It seems like we’ve been discussing the rise of the digital age for years now. Ever since the advent of the internet, we’ve been moving ever-faster into a more digitally focused environment. The arrival of the pandemic and the challenges it brought to businesses only accelerated this in 2020.  

According to Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise (ALE), we’re now officially in the new digital age, and this means companies need to ensure they have the right foundations in place. ALE believes that the pillars of true digital transformation in communications are people, technology, and models.  

I spoke with the VP of Market Development for ALE’s Communication Business, Xavier Martin, to discuss the concept of “Everything Digital” and the new age of communications.  

The Pillars of Digital Age Communications 

According to ALE, Digital Age Communications, or the future of transformed communications, involves a lot of different kinds of solutions working together, from AI to IoT. However, getting the three essential pillars of people, technology, and models right can enable any business in any industry to take advantage of new future of connectivity.  

“The term ‘digital age communications’ refers to the solutions capable of successfully transforming the way people, things, and applications connect. Digital Age Communications are derived from the concept of the fourth industrial revolution, and the belief that digitization can enhance many of the things we do. Many people make the mistake of thinking this transformation is just about technology, but it’s also about the models we use to embrace communications, and the people involved.” 

Xavier told me that the first pillar of digital age communications is “people”. In other words, organisations in this new age need to think carefully about the people interacting in any environment, this could include customers, suppliers, guests, patients, employees, and shareholders. People need to be enabled to communicate anywhere, at any time, through solutions that feel intuitive. 

The second pillar is about connecting everything (business applications, processes, objects) with the technology people need to navigate these new communication environments. The underlying technology in digital age communications can cover everything from AI and bots, too the Internet of Things, the cloud, business process automation and more. “These are concepts that have existed for some time, but they’re growing increasingly more accessible and essential today.” 

The third pillar of Digital Age Communications identified by ALE is “models”. Xavier told me that “models” refer to the strategies and structures companies use to connect people, technology, and applications in a cloud environment.  

“Increasingly, for people to thrive in the new digital landscape, everything needs to be connected. The benefit of choosing the right connected model is that everything happens in context.” 

“To enable truly meaningful communications, digital technology needs to provide information supportive of the business situation. This addition of intelligence can be offered by applications, peoples, objects, and any combination of the three, allowing for greater responsivity and flexibility for the business”

ALE is in a powerful position today to help companies connect “everything” for Digital Age Communications, in part because the company offers such flexible cloud environments. Companies can embrace everything from private cloud to hybrid cloud solutions and public solutions. Companies with specific industry requirements in terms of compliance and analytics can access private cloud with dedicated management and support. Companies keen to leverage existing communications investments and new cloud innovations can take a hybrid approach.  

Agility is Now More Important than Ever 

The discussion of Digital Age Communications comes hand-in-hand with conversations about business agility and digital transformation. While this concept has been a common concept for years now, it’s grown increasingly essential since the 2020 pandemic. I asked Xavier for his opinion on how the pandemic has affected the transition to the digital world. 

“The pandemic was a major test for agility. Companies who hadn’t moved quickly enough into new technology and processes suddenly had to scramble for conferencing solutions and services that would fill the gaps they hadn’t noticed before. Many companies found themselves using tools that weren’t suitable for them as a long-term solution”

According to Xavier, the pandemic forced people to think about digital transformation in a broader way. Companies began to think about what they could potentially move to the cloud in the event that another disaster happened in the years to come. “The cloud is now a no-brainer for most companies. Organisations know that they need to have a cloud strategy to ensure they can continue to operate, regardless of what happens. It’s almost like life insurance for the modern business.” 

Built In Flexibility 

One of the biggest benefits of cloud technology is its flexibility. Any solution offered in the cloud generally has flexibility built in. However, vendors haven’t always been as open when it comes to flexibility. ALE, on the other hand, has taken additional steps to ensure it can offer any business an avenue into digital transformation.  

“We take flexibility to the next level because we know that cloud success isn’t just about architecture. You need to offer flexibility both to architecture and business models to really support a wider range of customers. We’re flexible in our delivery of cloud solutions, but also in our licensing and pricing strategies too.” 

With ALE, companies are free to build the migration journey into cloud technology and Digital Age Transformation that works for them. This could include moving 100% to the cloud, or simply implementing cloud solutions with existing on-premises investments. ALE offers something to suit every kind of business, including a complete CPaaS system to ensure everything stays connected. 

“We believe in offering full end-to-end flexibility, so we can address all of the needs of our customers as they continue to evolve.”  

ALE has been moving phone systems into the clouds for years now, since the early 2000s. I asked Xavier whether he ever thought that the cloud would become so fundamental to the business landscape, and he told me that it was difficult to imagine a future like this one.  

“There have been hints on the potential future of cloud dotted throughout history, from the iPod being the first device to connect to the cloud, and the gradual rise of services. However, we never imagined cloud would become as essential as it is today.” 

Now that the world does need a more flexible, customisable solution for communications, having the right cloud technology in place to address the three pillars of Digital Age environments is crucial.  

 

 



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