Unified communications (UC) can be a powerful tool to bring together a company’s various technology modules. With so many UC vendors offering countless packages of services, choosing the one that best fits the business is a challenge, especially at the enterprise level. Knowing what elements and areas are most important will help design a UC strategy that is effective and useful.
Teamwork
Part of the allure of UC is that users from multiple departments are able to collaborate in a timely, cooperative way. Enhancing collaboration is painless with UC as long as the right tasks are contained within its workflow. Frequently-accessed tools and features must be part of the program and its reach must extend throughout the whole organization. Each team must be able to contribute in a meaningful way with its current set of tools.
Flexibility for the Future
A solid UC program must account for integration of current and future applications as well as organizational needs. Whether the company stores data locally or in the cloud, uses a particular application vendor, or is considering future avenues for functionality, the UC solution must be able to flex and shift.
The selected package and vendor should guarantee flexibility and cohesive integration with new technology. A good example of this is the use of REST API to make updates and connections to other tools. The potential UC package should also employ a mechanism that facilitates connectivity.
Make It Secure
While accessibility is a key consideration for any system in the current technological climate, it must be provided with top notch security in mind. The last thing a business wants is to build a UC program that has vulnerabilities from inception.
Strong and evolving encryption, multifactor authentication, and satisfactory performance through firewalls are mandatory provisions of a UC platform. Verify the reputation and internal practices of the UC vendor before beginning a transition project by performing a thorough risk and security assessment.
Decide What’s Important
Getting lost in the long list of features provided by UC vendors is easy to do. Remain focused on the elements identified as most critical and begin with those. Add-ons can be fantastic, but they sometimes create too much noise in the decision-making process. If additional features are offered, assess their true value before committing to anything. Entertain competitive offers for essential items first to simplify the selection process.
UC enhances cooperation, fosters relationship-building, and enables a company to use its entire array of tools effectively and efficiently. Making a choice that accounts for the enterprise as a whole will help ensure the best toolkit is selected.