By 2028, the market for Unified Communications is set to reach a value of $344.84 billion, growing at a rate of around 20.5% CAGR. As the world of communications and collaboration grows more complex, every company is increasingly searching for ways to synchronize its tech stack.
Unified Communications on its own is a powerful tool for aligning critical technology and empowering the workforce. However, for many companies, particularly those with large and complex communication needs, additional help may be required to optimise the UC Experience.
UC Service Management, or UCSM solutions build on the same principles of IT service management, to give companies more visibility and control over their communication tools. Here’s your guide to choosing the right UCSM option for your company.
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Look for a Comprehensive, Flexible Solution
One of the biggest benefits of UC Service Management is the ability to configure multiple different components for your UC solution from different vendors and providers, into an aligned solution. A powerful UCSM provider will give you the tools you need to configure, monitor, migrate, and analyse multi-dimensional UC environments in one place.
The ideal solution should give you a single point of integration for all of your UC fulfilment, assurance, reporting, accounting, and other critical tools, so you spend less time trying to keep track of a complex UC environment.
It’s also important to look for a flexible solution capable of integrating on-premises and legacy systems, with modern tools in the cloud, so you can migrate into a new age of digital transformation at your own pace.
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Prioritise Simple Provisioning and Configuration
UC Service Management tools can be particularly useful for the new age of remote and hybrid work, where business leaders need access to simple ways of provisioning, deploying, and configuring tools at a distance.
Many of the best solutions on the market today will enable zero-touch deployments. These allow companies to roll out new tools and patches to team members worldwide, without on-site configuration. Make sure the service provider you choose can offer a convenient portal environment where you can configure new communication tools for your team members, and control access to different services when necessary.
An effective UCSM solution may even allow you to automate various management and HR workflows. For instance, you could set up policies for which tools a new employee should automatically gain access to when setting up a profile with your business. You can also implement policies for removing access to UC tools when off-boarding an employee.
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Look for Powerful Analytics
UC Service Management tools are excellent for giving business leaders and IT teams a more comprehensive view of the communication ecosystem. This can deliver a number of benefits when it comes to improving the overall performance of the ecosystem, and the business team.
Look for a vendor capable of providing your IT operations staff with real-time insights into the performance of your video and voice tools, so they can implement quick changes to resolve problems whenever they occur. Your analytics should make it easy to see the source of jitter, lag and other communication problems, and implement fixes immediately.
Particularly powerful analytical tools will even come with access to predictive insights, which allow you to use historical data and machine learning to determine when an issue might take place, and stop disruption before it has a chance to set in.
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Consider the Power of Automation
Automation is becoming an increasingly important part of the UC landscape, particularly in the service management space, where teams are striving to reduce pressure on IT leaders. With automation in UC service Management, it’s possible to set up policies for implementing immediate fixes whenever you notice something wrong in your diagnostics.
For instance, if a system detects an impending problem with a connection, it can automatically send a message to a member of staff responsible for dealing with that connection. At the same time, the technology could switch the connection to a failover option, and reduce the risk of downtime for employees before a human agent ever has to do anything.
A strong automation system reduces the amount of repetitive tasks employees need to deal with while ensuring your company can run as effectively as possible.
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Consider Security Options and Controls
A major benefit of Unified Communications Service management tools is the potential to improve security and compliance levels throughout your business. The visibility offered by these tools makes it much easier to spot anomalies in your technology stack, so you know which issues to investigate.
The right technology can also make it easier to track the sources of potential data breaches, by helping you to see more of the links between your users, devices, and systems. Some solutions even come with remote device management tools built-in, so you can shut down a connection from a distance, wipe a stolen device, and remotely send security patches to your workers.
At the very least, companies will have an easy way to manage access controls within their all-in-one environment, to ensure they have complete control over who can unlock which pieces of data.
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Embrace Opportunities for Innovation
When comparing the UC service Management solutions for your business, it’s worth thinking about not just what kind of features you might need now, but also the capabilities you could benefit from in future. As more UCSM solutions continue to emerge from vendors around the world, we’re seeing an increase in the number of companies experimenting with disruptive tech.
Today’s market leaders could be able to offer access to more management tools to help you with keeping track of everything from IoT to 5G connections. At the same time, many are offering more automation options to reduce the repetitive tasks involved in securing your business.
Keep an eye out for tools with AI built-in, as intelligence can be particularly useful at highlighting trends or patterns in your communications tack.
from UC Today https://ift.tt/8S0iuoj
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