Unified communications and contact centre platforms have been crucial to enabling the radical move to hybrid working culture.

However, this shift to dispersed workforces has come at a time when businesses are generating more data than ever, while end users are becoming more conscious of how this data is used and where it is stored.

The end result is organisations being in a position where they need to adopt innovative, cloud-based tools – but also rest easy knowing the data transmitted over these platforms is protected. Cybersecurity can no longer be an afterthought; it needs to be baked into products and solutions from the very beginning.

RingCentral works alongside Technology Solutions Distributor (TSD), AVANT, to position its work-from-anywhere solution, enabling businesses to simplify their communications.

The two businesses work hand in hand to ensure channel partners can offer effective and secure communications solutions to end-users to enhance their business and ensure maximum productivity regardless of where they choose to work.

RingCentral is the most secure and private global cloud communications platform in the market. Leveraging the expertise of a TSD like AVANT gives partners of all sizes an extra layer of support to position the right solution to their customer base.

With the TSD model, partners get ongoing support from RingCentral and can lean upon the additional support of AVANT to help implement solutions.

Security at its Heart

Cybersecurity has fast become a crucial factor for businesses looking to adopt new communication tools.

RingCentral addresses these challenges head-on and puts them at the centre of its proposition, demonstrated in the unmatched 99.999% uptime SLA reliability it delivers year after year, which equates to less than 78 seconds of downtime per quarter!

Speaking to UC Today, RingCentral’s Chris Moore said this is reflected in the conversations he has with prospective customers.

“Five years ago, it was a conversation before customers purchased a platform, but now it’s in requests for proposals,” he explained.

“The conversations include everything, from where data is stored, where it’s going to be sent, to how users interact with it.

“Customers need confidence that their customers’ data is going to be safe.”

This safety bleeds through a number of areas that RingCentral focuses on and builds into its platform: from residency, to encryption, to the resiliency of its core platform.

Moore highlighted some examples – including built-in fraud protection, STIR/SHAKEN support, and mechanisms that both proactively and reactively work to prevent breaches.

To evidence this, RingCentral has a track record of working with organisations in sectors that handle the most sensitive data, including government departments and NHS Trusts.

“We have total confidence in these discussions because we have the expertise and the experience with our partners and existing customers,” he added.

Security Beyond UC

Having adequate security in UC and contact centre environments is essential; it’s where RingCentral specialises. However, it’s important to remember that end-user organisations have to think about cybersecurity everywhere.

This is why RingCentral partners with TSDs like AVANT. As well as having expertise around RingCentral’s platform, AVANT can bring in adjacent technologies to build a solution for businesses, delivered through their Trusted Advisers/ Partners, that extends beyond communications.

AVANT’s portfolio includes prominent vendors across areas including security, connectivity, networking, and disaster recovery.

AVANT Sales Engineer, Neil Farnsworth, told UC Today that network security is in high demand among businesses preparing to move to a cloud-based communications platform.

“Security is really complex,” he said. “It’s starting to really ramp up because it can be very scary for businesses when they have an issue; you can be looking at months of downtime.”

“UC rides over the network, but it impacts users, devices, applications, and often, and most importantly, an organisation’s data.

“We find that when companies dig deeper into UC security, they often uncover opportunities to improve their security posture using ideas like zero trust and tools like ZTNA and SASE, which can help move away from legacy VPNs. That’s where organisations can really close the loop on any issues, particularly when they have people working from home.”

The combination of RingCentral’s leading platform with AVANT’s cybersecurity credentials arms channel partners with a 360-degree solution to take to their customers, particularly in industry verticals where protecting sensitive data is paramount.

Cloud-based communications platforms have freed workforces to be productive wherever they want, but this newfound freedom must not come at the expense of cybersecurity.

Find out more about RingCentral’s award-winning partner programme here.

Got a question or want to become a RingCentral partner through a TSD? Contact the AVANT Team here.



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