Considering Unified Communications? 5 Questions to Ask Yourself
If you are thinking of implementing an enterprise mobility solution, the number of different aspects to consider can be extremely daunting. In this blog, we examine the business case for enterprise mobility and the 5 questions you should ask yourself when considering unified communications.
In order for Heads of IT and CIO’s to get executive-level buy-in for enterprise mobility, they need to present a clear line of vision from analyzing needs, to setting goals and targets for a Return on Investment (ROI) for a single all-encompassing mobile platform.
Unified Communications (UC), when integrated as a holistic enterprise mobility strategy can truly improve employee productivity, work quality, auditing and regulatory compliance as well as customer service – this is all achieved through connecting people and data from anywhere on your business premises at the touch of a single button. This is why businesses are realizing that when it comes to UC, the productivity, operational, and auditing benefits are enough to position the business ahead of any competitor.
To successfully implement a mobility solution, there are a number of crucial questions that a business must answer before deciding which solutions partner to go with. These questions are as follows:
1. What are your business drivers?
No matter what your ultimate business aim is, you will need to define your critical information flows and the specific workers and areas in which they are involved. This is crucial to success as understanding the daily movements of your mobile employees will clarify to management what type of functionality is needed and where. Also, having a clear plan of what a successful introduction of UC should look like, along with the benefits, will ensure that your business does not lose sight of objectives throughout implementation.
2. What improvements are you hoping to see?
Of course, minimization of costs is going to be the key driver here, but it is important to stand back and analyze the operational benefits which could arise – this could include: more accurate reporting, faster problem resolution and leaner IT and communications management. For example, manufacturers would hope that UC integration with their backend systems would offer plant line integration, improving productivity by delivering updates on new engineering changes to speed up design and programming to resume production.
3. What effects will there be to staff management?
Enterprise mobility solutions ensure that all staff and workflows are working from the same system, which means the sharing of information and collaboration between staff is much easier. Not only are staff processes facilitated, but senior management can log and track staff activity, meaning any impending issues can be spotted right away and exceptional staff can be rewarded accordingly.
4. What should you converge?
The usual failing by businesses is undertaking a disjointed approach to implementing mobility, typically resulting in staff requiring several mobile applications and carrying multiple devices. In most cases this is rather impractical. Using enterprise mobility, most applications can be converged onto a single, widely compatible and easily integrated mobile device platform. In order to successfully converge voice and data requirements, it is important to keep track of all products which are being used and ensure they are all available on one single device.
5. What regulatory compliance benefits do you expect?
Running a highly audited and traceable organization will keep the hidden costs of compliance down, as in the majority of sectors there is a degree of health & safety, data protection and auditing which is mandatory. Having all company workflows take place in a single UC environment means that it will be far easier to monitor compliance as transparency will be increased and the time spent managing and monitoring these activities will be significantly reduced. This is especially true now that the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has been rolled out across Europe.
Final Thoughts on Unified Communications
Once a business has worked through the objectives that they are trying to achieve, the next step is to find a solutions partner who meets all requirements, while offering an interface platform to deliver more efficient and effective customer service along with operational effectiveness and productivity. Here at Spectralink, we offer professional rugged telephony solutions for all types of businesses enabling them to reach their productivity and efficiency goals through increased mobility.