Traditionally in business communication, the mobile network and the telephony network were treated as two entirely disparate systems, with different sets of features and functionalities. When smartphones became widespread a little over a decade ago, this ‘split’ view started to shift; but effectively, most organizations still provision business users for a separate UC client and a separate mobile connection.
“The way this was being solved historically was quite clunky – putting an overlay onto a smartphone that enabled the mobile user to use some of the desktop features while they were outside the office, but didn’t truly converge the two environments,” notes Will Morey, CEO of Pragma.
When people were primarily working from offices, business calls made and received on mobile phones were a relatively small percentage of the overall number of calls, and so, they didn’t pose a significant concern in terms of regulation, IT, or privacy. Today, however, almost all work styles are mobile to an extent, making native mobile integration a true requirement.
“Frontline workers represent about 2/3 of the overall workforce globally, i.e., 2 billion employees who cannot be addressed by traditional Unified Communications,” Morey says.
“IT vendors and suppliers have been trying to build a solution that caters to those employees’ needs, but the industry currently still lacks a truly mobile-first UC solution that’s available to all.”
That’s where Anywhere for iPECS comes in. Pragma’s new solution, designed for the iPECS Cloud UCaaS platform by Ericsson-LG Enterprise and developed in collaboration with them, allows a native integration of the mobile phone into the UC platform.
How It Works
Simply put, Anywhere for iPECS fully converges the mobile proposition with the desktop proposition. Integrating iPECS Cloud into the mobile network enables mobile devices to become an extension of the Unified Communications platform.
“We now have a holistic UC proposition that can be delivered on a desktop handset, a PC app, an iPad, or a mobile phone. For me, that makes so much more sense when I think of how I’d like to support my team and business, and I think every small or large business owner would agree,” Morey says.
On the technical level, a simple eSIM is downloaded onto the phone, and that eSIM is tied into iPECS Cloud. This means that a mobile phone call will flow through the iPECS Cloud platform rather than going directly out on the mobile network. This way, calls made and received using the eSIM will receive all the benefits of the iPECS platform natively.
Two Main Use Cases
There are two primary types of use cases where native integration of the mobile phone into the UC platform is of the essence.
First are those of frontline workers. Be it salespeople, delivery service workers, or GPs, frontline workers often face situations where they’re required to use their mobile phones to get in touch with clients or patients, making it difficult to balance their need for privacy with the recipient’s wish of knowing where the call is coming from.
“It’s perfectly reasonable that doctors, for instance, prefer to make triage calls from a withheld number to avoid getting unwanted calls from patients at 2 am,” Morey explains. “But on the other hand, clients or patients want to see the call coming from a company rather than a personal number, or from a business number rather than a withheld number.”
“And the real problem is, frontline workers often have a real resonance in the industry. They help businesses function properly, they promote good health outcomes, and so much more – which means that miscommunication with them has a price.”
Second, and no less important, are compliance-oriented use cases.
“This need first came up when banks were regulated and had to record all mobile calls. But today, the need to make sure that all calls, wherever made from a mobile phone or a desk phone, receive a similar high-quality treatment – doesn’t only apply to financial institutions,” Morey notes.
“It’s relevant for anyone having an important conversation with a client, which means virtually all businesses need the ability to record, monitor, manage, and report on mobile calls.“
Both types of use cases can be met by the Anywhere solution.
“Employees can keep using their mobile phones the same way they’re used to, only now it’s a native extension of the UC platform, which makes it easy to be used as a business number and fully controlled by IT.”
Multiple Benefits
At the end of the day, the Anywhere solution offers three significant benefits: It puts the mobile phone in the full control of the enterprise; it helps deliver great customer experiences; and, with 2 billion additional workers to serve, it creates a significant increase in opportunity and addressable market for UCaaS.
“Anywhere for iPECS is transformative in that it finally brings to the masses a high quality, rich Unified Communications solution which is natively mobile, and can be used for all the different work styles,” Morey concludes.
To learn more about Anywhere for iPECS, visit the Pragma website.
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