Scalable, versatile, and efficient unified communication tools have become crucial to any business technology stack. UC solutions should be designed to synchronize data, teams, and workflows, can improve team productivity, enhance business operations, and even strengthen customer experiences.

However, effectively managing and optimizing a UC ecosystem can be challenging.

Managed Service Providers (MSPs) act as crucial partners in the digital transformation journeys of companies looking to upgrade their communication strategy. MSPs can improve technology performance, streamline workflows, and reduce threats in the IT environment.

With the right MSP, business leaders can access a flexible, highly-skilled IT team without having to pay for an in-house resource. Unfortunately, the wrong MSP can also have a disastrous impact on business results, causing reputational damage, technology issues, resulting in unhappy customers.

So, how do companies choose the right MSP? The following tips will help.

Step 1: Examine the Existing Technology Stack

Companies in search of an effective managed service provider for unified communications may already have crucial tools in their ecosystem they need help configuring, monitoring, and optimizing. The right MSP should be able to work with business leaders on creating plans to unify critical tools both in the cloud, and on-premises environments.

For instance, companies investing in Microsoft Teams for their core collaboration needs may need to work with an MSP that offers Teams “Direct Routing as a Service” solutions designed to bring business telephony capabilities into the existing Teams infrastructure. An MSP with experience in the Teams landscape will be able to offer a fully managed service to eliminate telecom infrastructure costs, and reduce the complexity associated with direct routing.

“Experience in complex network and cloud architectures across multiple vertical markets allows New Era to consult our clients in best practices not only in Voice but in Microsoft Teams Rooms as well. A single vendor with visibility across multiple platforms and ability to troubleshoot will create less downtime and less frustration between vendors and customers. Alternatively, businesses utilizing Cisco Webex technologies may choose to work with an MSP capable of offering traditional PBX features through the Cisco ecosystem. A Cisco-focused MSP can assist businesses with accessing the right regionally distributed data centres for communications. Plus, they can provide support for centralised administration, and security in the UC space.”

Step 2: Address SIP and Connectivity Requirements

An effective MSP doesn’t just monitor the performance of UC tools and provide insights into potential IT issues, they can also ensure companies can make the most out of their communication technologies, with access to scalable, global SIP solutions.

For companies looking for ways to transition more of their business operations into the cloud, an MSP with expertise in the SIP landscape can be extremely useful. Some service providers can offer “SIP as a Service” functionality, allowing businesses to rapidly access high-quality calling capabilities in regions across the globe. These solutions can provide access to scalable SIP trunking systems which can be provisioned in real-time, installed, and managed remotely.

Most importantly, the right Managed Service Provider will ensure all SIP connections in the cloud ecosystem are compliant with the right regulations, and they can provide consistent monitoring and support to minimise technical issues.

Step 3: Explore the Breadth of UC Services on Offer

The Unified Communications needs of each company can vary drastically from one company to the next. As mentioned above, some organisations will need the help of an MSP to enhance and optimize their existing technology or migrate portions of their UC strategy into the cloud. Others will need to work with a Managed Service Provider to create a comprehensive Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) platform from scratch.

Business leaders making the transition into the UCaaS space should evaluate the breadth of communications services and support their MSP can offer. A good partner should allow companies to migrate to the cloud at their own pace, while taking advantage of applications and tools that work seamlessly with their existing infrastructure.

When examining the UCaaS services on offer from the MSP, it’s worth looking for specific solutions that can help to optimize UC performance, such as:

  • Hybrid resiliency and reliability: Flexible solutions for maximizing uptime and performance with premise-to-cloud, cloud-to-cloud, and cloud-to-premise structures.
  • Flexibility: The ability to remove or add features and capabilities based on changing organisational requirements or seasonality.
  • Automated system management: Automated tools to minimize repetitive tasks associated with managing and monitoring the UCaaS ecosystem.

“New Era’s global UCaaS customers enjoy several key benefits from our services. Improved communications and collaboration with our unified platform for voice, video, messaging, and other collaboration tools. The ability and flexibility to easily scale up or down as their needs change, without requiring significant hardware or infrastructure changes. Our customers expect and enjoy cost savings compared to traditional on-premise communication systems as we eliminate the need for hardware and maintenance costs.”

  • Ash Evans, Vice President Business Development, New Era Technology

Step 4: Look for Specialist Support

When selecting the perfect UC MSP, it’s worth looking at the bigger picture, and the goals of the business related to communication and collaboration. While many MSPs offering support with UC configuration, management, and optimization can offer support with cloud services, hybrid environments, SIP trunking, and integrations, some can also offer more specialist services.

For instance, companies considering unifying their cloud environments by bringing UC and contact center tools together may benefit from working with a Managed Service Provider with experience managing and implementing CCaaS tools. Managed Service Providers in the cloud space can offer a range of packages, combining UC support, with contact centre configuration, monitoring, technical support, and analysis.

Alternatively, organisations planning on investing heavily in the video landscape may consider seeking help from an MSP with extensive experience in the AV landscape. A managed service provider with experience configuring video conferencing systems, setting up conference rooms, and monitoring hardware and equipment can help companies to accelerate their strategies for video-based collaboration and customer service.

Step 5: Consider Compliance, Security, and Reliability

Finally, few things are more important when choosing a Managed Service Provider for UC solutions, than ensuring the provider can offer peace of mind when it comes to uptime, security, and compliance. The right MSP will be able to help businesses implement UC strategies that correspond with specific regulatory requirements, such as CCPA, GDPR, and HIPAA.

They’ll ensure companies can leverage their UC investments to become more innovative and efficient without compromising on security and privacy standards. Plus, the best MSPs will ensure companies can easily monitor any issues that may harm their security standing with comprehensive dashboards and analytical tools.

Leading MSPs also provide their services with guaranteed uptime “SLAs,” which provide crucial peace of mind to business owners, ensuring they can rely on their technology to work seamlessly in any environment. The top MSPs will even provide training and guidance to companies implementing new tools, to ensure they can get the most out of their services.



from UC Today https://ift.tt/i0vt1xu