Communication is the key to running an effective business. When your communication strategy suffers, your entire company begins to crumble. Many business leaders recognised this during the last couple of years when pandemic challenges turned the workplace upside down. 

UCaaS is one of the most flexible solutions for business continuity in an unpredictable world. It offers companies the technology they need to stay connected in any environment. With UCaaS, brands can continue to leverage all the benefits of excellent communication, no matter what happens in their landscape. That’s why experts predict that around 70% of all businesses will be using UCaaS by 2023. 

The question is if you’re ready to join the vast number of companies making the transition into the cloud this year, how do you choose the right vendor? Here are some things to look at when assessing your options. 

An Extensive Feature Set

A comprehensive set of UCaaS features is essential if you want to stay ahead of the competition in today’s complex digital environment. UCaaS technology is constantly evolving to help teams become more efficient and productive. To remain on the cutting edge, make sure you look for a vendor committed to frequently updating their available feature set. 

Think about the kind of features your teams need right now to make them as productive as possible, from back-end video conferencing tools to recording and data management technology. Consider things like mobility for your field-oriented workforce and how you can keep teams on the same platform by integrating as many of the tools they already use as possible. 

You might even want to look into specific requirements based on your industry. Some vendors are particularly well-suited to addressing the unique needs of finance, healthcare, or government brands, for instance. 

Hybrid Work Support

Part of the comprehensive feature set offered by your UCaaS provider should be dedicated to enabling hybrid work. The majority of teams are working in a new, flexible format, which allows for both in-office and remote employees. Your UCaaS vendor should have all the tools required to ensure that they don’t feel like a second-class citizen no matter where your staff are located. 

Robust UCaaS systems bring employees together and give them the same empowering set of features regardless of where they are. The majority of tools can even offer the same consistent experience on various devices, so mobile and desk workers stay on the same page. 

Suppose you are implementing a hybrid work strategy. In that case, you may also need to consider additional features for your UCaaS system, like integration with VPN technology or the ability to work seamlessly with a variety of plug-and-play video conferencing devices.

Excellent User Experience

When investing in new technology, customer experience isn’t the only “X” concept worth thinking about. Brands also need to be aware of their experience to their business leaders and end-users. For staff to leverage UCaaS solutions correctly, they need to feel the technology is intuitive and convenient. 

Make sure your employees feel comfortable using the tools they have access to in any environment and that they can continue using the hardware they’re already satisfied with where possible. At the same time, ensure your business leaders and IT teams have a convenient environment where they can provide technology and roll updates out with ease.

The easier your technology is to manage and use, the more likely you are to ensure adoption. Don’t forget to look for additional support teams and customer service solutions if you find yourself in need of extra help too. Most UCaaS vendors will ensure they’re on-hand to answer any questions you have about configuring settings for your platform.

Customisation and Flexibility

One of the reasons UCaaS is growing at such an incredible pace today is its flexibility. The solution can adapt to suit the needs of any company, leading to significant cost savings and simple scalability. The right UCaaS vendor should give you the freedom to customise and adapt your technology to suit your needs. This means being able to add and remove features whenever you like.

Look for a vendor that allows you to scale your investment up and down to suit changes in your workflow or demand levels. It’s also worth checking that the vendor you’re working with can integrate their system with all the tools you already use. If native integrations aren’t already available, you may need to look into APIs and webhooks.

As companies move more rapidly into the cloud, you might even want to consider the option of aligning your UCaaS environment with other “as a service” offerings. Many UCaaS vendors are beginning to offer a combination of UCaaS and CCaaS or CPaaS tools. 

Reliability, Security and Compliance

Peace of mind will always be crucial when choosing new technology for your business. The right UCaaS platform should give you the comfort of knowing you’re guaranteed a vital uptime with various failsafe tools in place to protect you should something go wrong. Check whether your vendor offers any specific SLAs for peace of mind.

Outside of a reliable connection, you’ll also need to think about the security and compliance technologies implemented by your vendor. In today’s hybrid world, businesses face an ever-evolving series of threats. The right UCaaS vendor will work with you to address your security needs. 

Look for a vendor who allows you to choose where and how you store communication data in your ecosystem. Think about things like end-to-end encryption and whether your vendor has any security innovations in place to help protect you, like AI tools or multiple levels of access control. 

Agility and Innovation

As mentioned above, we live in an environment of rapid innovation and growth. Business leaders need to evolve at the same speed as their customers to stay ahead of the curve. With the right UCaaS vendor, you can achieve this level of agility. 

If you want to stay on the cutting edge, look for a vendor that will update your features and invest in new UCaaS technology whenever you choose. There are plenty of companies out there experimenting with things like the Internet of Things, or 5G for stronger mobile connections. 

If you have a specific kind of innovation you’re interested in, like accessing AI smart assistants for team members on the move, ask your vendor what sort of research and development they’re doing in this area. 

 

 



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