The way we work has changed. Teams are no longer all working out of the same location or keeping to a standard 9-5 workday. Remote work, dispersed teams and 24×7 connectivity are the new norm as are expectations of a consumer-like experience with business applications. Collaboration efforts aren’t as easy as gathering everyone in a conference room as it once was, so organizations that pivot their business strategies to leverage their existing investments in hardware, IT infrastructure and software to meet the demands of today’s evolved workforce will be the ones to flourish in 2021 and beyond.
Modern collaboration technology that works with your existing ecosystem can be installed and run on premise, via the cloud or a hybrid of both. For most organizations the cloud is the intuitive choice as it is the simplest solution to connecting a workforce that is physically dispersed. Some of the benefits to cloud collaboration tools are:
- Increased team productivity by optimizing resources
- Improved communications and efficiency
- Reduced IT complexity
- Support of BYOD (bring your own device)
When implementing cloud collaboration technology, you need to ensure the solution is secure and that it meets today’s demands of being quickly adopted by end users while lightening the burden on IT departments. When organizations do not have the in-house resources or expertise, it is recommended to partner with vendors who specialize in this adoption to handle implementation, issue resolution and lifecycle customer experience. These vendors also have the deep knowledge needed to streamline the efforts in order to offer the most efficient solution for their customers. This expertise is important because customers’ needs are not one size fits all. Each industry has their own requirements based on their functions.
Commercial organizations need cloud-based unified communication and collaboration applications within a virtualized platform under a centralized management system. This approach reduces costs and easily connects end users on any device, resulting in reduced complexity for IT teams. Enterprise-grade calling and collaboration tools like Unified Communications Manager (UCM) Cloud allows teams to collaborate securely from any location which helps increase productivity, improve efficiencies and streamline workflows. Other capabilities include voice, video, messaging, meeting and mobility solutions with features and benefits of IP phones, mobile devices and desktop products. In today’s world where technology and security requirements change so frequently, these tools also need to be as flexible as the organization. UCM Cloud can be easily scaled to any size of an organization and allows the leaders to only pay for what they need as they need it. For enterprises who want a simplified full collaboration stack from a single pane of glass and a single application, platforms like Webex Calling are available. Webex Calling offers enterprise performance while being able to take advantage of a full cloud solution and the features that natively come with it.
Similar to commercial organizations, government clients need cloud-based offerings but ones that also meet required federal cloud mandates. Government agencies need certified solutions resilient enough to consistently perform to agencies’ standards but flexible enough to be easily and quickly scaled to the size of any agency. This flexibility is critical when considering cost effectiveness and security in day-to-day operations.
Within government clients, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has its own requirements and regulations for hosted collaboration solutions. Cisco Hosted Collaboration for Defense (HCS-D) provides industry leading collaboration services including voice, video, instant messaging, presence and conferencing with certified DoD-level security (Impact Level 5, or IL5, for example) so users can collaborate securely with anyone, anywhere, on their device of choice. Such capabilities and security are not universally available so having a trusted partner with these solutions can make a big difference when it comes to mission completion.
Whether your organization wants to implement today’s industry leading collaboration tools, like UCM, on premise, via the cloud, or a hybrid of the two, it’s becoming more evident that these types of tools are needed if organizations (commercial, governmental or otherwise) are to thrive in today’s ever-evolving world of advanced technology. In order to adopt these tools effectively, however, it is wise to determine if your organization should partner with a vendor with both the skills and resources to accomplish it on time and on budget.
To learn more about collaboration technology like Unified Communications Manager for Commercial or Government, HCS-D or Webex Calling simply click the associated link. To talk with one of our experts on cloud adoption services, contact us.
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