC is undeniable, and organizations are jumping on the bandwagon. The reasons, as Fusion noted, are because hosted UC:

  • Unleashes greater productivity
  • Makes it easier to seamlessly manage tasks and connect data and voice
  • Allows for quick deployments of new features and capabilities
  • Enables information and knowledge to flow across the enterprise
  • Reduce inter-office costs
  • Centralized administration

Benefits stretch across a variety of areas, including the aforementioned one of reducing operating costs, but also in the areas of:

  • Mobility: Seamless integration with fixed and mobile devices to increase worker flexibility
  • Collaboration: Real-time rich media interactions and presence
  • Technology Risk Reduction:  Always being on the latest and most secure software
  • Cloud Services:  Pay-as-you-go and pay-as-you-grow.

Since seeing and hearing should be believing, we also walked through the use case of Ascensus, the largest independent retirement and college saving service provider in the U.S., whose needs included accommodating the needs of 1300 contact center seats, mobile workforce and other BYOD empowered employees. Without giving away the details, I can relate that Ascensus (News - Alert) was delighted with Fusion’s solutions, which included business continuity capabilities, a series of mobility enhancements, and gave the following advice: “Leave it to the experts!”

Finally as an added inducement, the discussion about why all hosted communications providers are not created equal, and the seven key considerations you should use in evaluating any hosted provider, are ones you need to jot down if you are in the process of making the move to the cloud. 




Edited by Adam Brandt