As arguably one of the most significant advances in business communications over the past decade, cloud technology has revolutionised the UC and Contact Centre industries and transformed the way businesses connect forevermore.
Alongside consistent reports demonstrating how cloud communications continue to increase profits, enhance collaboration, improve customer satisfaction and minimise cost, a recent Gartner report claiming an increase from $67 billion in 2015 to $162 billion in 2020 proves the market is showing no signs of slowing down.
The journey to the Cloud is a continuum
At present, one common problem many businesses face when undergoing their digital journey into the cloud is making sure they find a solution that adequately meets their requirements and allows them to make the transition at their own pace.
Cost-effective and secure communications solutions, cloud services such as VoIP, cloud PBX and cloud telephony offer countless benefits to businesses, but a failure to understand how they work and choosing providers that offer little support for customers when drafting their plan can lead to costly mistakes.
“Many businesses want to pick and choose what works best for them instead of relying on a single provider or product,” says Neil Whitelock, Director, Cloud and SIs at Avaya.
“Clearly in a pure cloud, or indeed hybrid cloud environment, customers need to very carefully evaluate how services integrate together, particularly from a resilience, security and regulatory compliance perspective. Over the next few years, it will take effective collaboration between customers and service providers to meet their needs.”
Adequate Provider Support
With Avaya cloud migration, for instance, partners are given a helpful hand that guides them along their journey into the cloud and works with the company to create a flexible solution that improves business communications efficiently, but only in areas that need it.
Contrary to what many people might assume, making the transformation from on-site services to the cloud is not simply a binary switch, and success in making these changes comes only from having a well-defined strategy that pinpoints the exact requirements of a business and its customers, not just in the present but the future, too.
“Cloud migration is not an on/off decision, it’s a journey,” says Whitelock. “Customers on this journey want vendors to understand their business, provide local customer support and have knowledge of exactly which staged applications will best improve their operational performance.”
Future Planning
For SMEs and start-ups, finding a solution that offers flexibility and support for future growth is paramount. Avaya prides itself on providing a service that is tailored to suit the individual needs of the business with a solution that works in line with their growth plan.
With Avaya, customers are not fixed to a one-size-fits all solution that either restricts their performance capabilities or lumps them with a number of features that are of no use to their business. Instead, users can choose only the services that benefit them in the present and upgrade/downgrade their solution as and when it is profitably beneficial to do so in the future.
For more information on Avaya and its solutions visit the website.
More from Avaya on UC Today:
Avaya Q&A: Communicating DX to Partners and Customers
Good Reasons to Engage in DX with Avaya
Avaya IP Office: On-Premises vs Cloud vs Hybrid
Avaya IP Office Cloud Review: Preparing Your Business For DX
