What trends can we look forward to in 2013?

Contrary to beliefs held by the paranoid, or ironically by many others, the world will continue to spin after the 21st, so it’s important to look toward the future. As such, Avaya (News - Alert) has determined what it believes will be the top seven trends we’ll be seeing in 2013, so we can look forward to these.

Topping the list is simplification. No one likes wasting time going through confusing menus and lists to find what they need, so many solutions and devices have been boasting simple designs and less complexity.

The less complex it is, the easier and quicker it becomes.

Of course video will play a big role, as it continues to spread through private chats and videoconferences alike. We now have different expectations about being on a camera, and video is becoming the new phone.

This will continue to grow in the coming year, as more people use video and it becomes a bigger part of the business process.

Similarly, we’ll be seeing an improved customer experience thanks to real-time analytics. With it, companies can learn what their customers are saying, what they want, and how to improve almost instantly. This leads into another prediction from Avaya, in which communications support will go proactive, solving problems before they occur, rather than reactive, where they wait to hear complaints before acting.

We’ll also be seeing the growth of private clouds, which can be tailored to suit a business’s needs. They’re a little more expensive than public clouds, but the customizability and convenience of a private cloud makes it worthwhile. Similarly, managed services will be seeing a greater need for flexibility, as business conditions continue to change, but fortunately, that’s one of the benefits managed services offer.

These are just some of Avaya’s predictions, but they all seem pretty solid, based on current trends. This has been a year of growth and change, with video, real-time analytics, and the cloud seeing major roles in transforming the way we do business.

How this will play out in 2013 has yet to be seen, but we can make a pretty good guess.

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