Cloud communications continue to evolve at a rapid pace. As enterprises move from a traditional, on-premise set up to more agile, scalable cloud-based solutions, several new technologies and approaches are helping drive and accelerate change. Customer and employee expectations are increasing, and cloud communications must improve to meet them. In this article, we discuss the key drivers accelerating change and explore how channel partners and their customers can embrace the next era of cloud.
- AI
Customer expectations have never been higher – and AI is powering the always-on customer care revolution.
According to Lars Bruce, Product Owner Manager at cloud-based communication and collaboration tools provider Dstny, data is the cornerstone of successful AI implementation. He emphasizes the importance of establishing solid data structures as a foundation for AI projects. By doing so, businesses can significantly enhance efficiency and effectiveness, ultimately saving time for both customers and employees.
The speed with which AI is evolving is remarkable, too, notes Bjorn Kaxe, Product Manager at Dstny. He explained to UC Today that the lead time for new versions of technologies and developing their interoperability is enabling his company to deploy improvements to partners and customers much more quickly. Kaxe added that the evolution of AI has ensured it can be widely leveraged at low cost, having previously only been used by certain companies. He cited language processing as an example of technology that has become so refined and commonplace that most companies are now able to leverage it. Of course, language processing is driving huge gains in self-service in contact centers (helping customers and reducing the pressure on agents), plus generating call summaries and other time-saving solutions for busy agents.
- Kubernetes
Kubernetes is driving significant gains in cloud communications by providing a robust platform for managing containerized applications. Kubernetes enables automated scaling of services based on real-time demand, manages the deployment of updates to communication services with minimal downtime, detects when systems are down, and enables cloud communication platforms to work across several cloud providers or in hybrid cloud environments. It also has security benefits by allowing fine control of containers and management of sensitive data.
These gains are why cloud providers like Dstny are embracing Kubernetes as the foundation on which they build all their services. Bruce explained that by off-loading the orchestration related parts of the services to Kubernetes, teams can focus on the business logic related parts. A new service can be created from essentially a common template with standard definitions for tasks like scalability, logging, monitoring, reliability etc. These things may need to be tweaked for the specific service but the lead time from ideation to delivery is drastically reduced, and cost gains and ease of use are achieved through the similarity of all services.
- As a service concept
The ‘as a service’ model that companies like Dstny is deploying is transforming cloud communications by offering scalable, flexible and cost-effective solutions that can be tailored to different business needs.
Broadly, companies have been shifting from a traditional sales model, where companies buy the technologies upfront and ‘sweat’ the asset (commonly termed a CAPEX model). A more common approach now is to offer a subscription model or OPEX model for UC services.
This brings the benefits of spreading payment across months and years. Customers will also have the latest version of software and enjoy added extras like ongoing maintenance, or whatever value-added services partners wish to offer.
Dstny’s modular ecosystem enables service provides to grow their business, offering solutions tailored to unique needs. A portfolio of relevant, future-proof services helps customers develop a bespoke solution.
The developments in cloud communications outlined here deliver benefits of cost-efficiencies. Dstny’s product manager Bjorn Kaxe and product owner manager Lars Bruce also cite the improvements in speed of innovation and time to market, plus the benefits of having Dstny manage the technologies for the partners and their customers.
Find out more at: Business Communications today and tomorrow | Dstny.
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