UC MARKET GUIDE 2020 Tech Professionals - Essential Insights for - SAP Digital Interconnect

 
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UC MARKET GUIDE 2020 Tech Professionals - Essential Insights for - SAP Digital Interconnect
UC
MARKET GUIDE 2020

Essential Insights for
Tech Professionals

HEADLINE SPONSOR |
UC MARKET GUIDE 2020 Tech Professionals - Essential Insights for - SAP Digital Interconnect
PUBLISHER’S FOREWORD

    Get Ready for                                        intelligent voice to video, instant-messaging
                                                         and more. Companies that are unable to
    Ambient                                              embrace the latest strategies for interactivity
                                                         won’t be able to thrive in the new world. Now

    Communications                                       is the time to evolve, or risk falling behind.

                                                         Fortunately, many organisations have already
                                                         received this message loud and clear.
                                                         Demand for cloud-delivered communication
                                                         and collaboration services are on the rise.
                               Rob Scott | Publisher     The threats and changes of COVID-19 will
                                                                                                           The workplace will never
                               rob.scott@uctoday.com     turn the cloud-invested minority into the                                                                                           Looking to the future.
                               UC Today                  majority in very little time. Businesses around   be the same.
                                                         the globe have been forced to test the                                                                                              We had a fantastic response at UC Today to our
                                                         benefits of the cloud for themselves, and         The arrival of new collaborations between                                         debut virtual expo and conference. UC Summit
                                                         they see first-hand just how valuable this        business leaders, sensational disruptive                                          2021 will be returning in January 2021.
                                                         environment can be.                               products, and updated technology combined
                                                                                                           with the growing remote and globalised                                            However, if you can’t wait until then for more
                                                         There’s no turning back. Everywhere we            workforce has changed the business landscape                                      updates from myself and the team, then you’re
    For the last couple of years, the                    look, employees and business leaders              for good.                                                                         in luck. In the countdown to the new year, we’ll
    UC market has been evolving                          are adapting to this new digital world. It                                                                                          be hosting exclusive events on our new virtual
                                                         will be difficult to close the door on such a     Video-first communications and collaboration
    at a phenomenal speed.                               successful new route to productivity. Aside       options are rapidly emerging as the only option
                                                                                                                                                                                             venue, designed to keep you informed in a more
                                                                                                                                                                                             immersive way.
                                                         from the rising demand for cloud and “aaS”        for successful interaction in this new landscape.
                                                         technologies, we’re also seeing an increase                                                                                         I hope you enjoy this year’s Market Guide.
                                                         in collaboration between major players in the     At the same time, CCaaS with remote                                               Remember to watch this space for more updates
    That’s something that has remained true as we                                                          agile workers, AI-powered analytics, and
    step into the new decade and 2020.                   industry. Massive partnerships, such as the                                                                                         and insights from the world of UC, Collaboration
                                                         ones between Avaya and RingCentral, have          omnichannel opportunities, is delivering the                                      and CX technology.
                                                         changed the scope of what’s possible in the       kind of amazing experiences that customers
    Everywhere we look, “as a service,” concepts are                                                       have been demanding for years.
    gaining steam. Easily accessible new technology      communications space.
    is opening the door to incredible opportunities                                                        In this new environment, businesses need to be
    in everything from customer experience to user       Additionally, leaders like Microsoft and
                                                         Cisco are leaving their rivalries behind and      ready and willing to adapt. This means being                                      Chris Porter | Commercial Director
    productivity.                                                                                          open to new opportunities, wherever they                                          chris.porter@uctoday.com
                                                         working more closely together to serve the
                                                         needs of various customers. Slack and Cisco       emerge. For instance, connecting everyone
    A new communication stack                            can now both provide their own form of            – including frontline workers will be a critical                                  Ian Taylor | Editor
    for a new decade.                                    interoperability with Microsoft Teams.            concern for many leading companies. 5G and                                        ian.taylor@uctoday.com
                                                                                                           better mobility will help to keep us all aligned
    Ambient communications represent the                                                                   wherever we are.                                                                  News Desk
                                                         Elsewhere, M&A strategies continue, with
    data-driven approach to crucial business                                                                                                                                                 newsdesk@uctoday.com
                                                         brands like 8x8 acquiring their own CPaaS
    conversations. We’re living in a world where         business. What’s more, leaders like Slack         5G will also help to enhance more
                                                                                                           game-changing technology in the form of                                           Job Enquiries
    customers, teams, and users alike all expect more    and Zoom have shown us what’s possible
                                                                                                           voice-powered smart assistants that respond                                       work@uctoday.com
    from the businesses that they’re interacting with.   when a forward-thinking collaboration
                                                         and communication company enters the              to our every need, and VR/AR tech that brings
    As we head deeper into this new decade, work         public market. Europe is rapidly becoming         new realities into customer conversations.                                        Thank you to all our sponsors, advertisers
    communication will evolve and accelerate,            the new hot space for market roll-ups and                                                                                           and guest speakers.
    splitting into various crucial avenues, from         consolidation.

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UC MARKET GUIDE 2020 Tech Professionals - Essential Insights for - SAP Digital Interconnect
THANK YOU TO
     ALL OUR SPONSORS
                                          GET INVOLVED
                                          Engage with digital buyers; from IT professionals researching products,
    Headline Sponsor                      to industry professionals trying to stay ahead of the competition.
    Unified Communications

                             Service
    UCaaS          CPaaS     Management

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UC MARKET GUIDE 2020 Tech Professionals - Essential Insights for - SAP Digital Interconnect
UCaaS

    The Rapid
    Adoption of UCaaS

    UCaaS, or Unified Communications as a                 SD-WAN also offers the flexibility and                All the while, 5G, and new mobility solutions in                                  Keep up to date with all the
    Service, is a solution designed to bring all          peace-of-mind of abundant failover opportunities,     the UCaaS landscape ensures that businesses
                                                                                                                                                                                                  latest news, reviews and
    of the varying channels we use to connect             delivered through multiple networks. This ensures     can allow their team members to connect more
    in a single platform.                                 that companies can maintain the kind of first-class   efficiently on the go, with high-value video and                                  opinions at UC Today
                                                          conversations their customers expect.                 quality communications from any environment.
    Within the cloud, businesses can design a
    professional hub where everything from video          New technology in the                                 Building a business case                                                            NEWS
    conferencing to instant messaging can thrive.
    According to MarketWatch, the UCaaS industry
                                                          UCaaS landscape.                                      for UCaaS.
    will reach a value of $79.3 billion by the end of
                                                          Over the last year or two, we’ve seen a rapid         Unified Communications as a Service delivers all
    2024, driven in part by the rapid adoption of the
                                                                                                                of the benefits of the cloud to the communication                                   REVIEWS
    cloud, as well as the arrival of new solutions like   increase of disruptive and innovative technology
                                                          in the communication landscape. APIs, SDKs,           stack, from flexibility and scalability, with the
    AI, and 5G in Unified Communications.
                                                          CPaaS, and other solutions mean that it’s easier      option to add new functionality whenever you
                                                          for businesses to build their own customised          choose.                                                                             DIRECTORY
    Paving the way for UCaaS.                             UCaaS solution, complete with all the latest
                                                          innovations in AI, 5G, and even IoT.                  Companies that need help proving their UCaaS
    Over the years, UCaaS and the cloud have                                                                    stack’s benefits to the rest of their team can even
    gained a significant amount of attention as                                                                 adopt phased migration strategies, which allow
                                                          For instance, artificial intelligence in the UCaaS
    businesses have begun to strive for a more                                                                  them to use hybrid communication deployments
                                                          landscape opens doors for business leaders to
    efficient and cost-effective way to stay connected.                                                         while they move from on-premises into the cloud.
                                                          drive better decision making in any company.
    Nemertes reports that 19.1% of companies
    were already using UCaaS for calling and                                                                    This phased strategy can help to encourage user                                   #UCaaS
    communication. This year (2020), the demand is                                                              adoption, by giving employees more time to get
    expected to increase even further.                        With AI analytics, organisations                  used to new technology. At the same time, it
                                                              can assess their customers,                       ensures that business leaders have time to see
    Along with a rapid migration to the cloud, we’ll                                                            the ROI of a UCaaS solution for themselves.
    also likely see more companies embracing the              use predictive analytics, and
    benefits that SD-WAN technology has to offer              even evaluate sentiment in a                      As companies become more familiar with the
    in relation to UCaaS. With SD-WAN capabilities,           customer conversation.                            cloud, they may even decide to expand beyond                                                        Learn more
    companies can take advantage of active and                                                                  UCaaS into the CPaaS environment, where they
    intelligent monitoring of their communication                                                                                                                                                                   about UCaaS
                                                                                                                can make their communication stack even more
    strategies, allowing for greater Quality of                                                                 customised with no-code and low-code APIs.
                                                          It’s also possible to use virtual assistants to aid
    Service management. What’s more, there are
                                                          agents in delivering better service.                                                                                                                           Download our
    more opportunities within SD-WAN for quick                                                                  Increasingly, UCaaS and CPaaS or converging                                                              FREE Smart Guide
    provisioning and deployment.                                                                                to offer ever-more unique solutions in the age of
                                                                                                                personalised business communications.

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UC MARKET GUIDE 2020 Tech Professionals - Essential Insights for - SAP Digital Interconnect
When staff are more connected to each                                             single solution with a single intuitive interface.
                                                                                                      other, teamwork and collaboration across
                                                                                                      departments is improved and businesses find                                       Unified communications is about allowing a
                                                                                                      they can respond better, and more quickly to their                                business to aggregate a lot of services into one
                                                                                                      customers’ needs.                                                                 app that doesn’t just work within the business,
                                                                                                                                                                                        but outside it too. As well as vastly improving
                                                                                                      The pace of change in the UC market over the                                      internal communications, all those benefits can
                                                                                                      last two years has been breathtaking. Analysts                                    extend out to the entire ecosystem of associates,
                                                                                                      now predict that by the end of 2020, 90% of                                       suppliers, partners and customers. There’s a key
                                                                                                      companies will have deployed some form of UC/                                     benefit of UC not available with discrete solutions
                                                                                                      UCaaS solution – even before the COVID-19                                         such as stand-alone video conferencing or instant
                                                                                                      outbreak began. This astonishing level of growth                                  messaging. In those cases, a contact necessarily
                                                                                                      has been driven by digital transformation projects,                               starts and ends with that channel alone. There is
                                                                                                      recognising the need to enable teams to work                                      no option to bring in other channels as they are
                                                                                                      more flexibly, the ready availability of underlying                               required.
                                                                                                      technologies in the cloud, and increasing access
                                                                                                      to fast, dependable connectivity.                                                 With UC, what starts as an audio conference

    Working smarter,                                Embracing Unified
                                                    Communications gives staff the                    The New Business Paradigm.
                                                                                                                                                                                        may subsequently involve video to make a visual
                                                                                                                                                                                        point, then perhaps add screen or document

    together.
                                                                                                                                                                                        sharing to demonstrate more detailed plans and
                                                    power to reach their full potential,              The traditional concept of nine-to-five,                                          diagrams, and then Web conferencing to capture
                                                    from anywhere.                                    office-based working in one location is becoming                                  a signature. This kind of consistency is simply not
                                                                                                      less relevant every day. Leaning across a partition                               possible by shuffling between multiple discrete
                                                    Improving communications between company          or bumping into colleagues at the coffee machine                                  apps. Being wholly device agnostic, UC allows
                                                    teams and departments, as well as with external   is no longer how office workers stay in touch,                                    the same seamless experience for desktop,
    We combine voice, connectivity and mobile       partners and customers, has never been more       even when in the office.                                                          remote and mobile users alike.
    services into unified communications to         important. In the past, enabling effective team
    keep businesses moving forward.                 collaboration has proven to be a challenge        The absence of proximity and immediacy has                                        As working from home becomes the new normal
                                                    for many businesses without having the right      made preserving the continuity of business                                        for many, it’s important to ensure that the right
    You can access our leading edge solutions       technology in place.                              processes and workflows much harder. Hence                                        communications medium is there to fit the user
    through our network of specialist partners or                                                     the growing need for tools that support seamless                                  function. With unified communications it’s all there
    directly from us.                               Now, as businesses globally envoke business       24-hour working in virtual teams around the                                       from the outset. Everyone involved gets exactly
                                                    continuity plans in the wake of the Covid-19      world.                                                                            what they need to get the job done.
                                                    pandemic, Unified communications (UC) is
                                                    one solution mobilising teams now required
    gamma.co.uk                                                                                       UC meets that need through a combination of
                                                                                                                                                                                                                Alan Mackie
                                                    to work from home, maintaining effective team     audio conferencing, video conferencing, Web
                                                    collaboration and supporting continued customer                                                                                                             Chief Marketing and
                                                                                                      conferencing, instant messaging, presence and
                                                    interaction.                                                                                                                                                Product Officer
       GET IN TOUCH                                                                                   document sharing. While all of these technologies
                                                                                                      have existed in discrete form for some time, UC                                                           Gamma
                                                                                                      brings them all together for the first time into a

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UC MARKET GUIDE 2020 Tech Professionals - Essential Insights for - SAP Digital Interconnect
Vonage had a different idea: to own the entire                                     availability for prospects and customers. SSO
                                                                                                 communications stack from UC to CC to APIs and                                     also provides consistent identity and access
                                                                                                 AI. Introducing Vonage Unified Experience                                          management across the entire operation.
                                                                                                 Now, by owning all of the technology, we’ve
                                                                                                 completely integrated formerly separate
                                                                                                 communications solutions into one powerful
                                                                                                                                                                                    Single intuitive interface.
                                                                                                 solution that can create a better customer                                         Vonage Unified Experience seamlessly meshes
                                                                                                 experience and greater employee satisfaction.                                      UC solutions, contact centres, CRM and other
                                                                                                                                                                                    integrations—all cloud-based and all accessible
                                                                                                 Sure, you can “stitch” together separate UC
                                                                                                                                                                                    in an easy, intuitive interface that works the way
                                                                                                 and CC solutions, maybe even a CRM. But a
                                                                                                                                                                                    the user expects it to. The result: reduced training
                                                                                                 siloed system can’t compare to a single, proven
                                                                                                                                                                                    time, less frustration, increased efficiency, and a
                                                                                                 communications vendor.
                                                                                                                                                                                    consistent, effortless experience.

                                                                                                 Vonage Unified Experience future-proofs
                                                                                                 businesses by providing sole ownership of the                                      Professional presence and availability.
                                                                                                 technology, a clear product roadmap, and a                                         With Vonage Unified Experience, agents can see

     When it comes to
                                                                                                 single source of customer support. Here are                                        if a back-office user is available for consultation
                                              We all know that in business, for                  some of the highlights:                                                            and check other agents’ availability, making
                                              the most part, more is better. More                                                                                                   customer service more effective by using the
     communications                           customers, more positive customer
                                              experiences, more sales, more net
                                                                                                 Common call controls.
                                                                                                                                                                                    full skill and expertise of the entire business to
                                                                                                                                                                                    support customer interactions. Users can connect
     vendors, less is                         revenue.
                                                                                                 Back-office users and contact centre agents can
                                                                                                 take advantage of the same set of common call
                                                                                                                                                                                    via multiple channels—messaging, conference
                                                                                                                                                                                    calls, video meetings, or whatever works best for

     better.                                  But there’s one area where less is definitely
                                                                                                 controls, making it a snap to answer calls. Your
                                                                                                 contact centre agents can interact with your
                                                                                                                                                                                    the situation—enhancing productivity while also
                                                                                                                                                                                    boosting customer satisfaction.
                                              better: the number of communications vendors       business in the way that suits them best—through
                                              you have to rely on. According to Forbes,          an embedded experience within your CRM; our
                                              businesses normally have so many suppliers         Vonage Business Communications Desktop                                             Common directory.
                                              across the enterprise—in larger companies, it      application with hide, unhide, and minimised                                       Thanks to a single directory across UC and CC,
     Vonage combines unified communications                                                      views; or completely standalone.                                                   collaboration has never been easier. Vonage
                                              can stretch into the thousands—that they often
     and contact centre.                                                                                                                                                            Unified Experience provides a single source of
                                              can’t keep track of them, creating unwelcome
                                              complexity and unnecessary costs.But the                                                                                              truth for all employees.
                                              trend today is to simplify. Most communications
                                                                                                 Single Sign On (SSO).
                                              vendors only sell and support either Unified       Business today demands an easier, more
                                                                                                                                                                                    In today’s world, simple is better. Vonage’s
     vonage.com                               Communications or Contact Centre solutions, not    pleasant experience, and SSO provides just that.
                                                                                                                                                                                    vision is to make communications more flexible,
                                              both. And using multiple vendors means multiple    By employing a simple login with the click of
                                                                                                                                                                                    intelligent, and personal to help enterprises the
                                              logins, multiple admin portals, multiple support   a button, you eliminate users fumbling around
                                                                                                                                                                                    world over stay ahead. And Vonage Unified
       GET IN TOUCH                           needs—to put it simply, a huge hassle.             trying to locate multiple login credentials just to
                                                                                                                                                                                    Experience plays an important part in making that
                                                                                                 manage even basic tasks. Agents can quickly
                                                                                                                                                                                    vision a reality.
                                                                                                 login to the contact centre and control their

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UC MARKET GUIDE 2020 Tech Professionals - Essential Insights for - SAP Digital Interconnect
Office, which provides screensharing, HD video                                     Another thing we’re really proud of is Kandy Live
                                                                                                          whiteboard, group chat, conferencing and                                           Support - which can transition a call centre to a
                                                                                                          more on both desktop and mobile clients. Fully                                     fully remote team in less than 30 minutes. Remote
                                                                                                          functional licenses are available from select                                      staff can access an enterprise’s contact centre
                                                                                                          partners free of charge until June 30, 2020.                                       services from a browser. Best of all, Live Support
                                                                                                                                                                                             can be brought up without help from IT.
                                                                                                          For enterprises wanting to use Microsoft Teams
                                                                                                          to support remote workers, the key is connecting                                   The third fundamental way we’re helping is by
                                                                                                          Teams to the rest of the world using Direct                                        securely connecting Microsoft Teams to the rest
                                                                                                          Routing. That requires a Microsoft Certified                                       of the world. With SBC SWe Lite’s three step
                                                                                                          Session Border Controller (SBC) like Ribbon’s                                      configuration wizard, Ribbon’s partners can turn
                                                                                                          SBC SWe Lite. Through our Work@Home offer,                                         up Teams Direct Routing, link it to your existing
                                                                                                          Ribbon’s partners can turn up SBC SWe Lite                                         phone system or service, and connect to SIP
                                                                                                          in Azure, connect it to trunks from any carrier                                    trunks in minutes. Because it’s all in the cloud, no
                                                                                                          and support any number of remote workers. A                                        site visit is required.
                                                                                                          50 session SBC SWe Lite is free for 90 days
                                                                                                          to speed an enterprise’s transition to a remote

     Secure                                       Ribbon Launches Work@Home,
                                                  Facilitating Remote Work for
                                                                                                          workforce.                                                                             Teams is such a powerful
                                                                                                                                                                                                 collaboration tool and we’re able
     communications                               Enterprises and Contact Centres.                        Ribbon’s transition to a fully remote team.
                                                                                                                                                                                                 to support Teams Secure Voice
                                                                                                                                                                                                 to connect call routing directly
     and networking.                              In recent weeks, Ribbon has launched our
                                                  cloud-based Work@Home offer, which delivers
                                                                                                          We’re fortunate. We’ve long worked as a
                                                                                                          distributed company so working as a fully remote                                       within Teams.
                                                                                                          team has not affected the way that we conduct
                                                  advanced remote working capabilities to
                                                                                                          our business on a day-to-day basis. Our Channel
                                                  enterprises and contact centres of any size.
                                                                                                          Marketing team collaborates daily with colleagues
                                                                                                                                                                                             Partners, CSPs and Enterprises who are
                                                                                                          around the world using Smart Office and
                                                  As our Senior Vice President, Cloud Products,                                                                                              interested in these solutions can check out our
     Whether it’s our market-leading Session                                                              Microsoft Teams.
                                                  Sacha Gera said, “In light of the COVID-19                                                                                                 work@home offer at for more information.
     Border Controllers, transforming networks    pandemic, companies must be empowered to
     with Network Function Virtualisation (NFV)   shift their operations to alternate locations quickly                                                                                      We’re offering free Smart Office licenses until
     or cloud UC, Ribbon has got you covered.                                                             How Ribbon technologies support
                                                  and efficiently. Our Kandy Communications                                                                                                  June 30 and SBC SWe Lite for Teams Direct
                                                                                                          work-from-home initiatives.
                                                  Platform as a Service (CPaaS)-based solutions                                                                                              Routing is free for 90 days.
                                                  enable companies to rapidly meet this need
                                                                                                          Ribbon, both directly and through our partners,
                                                  seamlessly and cost-effectively.”
     ribboncommunications.com                                                                             is able to help support collaboration and remote
                                                                                                                                                                                                                     John Macario
                                                                                                          working in a number of ways. Firstly, we have
                                                  Enterprises that need to switch their operational                                                                                                                  Senior Vice President,
                                                                                                          a unique Unified Communications as a Service
                                                  model to an all-remote workforce have access                                                                                                                       Channel Marketing
        GET IN TOUCH                                                                                      (UCaaS) offering that helps enterprises bring files,
                                                  to a complete Unified Communications and                                                                                                                           Ribbon
                                                                                                          remote access, call management and more to
                                                  Collaboration solution with Ribbon’s Smart
                                                                                                          employees wherever they are.

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UC MARKET GUIDE 2020 Tech Professionals - Essential Insights for - SAP Digital Interconnect
powers our diagnostics platform, VSM, to provide
                                                                                                        individual customers with more finetuned control
                                                                                                        of their UC and contact centre systems.

                                                                                                        More than simply highlighting problems or
                                                                                                        potential issues deep down in our customers’
                                                                                                        UC environments, we’re able to recommend
                                                                                                        adjustments to individual UC and contact
                                                                                                        centre systems based on billions of data points
                                                                                                        sifted through an ITIL Service Management                                          But when this intelligence is engineered in a
                                                                                                        filter and further overlaid on a vast database of                                  format that offers managers an intelligent partner
                                                                                                        configuration scenarios.                                                           – a virtual engineer – it is immediately catapulted
                                                                                                                                                                                           to a human realm.
                                                                                                        It’s the kind of work beyond human capability,
                                                                                                        requiring a combination of big data, machine                                       At one level, truly intelligent systems watch, think,
                                                                                                        learning, and AI-driven automation.                                                and even act in the background – within rules
                                                                                                                                                                                           and limits set by the managing engineer (a real

     The rise of the                                The central beauty of cloud-based software
                                                    services is the one-to-many model
                                                                                                                                                                                           human). That’s a load off the shoulders, allowing
                                                                                                                                                                                           engineers to look up and around, rather than their

     virtual engineer.
                                                    that connects vendors to a worldwide                                                                                                   heads remaining trapped in the weeds.
                                                    community of users.
                                                                                                                                                                                           However, when the system taps you on the
                                                    When service providers build in the cloud, they                                                                                        shoulder to say, “Hey, look here, because
                                                    function like an extended neural network that                                                                                          trouble is brewing”, or responds immediately
                                                    channels a backflow of data that tells them who’s                                                                                      when asked: “How are we doing today, what
     Big data combined with AI engines is           using their services, how they’re being used, and                                                                                      problems did we encounter and how were they
     creating a new breed of engineer – the         if they perform as they should.                                                                                                        fixed?”, you’ve got a real smart partner. Big data,
     virtual engineer. UC service management                                                                                                                                               machine learning and AI-driven automation
     provider Virsae outlines the possibilities     In the same way crowd-sourced ideas drive new       In short, our diagnostic platform looks across the                                 is revolutionising the way UC and contact
     when data harvested from a worldwide           product development, aggregating user data          entire base of thousands of UC ecosystems for                                      centre systems are managed. Putting a human
     community of UC platform users is applied to   generated by a community produces powerful          patterns, crunches the data, and then proactively                                  interface on these systems elevates them to
     AI-driven automation.                          insights that can be shared with individual         makes recommendations.                                                             valued employee status. Imagine that – a virtual
                                                    customers to improve their overall service                                                                                             engineer, one that doesn’t need pats on the
                                                    experience.                                         However, things take a giant leap forward when                                     head, a Christmas bonus, or staff carpark.
                                                                                                        you take all this intelligence and then humanise
     virsae.com                                                                                         the user interface. Think digital assistants like
                                                    Here at Virsae we’ve staked our future on the
                                                                                                        Alexa, Siri, and Cortana. Smart dashboards that                                                            Ross Williams
                                                    power of this idea – a hive mind of sorts –
                                                                                                        help managers more easily monitor, diagnose,                                                               Chief Operating Officer
                                                    harvesting a skyrocketing volume of data from
       GET IN TOUCH                                                                                     and manage infrastructure and applications                                                                 Virsae
                                                    our global community. The mountain of data
                                                                                                        critical to customer experience are standard fare
                                                                                                        by today’s standards.

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UC MARKET GUIDE 2020 Tech Professionals - Essential Insights for - SAP Digital Interconnect
GUEST BLOG

     The often-
     overlooked
     characteristic of
     UC providers and
     their solutions.
                                 Patrick Sullivan
                                 COO & Co-Founder
                                 2600Hz

                                                         model, let alone into the platforms they are      Agility: it’s not just about
                                                         selling. That’s why it can take months, if not                                                                                        This agility is how companies such as 2600Hz
     Predictions can be made about                       years, for new products or features to be
                                                                                                           flexibility.                                                                        are able to quickly pivot and reprioritise the
     where the UC market is heading,                     released even though customers demand
                                                                                                           While flexibility is one aspect of agility, it is not
                                                                                                                                                                                               products on their roadmap. When the coronavirus
                                                         them — and need them — right now.                                                                                                     pandemic started and businesses needed more
     what the next big trend will be,                                                                      synonymous with agility because there are
                                                                                                                                                                                               tools to enable remote work, 2600Hz was able
     and what businesses should be                       Partnering with a UC provider who embraces
                                                                                                           other key characteristics of agility that are often
                                                                                                                                                                                               to provide customers with new products and
                                                                                                           forgotten. These include being “stable (resilient,
     investing in when it comes to their                 agility and whose platform is also built to
                                                                                                           reliable, and efficient) and dynamic (fast, nimble,
                                                                                                                                                                                               additional capabilities in just a few weeks. Not
     communication solutions.                            be agile, can have a profound impact on
                                                                                                           and adaptive)” according to McKinsey.
                                                                                                                                                                                               only is the company itself agile, but agility was
                                                         business success.                                                                                                                     built into the foundation of KAZOO, 2600Hz’s
                                                                                                                                                                                               revolutionary UCaaS meets CPaaS platform, from
                                                         When the market shifts, the organisations                                                                                             the start.
                                                         who can rapidly pivot their internal resources    Being able to pivot quickly
     However, predictions can only go so far. Business   and can easily make changes to their              and produce results while                                                           When the market shifts and customer demands
     needs can change at the drop of a hat — take,
     for instance, the exponential increase of remote
                                                         platform will outperform their competitors        maintaining stability throughout                                                    change, it’s easy to tell which UC providers
                                                         because they’re able to deliver new                                                                                                   and their platforms are agile. They’re the ones
     work during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic       products, features, and functionality and can
                                                                                                           the organisation is equally as                                                      delivering on their customer’s needs in a short
     — and business success requires one thing that      do so quickly.                                    important as flexibility.                                                           amount of time and doing so efficiently while
     many UC solution providers and their platforms                                                                                                                                            remaining stable and dynamic.
     don’t have: agility.                                There’s no red tape to navigate or hoops to
                                                         jump through in order to change course, and       And again, it’s not just about organisational
     According to McKinsey, companies that go            the organisation is already full of key players   agility — UC platforms themselves must be built
     agile are 50 percent likelier to outperform their   who embrace team cohesiveness and will            to be agile so that they remain stable while
     competitors financially. Yet, agility is not top    proudly rise to the occasion.                     new features, functionality, and capabilities are
     of mind for most UC providers because it’s a
                                                                                                           added quickly and efficiently, resulting in a fast
     principle that was not built into their business
                                                                                                           time to market.

16                                                                                                                          UC MARKET GUIDE 2020 | ESSENTIAL INSIGHTS FOR TECH PROFESSIONALS                    uctoday.com                        17
UC MARKET GUIDE 2020 Tech Professionals - Essential Insights for - SAP Digital Interconnect
CPaaS entered the market as one of the biggest                                     CPaaS also enables providers to differentiate
                                                                                                       disruptions to business communications solutions                                   themselves in the market because it delivers
                                                                                                       since gaining widespread visibility in 2015.                                       benefits including increased authentication,
                                                                                                                                                                                          scalability, and flexibility over traditional UC
                                                                                                       Since then, the CPaaS market has exploded and                                      solutions.
                                                                                                       is expected to continue gaining popularity and
                                                                                                       adoption. By 2022, it is expected to grow to an                                    Service Providers can utilise APIs and integrations
                                                                                                       unprecedented $10.9 billion according to IDC                                       to create customised solutions for the specific
                                                                                                       as end users demand flexible and customisable                                      industries or niches they target, such as hotels,
                                                                                                       communication solutions — one of the key                                           construction, retail, etc. which is proving to be a
                                                                                                       advantages of CPaaS.                                                               game-changer.

                                                                                                       CPaaS is gaining massive traction, and for good
                                                                                                       reason. It delivers a newfound level of flexibility
                                                                                                       through APIs as businesses look to integrate
                                                                                                                                                                                              Selecting a niche, focusing
                                                                                                       more than just voice, text, and video capabilities                                     on research, marketing, and
                                                                                                       into their products.                                                                   support for specific industries
     The ultimate                                UCaaS and CPaaS for
                                                 Enhanced CX.                                          By leveraging CPaaS, Service Providers can
                                                                                                                                                                                              will help Service Providers win
                                                                                                                                                                                              those customers’ trust and
     UCaaS meets
                                                                                                       extend their offering to any capable device and
                                                                                                       add to their ability to serve customers more                                           create a “stickiness” that can’t
                                                 Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS)
                                                                                                                                                                                              be outbid by cost.
     CPaaS technology
                                                                                                       holistically.
                                                 has been top of mind for many Service Providers
                                                 over the past few years due to demand from

     built to scale.                             end users to have one platform that provides
                                                 the primary communication tools they need on                                                                                             These custom solutions can’t be easily replaced
                                                                                                                                                                                          by mainstream competitors because they won’t
                                                 a day to day basis. However, UCaaS products
                                                 can leave something to be desired by most end                                                                                            have the custom capabilities that are helping end
                                                 users as additional features and functionality,                                                                                          users work more efficiently, be more productive,
     Enabling you to offer an unparalleled       such as automations and CRM integrations, are                                                                                            and provide a superior customer experience.
     communication experience while evolving     becoming necessary tools for everyday work and                                                                                           With CPaaS, you’re selling a solution, not just a
     your next generation service offering and   productivity.                                                                                                                            product.
     winning more business.
                                                 End users are now looking for one platform that
                                                 can do it all rather than piecing together multiple                                                                                                              Alisa Bartash
     2600hz.com                                  systems to get everything they need. That’s why                                                                                                                  Head of Marketing
                                                 there have been a number of recent acquisitions                                                                                                                  2600Hz
                                                 in the UC space, and the market is heading
       GET IN TOUCH                              toward UCaaS and CPaaS (Communications
                                                 Platform as a Service) integration.

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In order to successfully achieve this, they require                               leverage to remain productive and reachable
                                                                                                 a fully mobile, effective, ubiquitous, and easy-                                  while working from safe, external locations.
                                                                                                 to-use technology that guarantees the integrity                                   Once the period of crisis is over and things
                                                                                                 and security of everyone’s data or personal                                       return to normal, the time for analysis will begin.
                                                                                                 information. To accommodate these requirements                                    A lessons-learned phase will be crucial for not
                                                                                                 Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise’s cloud-based                                           only governmental institutions but also individual
                                                                                                 communications platform, RainbowTM, is available                                  organisations to identify what went well, what
                                                                                                 to offer businesses a means of productively and                                   went wrong , and how they can better prepare
                                                                                                 securely offering working remotely capabilities                                   for future events of this magnitude. Alcatel-Lucent
                                                                                                 through real-time messaging, high definition                                      Rainbow can help and support your business
                                                                                                 audio and video calls (group or peer-to-peer),                                    during both times of crisis and normality by
                                                                                                 easy screen sharing, and large file transfers (with                               facilitating flexibility and safeguarding productivity.
                                                                                                 built-in antivirus software).

                                                                                                 Available on any device (web, mobile, desktop
                                                                                                 or tablet) and with no additional hardware
                                                                                                 or software installations required, new users

     Ensure business                        Like all businesses operating in
                                            times of crisis (natural disasters,
                                                                                                 can seamlessly get started today by creating
                                                                                                 accounts in seconds. What’s more, pre-assigned

     continuity
                                                                                                 company administrators can autonomously
                                            geo-political events, health scares,                 manage users, disable certain features (i.e. file
                                            etc.) the safety and well-being of
     with online
                                                                                                 sharing), and access key usage statistics to
                                            employees is paramount.                              ensure that Rainbow is used in the correct way
                                                                                                 throughout the organisation. Find out more.
     collaboration                          In such unfortunate and unplanned situations,
                                                                                                                                                                                       Alcatel-Lucent RainbowTM
                                                                                                                                                                                       ALE Rainbow has been recognised by

     tools.
                                            small, mid and large-size enterprises may be                                                                                               Gartner as one of the best UCaaS platforms
                                            forced to close offices, to restrict travel, or to   Connecting everything                                                                 in 2019 and is the first
                                            mandate home-working en masse to help reduce         that matters.                                                                         non-US vendor to be included in the
                                            the extent to which their workforce is exposed to                                                                                          Gartner Magic Quadrant. Our platform
                                            potential risk.                                      To conclude, in crisis situations such as the one                                     is also ISO27001 and HDS certified and
     Keep your business up and running in                                                        we are facing with the rapid outbreak of the                                          compliant. Find out more.
                                            With the recent outbreak of the Coronavirus,         Coronavirus, business that have never previously
     times of crisis.
                                            many of us have either been impacted directly        explored or permitted remote-working find
                                            or indirectly in both personal or professional       themselves struggling to adapt to the changes in
     al-enterprise.com                      contexts. Across industries, enterprises operating   working conditions.                                                                                       Kotch Matteo
                                            during these worrying times have made                                                                                                                          ALE Solutions
                                            substantial efforts to help preserve safety by       In order to overcome these new challenges and                                                             Marketing Manager
       GET IN TOUCH                         introducing new ways of working, such as remote      maintain continuity, operational changes need
                                            working, to help safeguard business continuity       to be made such as introducing multidisciplinary
                                            and mitigate employee exposure.                      collaboration technologies that employees can

20                                                                                                              UC MARKET GUIDE 2020 | ESSENTIAL INSIGHTS FOR TECH PROFESSIONALS             uctoday.com                                     21
All of this means that enterprises are looking                                     UC platforms such as Microsoft Teams. We
                                                                                                   for a collaboration-led approach, bringing                                         support cloud, on-premises or hybrid models,
                                                                                                   voice, video, document sharing and application                                     seamlessly integrate with multiple PBX platforms
                                                                                                   integration together to drive tangible productivity                                and connect Microsoft Teams to any network
                                                                                                   improvements.                                                                      provider via Direct Routing. With AudioCodes
                                                                                                                                                                                      Live for Microsoft Teams we can also do this as
                                                                                                                                                                                      fully managed service to make the transition
                                                                                                   2. Working from home is the                                                        even easier. To explore this with one of our UC
                                                                                                   new normal.                                                                        consultants, click here.
                                                                                                   The challenging events of 2020 have changed
                                                                                                   how we view working practices forever. The
                                                                                                                                                                                      Work from Home | AudioCodes can help
                                                                                                   enterprise rush to implement homeworking will
                                                                                                                                                                                      enterprises quickly and sustainably deploy
                                                                                                   shift to longer term, sustainable strategies to
                                                                                                                                                                                      homeworking. Our SBCs deliver the simple,
                                                                                                   secure business continuity, support employees’
                                                                                                                                                                                      secure and high-quality voice connectivity that is
                                                                                                   flexible working demands (and help retain
                                                                                                                                                                                      essential for enterprise quality collaboration for
                                                                                                   top talent), reduce real estate costs, increase
                                                                                                                                                                                      knowledge workers and contact centre agents
                                                                                                   productivity and reduce CO2 emissions. Working
                                                                                                                                                                                      working from home. Learn more here.
     Collaboration                          Three trends driving enterprise                        from home will increasingly become the new
                                                                                                   norm for knowledge workers, contact centre
                                            unified communications in 2020.
     and productivity
                                                                                                   agents and customer service functions.                                             Meeting Outcomes | Meeting outcomes are not
                                                                                                                                                                                      just about the conferencing device. AudioCodes
                                            Unified communications is now standard rather                                                                                             RX suite provides a selection of ultra-high
     driving                                than aspirational for enterprises looking to
                                            improve business continuity, collaboration
                                                                                                   3. Meeting experience and outcomes
                                                                                                   more important than ever.
                                                                                                                                                                                      quality voice and video conferencing options,
                                                                                                                                                                                      optimised for different sized meeting rooms and
     enterprise UC.                         and productivity. Several key trends are
                                            accelerating this in 2020:
                                                                                                   Meetings remain a key part of enterprise life.
                                                                                                   Consistent with other trends, meeting participants
                                                                                                                                                                                      powered by expert partners such as Dolby. Our
                                                                                                                                                                                      management applications enable IT teams to
                                                                                                   can be located anywhere - in the meeting room,                                     manage meeting room devices as an integral part
                                                                                                   working from home or on the move. Enterprises                                      of their UC deployment. And, to drive successful
                                            1. The collaborative enterprise.                       have to consider the quality of the meeting                                        meeting outcomes, AudioCodes Meeting Insights
     AudioCodes is a leading vendor of      Enterprise communications is evolving from             experience for ALL participants in terms of                                        uses state of the art Voice.AI technology to
     advanced voice networking and media    traditional PBXs to collaborative UC platforms.        voice, video, content sharing and easy access to                                   capture and organise all meeting generated
     processing solutions for the digital                                                          meeting notes and actions to deliver productive                                    content and actions from in-room and remote
     workplace.                             Why? Firstly, the service providers’ drive to all-IP   outcomes.                                                                          participants. For more information, click here.
                                            networks. Secondly, Microsoft’s increasing focus
     audiocodes.com                         on enterprise UC, with Microsoft Teams becoming        AudioCodes provides solutions and services to
                                            the ideal collaboration platform for businesses        help enterprises successfully benefit from these                                                          Andy Elliot
                                            using Office 365. And thirdly, the emergence of        trends.                                                                                                   VP Marketing EMEA
                                            innovative, new providers into the enterprise UC                                                                                                                 AudioCodes
       GET IN TOUCH
                                            market, such as Zoom.
                                                                                                   Migrate to Microsoft Teams | AudioCodes can
                                                                                                   help enterprises seamlessly migrate to new

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Every digital service provider offering Unified                                    Ensuring reliable, secure
                                                                                        Communications-as-a-Service (UCaaS),
                                                                                        Communications Platform-as-a-Service (CPaaS)
                                                                                                                                                                           communications.
                                                                                        and Communications-as-a-Service (CaaS) wants
                                                                                                                                                                           The internet is the de facto communications
                                                                                        to carve a slice of this growing market as a result.
                                                                                                                                                                           channel for businesses. But it is also subject
                                                                                        And it’s working.
                                                                                                                                                                           to security loopholes, which means it’s vital to
                                                                                                                                                                           use advanced encryption methods to secure
                                                                                        Businesses of all shapes and sizes are shifting
                                                                                                                                                                           communications channels. Communications-
                                                                                        their communications needs to the cloud for
                                                                                                                                                                           as-a-Service providers, like BICS, provide
                                                                                        increased agility and growth, and to enable
                                                                                                                                                                           assured security encryption at all layers of the
                                                                                        workflows they couldn’t before. Flexibility is the
                                                                                                                                                                           communication stack, delivering privacy and data
                                                                                        new name of the game. But meeting demands of
                                                                                                                                                                           integrity.
                                                                                        businesses today depends on having a partner
                                                                                        that can make it easy to tap into the global
                                                                                        communications landscape.                                                          APIs to automate and scale.
                                                                                                                                                                           Businesses want to be able to focus on the task
                                                                                        Global reach, local numbers.
     Simplifying
                                                                                                                                                                           at hand, and that extends to communications.
                                 UCaaS, CPaaS and beyond: What
                                                                                                                                                                           Whatever that need may be, APIs are needed to
                                 role does a global communications                      The steady rise in cloud adoption means that

     business
                                                                                                                                                                           help drive the efficiencies that businesses expect
                                                                                        virtual numbers now sit in the middle of unified
                                 enabler play?                                          communications and collaboration strategies
                                                                                                                                                                           from the cloud, while also ensuring seamless
                                                                                                                                                                           integration with the entire cloud suite.
     communications.             Business infrastructure looks very different in
                                 2020 to the decade before it. Static hardware is
                                                                                        of businesses that have a global presence or
                                                                                        support remote workers or disparate teams.
                                                                                                                                                                           Whether it’s real-time number ordering,
                                 out, cloud solutions are in, and communications is                                                                                        provisioning, routing or more, a Communications-
                                                                                        By partnering with a global communications
                                 a bigger driver than ever before. It’s said that 36%                                                                                      as-a-Service provider like BICS delivers the
                                                                                        enabler with the expertise and relationships to
                                 of IT budgets will be eaten up by communications                                                                                          API access needed by businesses to integrate
                                                                                        deliver on this need around the world, businesses
     Virtual phone numbers for   this year, led largely by digital transformation and
                                                                                        can ensure they don’t fall foul of complex
                                                                                                                                                                           communications in their business workflows
     global businesses.          globalisation efforts happening across practically                                                                                        and unified communications platforms. With no
                                                                                        regulatory environments that differ from one
                                 every sector, and the fact that migrating to the                                                                                          need for manual intervention, advanced APIs
                                                                                        country to the next.
                                 cloud is now much easier.                                                                                                                 bring a level of automation for any business
                                                                                                                                                                           communications platform or workflow that can
                                                                                        This approach ensures that virtual numbers are
                                 The advantages of cloud-based communications                                                                                              drive future scale and efficiencies.
                                                                                        fully compliant with local regulations and lawful
                                 are well known to the industry. It’s appeal to
                                                                                        intercept requirements, while meeting safety
                                 businesses as the ultimate cocktail of enhancing
     bics.com                    operations, boosting productivity, driving
                                                                                        regulations for making emergency calls via the
                                                                                        target country’s short code.                                                                              Divya Ghai Wakankar
                                 efficiencies and reducing costs makes its value                                                                                                                  Head of Innovation &
                                 impossible to ignore.                                                                                                                                            Product Management
       GET IN TOUCH
                                                                                                                                                                                                  BICS

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EDITORIAL

                                                                                                       How has the market evolved in the                                                 that they’ll need communication and collaboration
                                                                                                                                                                                         tools that can blend the in-office, and off-premise
                                                                                                       last 12 Months?                                                                   environments. “UC services will need to allow for
                                                                                                                                                                                         more rich and engaging experiences wherever
                                                                                                       Jeff noted that if you look at the Cisco cloud
                                                                                                                                                                                         you are. Employees will need tools that allow
                                                                                                       collaboration strategy over the last few years,
                                                                                                                                                                                         them to take their digital spaces with them.”
                                                                                                       the most significant challenge has been from a
                                                                                                       “calling focused” landscape, to something that’s
                                                                                                       more platform-led. “We’re covering everything
                                                                                                       from cloud contact centres to collaboration,                                          Boslem also told us that as
                                                                                                       now. It’s not just communication via phone call                                       the workplace continues to
                                                                                                       anymore.”                                                                             digitise and evolve, it also opens
                                                                                                       As companies are searching for new ways to
                                                                                                                                                                                             the door for additional tools,
                                                                                                       maintain productivity and support their team                                          like artificial intelligence and
                                                                                                       members in all environments, Boslem and his                                           cognitive collaboration.
                                                                                                       team are committed to delivering the kind of
                                                                                                       new collaborative experiences that businesses
                                                                                                       rely on. “The rapid increase in demand for cloud
                                                                                                       technology this year has challenged companies                                     Companies are beginning to see what’s truly
                                                                                                       and customers to find new ways of connecting.”                                    possible with the flexibility and scalability of the
                                                                                                       Jeff also pointed out that the current marketplace                                cloud.

     The
                                                                                                       is multi-generational, and every generation has
                                                      Market leaders in communication                  different preferences for communication. “As                                      Is Video an Opportunity Today?
                                                      and collaboration services, Cisco,               the environment and generations change, your
     communication                                    are constantly rolling out new
                                                      tools and solutions to inspire and
                                                                                                       communication strategy is going to continue to
                                                                                                       evolve.”
                                                                                                                                                                                         Video has been one of the leading buzzwords in
                                                                                                                                                                                         the video environment lately, and Jeff told us that

     evolution: UC                                    empower their customers.
                                                                                                       What’s leading Cisco’s UC
                                                                                                                                                                                         there had been a growing demand for this kind of
                                                                                                                                                                                         communication in recent months. Cisco sees this

     with Cisco.                                      In recent years, Cisco has made a significant    innovation strategy?
                                                                                                                                                                                         is as a fantastic opportunity not just for vendors,
                                                                                                                                                                                         but service providers.
                                                      effort to help move companies towards the
                                                      cloud, with compelling new as-a-service          Boslem told me that Cisco is seeing an increasing                                 “Cisco’s Webex platform can offer technologies
                                                      offerings in everything from UC to Contact       demand for flexibility and disruption in the                                      like cloud calling, meetings and collaboration,
                                                      Centre technology.                               communication landscape. People want to be                                        but there’s also room for service providers and
     The Cisco journey in the cloud.
                                                                                                       able to communicate through the platforms they                                    partners to get involved and deliver their own
                                                      We spoke to Jeff Boslem, the Regional Director   choose, and access more information within their                                  innovations in this space. I look forward to seeing
                                                      of EMEAR Cloud & Hosted collaboration, to get    conversations. “One of the biggest trends we’re                                   what they come up with in the future.”
                                                      his insights on how the UC market is changing    seeing right now is the rising demand for working
                                                                                                       from home. The need for the cloud has been
                         Jeff Boslem
                                                      from Cisco’s perspective.
                                                                                                       enhanced.”
                                                                                                                                                                                         cisco.com
                         Regional Director of Cloud
                                                      Here’s what Jeff told us about the rapidly
                         & Hosted Collaboration                                                        Jeff noted that in the future, there will be a                                        Written by Rob Scott | UC Today
                                                      evolving cloud landscape.
                         Cisco for EMEAR                                                               time when companies can return to the office,
                                                                                                       however, people won’t want to go back to the
                                                                                                       traditional office experience forever. That means

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a demonstration that used AI to improve web                                        Then, the update team can (proactively, in some
                                                                                                            conference or voice over internet protocol (VoIP)                                  cases) communicate the issue to customers
                                                                                                            conversations. Low-quality network paths can                                       and create a fix quickly. UC tech, endpoints and
                                                                                                            make having a voice conversation untenable,                                        collaboration methods all will take advantage
                                                                                                            causing voices to drop out and creating                                            of troubleshooting solutions like this soon,
                                                                                                            conversational gaps. Their demo showed how                                         employing AI to identify, flag and correct any
                                                                                                            AI can use its learned knowledge (the result of                                    workflow problems faster.
                                                                                                            listening to and analysing real speakers) to see
                                                                                                            the “holes” and guess how it can fill in any gaps                                  If Windows can scale AI across hundreds of
                                                                                                            by subbing in voice bits in real time. AI, in other                                millions of users and use it to process and learn
                                                                                                            words, can make up for a bad connection, low                                       from data so quickly, think of how AI can be used
                                                                                                            bandwidth or a connection being interrupted                                        within a single enterprise to boost employees’
                                                                                                            constantly, keeping a voice conversation going                                     UC experience.
                                                                                                            and ensuring a more seamless experience.
                                                                                                                                                                                               Of course, it’s important to remember that any
                                                                                                            Another interesting development that has                                           implementation of AI should be done with a
                                                                                                            potential in the UC space is using AI to                                           higher purpose in mind. Ask yourself where

     The leader in                                  Artificial Intelligence in UC: Current
                                                    applications and future potential.
                                                                                                            troubleshoot. Microsoft now uses AI and machine
                                                                                                            learning to catch problems early while pushing
                                                                                                                                                                                               you see the most value in creating a better
                                                                                                                                                                                               understanding of a situation (internal or for

     secure solutions
                                                                                                            out updates.                                                                       end customers) by using an intelligent system.
                                                                                                                                                                                               How can you employ AI to find and/or analyse
                                                    In the unified communications (UC) space,

     for our less than
                                                                                                                                                                                               information within your data that you might
                                                    Artificial Intelligence (AI) is being used to enhance
                                                                                                                                                                                               not already know? Think of a target or goal
                                                    user experience and make human workflows                The AI tells Microsoft which
     secure world.
                                                                                                                                                                                               you may already have or want and use AI as a
                                                    easier. For example, some collaboration platforms
                                                    can dynamically add someone to a coworking
                                                                                                            devices are likely to have a good                                                  steppingstone to get there.
                                                    environment because they were mentioned on              update experience, allowing
                                                                                                                                                                                               As technology improves, and as humans become
                                                    a call, while other platforms enable real-time          those devices to update early.                                                     more comfortable working with “machines”
                                                    translations and accurate transcriptions.
                                                                                                                                                                                               that help them make smarter decisions, we
     Even more Crestron technology now meets                                                                                                                                                   can expect AI applications in the UC space to
                                                    And it doesn’t end there. UC offers plenty of
     the strict security requirements of the U.S.                                                           If the AI model indicates there might be an issue,                                 skyrocket. The potential is almost limitless.
                                                    areas where predictive learning can enhance
     military and government agencies.                                                                      the team can adjust and prevent potentially
                                                    productivity and help people overcome the little
                                                    bumps in their workflow.                                affected devices from being offered the update
                                                                                                            until the issue is resolved by (human) developers.                                                        Joe Sarrasin
     crestron.com                                   At Microsoft Ignite 2019 — Microsoft’s annual           If devices that already updated have an issue, the                                                        Unified Communications
                                                    gathering for IT professionals and technologists        AI quickly identifies and alerts the update team.                                                         Strategy Director
                                                    end of 2019 — a couple of use cases were                                                                                                                          Crestron
        GET IN TOUCH                                revealed that are relevant to AI’s entry into UC
                                                    and how it might affect IT professionals, including

28                                                                                                                          UC MARKET GUIDE 2020 | ESSENTIAL INSIGHTS FOR TECH PROFESSIONALS            uctoday.com                                29
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and SIP captures, which are key to most case                                       correlated by any search string (i.e., call-id:1234),
                                                                                                         investigations. Due to their size, this data is often                              across many servers, laid out on a single timeline,
                                                                                                         left on production servers.                                                        as a call transaction. Traditional grepping does
                                                                                                                                                                                            not work for events of different lengths.
                                                                                                         2. In order to investigate an issue raised by a
                                                                                                         customer, operations teams have to access and                                      3. Give L1 - L3 professionals a UI to search and
                                                                                                         download log data from many production servers                                     visualise calls. Do not make your engineers
                                                                                                         or search them from multiple systems, so they can                                  spend hours piecing together text to get to a call
                                                                                                         be sent to the right team to investigate.                                          transaction that an L1 person can see in 5 minutes
                                                                                                                                                                                            with the right UI.
                                                                                                         3. Even with data in hand, deciphering it is an
                                                                                                         expert-level exercise. This involves cleaning,                                     Real-time communications is one of the hardest
                                                                                                         merging, and searching the data as raw text. It                                    services to provide over the internet. There are
                                                                                                         may start with the application engineering team,                                   too many moving parts, each of which creates
                                                                                                         get passed to the audio team, and then to the                                      too much data. Any hiccup in operations causes
                                                                                                         network team before identifying the root cause.                                    an immediate impact on customer satisfaction,
                                                                                                                                                                                            which is why quality of service is the biggest

     Unified data                                    Why Unified Communications is
                                                     one of, if not the, most laborious
                                                                                                         These technical challenges cause significant
                                                                                                         business impact. Slow response times, case
                                                                                                                                                                                            differentiator between UC providers: because it’s
                                                                                                                                                                                            hard and it matters.

     for unified
                                                                                                         backlogs, and failed investigations. Customer
                                                     services to provide over the                        experience suffers. CSAT and NPS scores go                                         UC providers, usage was multiplying even
                                                     internet?
     communications.
                                                                                                         down. Cost of Revenue goes up. Nobody wins.                                        before Covid-19. As the primary driver of your
                                                                                                                                                                                            customer satisfaction and NPS scores, it’s now
                                                     For Unified Communications (UC) providers,          UC service delivery for a                                                          more important than ever to ensure that your
                                                     rapid subscriber growth and ever-increasing                                                                                            service delivery team is able to efficiently assist
                                                     expectations from end-users are making it harder
                                                                                                         post-COVID world.
                                                                                                                                                                                            customers in a time of need.
     We help UC providers bring together voice,      than ever to deliver high-quality services. The
                                                                                                         UC providers can improve service delivery even
     media, and application data for quicker         question for UC service delivery teams is; how to
                                                                                                         amidst this rapid adoption period caused by
     case resolution and improved customer           improve service delivery while usage is growing
                                                                                                         COVID-19. Three main things drastically simplify                                                           Alex Munk
     satisfaction.                                   fast?
                                                                                                         the process and speed up case resolution.                                                                  Co-founder & CEO
     You can learn more about our solution through   UC systems present several unique challenges                                                                                                                   Dashbase
                                                                                                         1. Collect and consolidate UC logs continuously
     our website or by contacting us directly.       that lead directly to negative customer
                                                                                                         from production environments, no matter the data
                                                     satisfaction.
                                                                                                         volume. Cut out the step of asking operations
     dashbase.io                                                                                         personnel to find and download the right part of
                                                     1. UC Systems generate an enormous amount
                                                                                                         the right log file(s) from production servers.
                                                     of data compared to other industries. PBX’s,
                                                     media servers, SBC’s, proxies, billing servers,
       GET IN TOUCH                                  and custom applications all write verbose logs
                                                                                                         2. Give engineers a single UI to search all logs as
                                                                                                         events. Enable engineers to search for log events

32                                                                                                                       UC MARKET GUIDE 2020 | ESSENTIAL INSIGHTS FOR TECH PROFESSIONALS             uctoday.com                                   33
CPaaS

     Exploring the
     Possibilities of CPaaS

     Communication Platform as a Service                  CPaaS vendors are constantly adding more            include scalable SIP trunking, virtual numbers,                                   Keep up to date with all the
     solutions or “CPaaS”, gives companies                channels to their platforms, from WhatsApp and      instant dencentralised call centres, masked
                                                                                                                                                                                                latest news, reviews and
     an opportunity to implement real-time                Facebook Messenger, to text messaging and Rich      numbers, and so much more. The possibilities are
     communication capabilities like voice and            Communication Services (RCS).                       practically endless.                                                              opinions at UC Today
     video, with their existing workflows.
                                                                                                              All of these programmable features can
     Using innovative APIs and SDKs, organisations           With CPaaS, companies can                        be implemented into every aspect of the
                                                                                                                                                                                                  NEWS
     can add simple click-to-call functionality into                                                          communication stack, whether your company is
     virtually any aspect of their existing technology
                                                             even take their strategy for                     focusing on text, video, or voice communication.
     stack. For many enterprises, CPaaS represents           customer experience to the next                  That ensures that wherever your customers are,
     the ultimate way to design a true custom                level, with the programmable                     you can follow with the kind of conversational                                      REVIEWS
     communication solution.                                 contact centre.                                  experiences that they’re looking for.

     As companies from all backgrounds continue to                                                            Stepping into CPaaS.                                                                DIRECTORY
     adopt the cloud infrastructure to take advantage     This contact centre environment gives your
     of digital services and tools, they’re better        business absolute control over the experience       As companies continue to recognise the need
     placed than ever to leverage CPaaS for access        delivered to your audience, with management for     for customisable solutions in a world where
     to everything from AI and chatbots, to video         everything from agent routing to reporting.         experience is the most crucial differentiator
     conferencing.                                                                                            around, CPaaS is growing rapidly in popularity.
                                                          Communication made
     Creating the ultimate                                                                                    However, just like any other technology in the
                                                          programmable.                                       communication landscape, businesses will
     communication experience,                                                                                                                                                                  #CPaaS
                                                                                                              need to ensure that they have a strategy in
     with CPaaS.                                          At the heart of the CPaaS environment is the        place to protect themselves and track down the
                                                          flexible ability to make your communications more   right solutions. APIs need to be approved and
     Perhaps one of the biggest advantages that           advanced, flexible, and programmable than ever      encrypted with the right security, ensuring that
     CPaaS has to offer, is that it allows companies to   before. Companies can use APIs and SDKs to          your information isn’t easy to access on the cloud.
     create an incredible omnichannel communication       add programmable SMS into their environments,
     environment. With CPaaS, you can go beyond the       including automated text messages that are          Companies in search of agility will need to
     basics of voice and email in your company and        sent to customers to remind them of upcoming                                                                                                            Learn more
                                                                                                              ensure that their CPaaS solutions not only
     implement everything from social media to video      appointments or deals.                              deliver the flexibility that they need, but the                                                     about CPaaS
     collaboration to interact with your customers.
                                                                                                              support that they’re looking for when it comes to
     What’s more, because CPaaS allows you to             Programmable Voice and Numbers means                authentication, privacy, and safety too.
     embed functionality into your existing workflow,     that you can access global carrier networks,                                                                                                                 Download our
     everything you need is in the same consistent        and numbers that make you appear local, no                                                                                                                   FREE Smart Guide
     pane of glass.                                       matter where you’re calling from. Other features

34                                                                                                                           UC MARKET GUIDE 2020 | ESSENTIAL INSIGHTS FOR TECH PROFESSIONALS            uctoday.com                  35
product portfolio to further enhance the user
                                                                                                          experience, as well as a culture that puts
                                                                                                          customer needs first. These core values unite the
                                                                                                          group and enable Enreach to bring real value to
                                                                                                          both reseller partners and customers.

                                                                                                          Each Enreach company brings unique expertise
                                                                                                          and experience to its country market, equipping
                                                                                                          the group with in-depth knowledge of what
                                                                                                                                                                                             Centile, another Enreach company, develops
                                                                                                          businesses need. This allows tailored products
                                                                                                                                                                                             whitelabel, multi-tenant cloud UC solutions for
                                                                                                          and services to be delivered, which add a
                                                                                                                                                                                             fixed and mobile operators, MVNOs, integrators
                                                                                                          touch of magic to each contact its users have
                                                                                                                                                                                             and installers and offers full Fixed-Mobile
                                                                                                          with customers, partners and employees. With
                                                                                                                                                                                             Convergence to businesses of all sizes. Centile’s
                                                                                                          Enreach’s solutions, users can collaborate
                                                                                                                                                                                             award-winning mobile app MOBiiS brings all the
                                                                                                          and communicate more effectively and focus
                                                                                                                                                                                             communication and team collaboration features
                                                                                                          on getting amazing things done in their daily
                                                                                                                                                                                             from the PBX to the smartphone, making the
                                                                                                          business. The Enreach Meetings collaboration

     Contact that                                    Effective communication and collaboration                                                                                               company a true mobile-first provider. The FMC
                                                                                                          solution, for instance, connects people in different
                                                     are key for the success of any business – and                                                                                           solution enables mobile operators to add mobile
                                                                                                          locations within seconds, from anywhere and

     works wonders.
                                                     Enreach helps companies to achieve just that.                                                                                           capabilities to managed service providers,
                                                                                                          using any device. Users can talk to each other
                                                                                                                                                                                             hence helping generate added value revenues
                                                                                                          via video, send messages, share their screen
                                                                                                                                                                                             throughout the whole chain. By adding Centile’s
                                                     The fast-growing European UC group has its           and much more – all directly from a web browser
                                                                                                                                                                                             mobile-first proposition, service providers can fuel
                                                     own unique stack of innovative UC solutions and      without the need to install additional software or
                                                                                                                                                                                             the migration from Cloud PBX to mobile PBX.
                                                     complementary services, enabling businesses          an app.
                                                     to take their communication and teamwork
     Fast-growing group with local                                                                                                                                                           The combined teams of Swyx, Centile and the
                                                     to the next level and work more successfully.
     presences in European cloud                     Headquartered in the Netherlands and with            Joined forces extending value.                                                     other Enreach companies work together in order
     communication markets.                          sixteen offices across eight countries, Enreach                                                                                         to extend reseller value helping them to address
                                                     is one of Europe’s leading UC and telephony          One of Enreach’s companies is Swyx,                                                diverse demands and support their customers in
                                                     providers and supplies its services to over 2        headquartered in Germany. The UC specialist                                        the best possible way.
     Enreach enables businesses to work more
     efficiently and brings value to both reseller   million users. The group is the parent company of    has been developing communication solutions
     partners and customers.                         Voiceworks (NL), Swyx (DE), Centile (FR), ipnordic   for medium-sized companies since 1999 and                                          Learn more about how Enreach can help your
                                                     (DK), masvoz (ES), Network Telecom (UK), Eazit       distributes them exclusively via specialist dealers.                               business thrive!
                                                     (NL) and M Mobility (DK), serving the SME market     The value of Swyx’s UC solution lies with its
     enreach.com                                     across all verticals through both indirect and       flexibility because it is based on software. No
                                                     direct sales channels.                               matter, if a customer wants an in-house, a hybrid                                                         Stijn Nijhuis
                                                                                                          or cloud solution, Swyx offers powerful features                                                          CEO
        GET IN TOUCH                                 All Enreach companies share a commitment             across all deployment forms and is so adaptable,                                                          Enreach

                                                     to integrate, develop and expand the in-house        that there are endless opportunities for resellers
                                                                                                          to customise it to meet their customer’s needs.

36                                                                                                                        UC MARKET GUIDE 2020 | ESSENTIAL INSIGHTS FOR TECH PROFESSIONALS            uctoday.com                                   37
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