There’s Still Time to Capitalize on UCaaS Opportunities

Unified communications refresh cycles are often separated by at least a few years, but we’re already seeing many organizations replace or refine their initial pandemic-related investments. The reason is simple: When the pandemic began, many companies scrambled to implement whatever they could find to make at-home workers as productive as if they were in the office. As a result, not only were implementations rushed, but many believed the need was short term. Today, many organizations are revisiting their UC investments as they’ve recognized that hybrid workforces might be here to stay.

Not only have many companies discovered that they could successfully operate within mobile environments, but workers also can be more productive and, with less staff in the office, reduce their real estate expenses.

Doubling down on a hybrid workforce, strategically minded companies are now moving to optimize their hybrid workforces and technologies.

Optimizing a Hybrid Workforce

Optimizing a mobile workforce means ensuring that employees have the right technology that is robust enough for the long term. It must also allow the employee to move seamlessly between the home and the office.

With a shortage of communications and collaboration technology at the beginning of the pandemic, companies used whatever was available, even if it wasn’t the ideal solution. However, with a more long-term mindset today, companies are investing in better webcams, docking stations, videoconferencing rooms and network infrastructure.

Beyond hardware, many applications are also getting updated to function better for workers, whether at home or in the office.

This continued investment in hardware and software is expected to last into 2022, creating a significant UCaaS opportunity for solution providers.

Overcoming Integration Limitations

Managing this new hybrid workforce is also a big focal point for businesses. Again, initial UC investments–especially in cloud-based solutions–were made from necessity simply to maintain some level of business continuity. With a long-tail approach to hybrid workforces, organizations are now focused on fully integrating all solutions to improve efficiencies and ease management. In some cases, this might mean purchasing and implementing other solutions.

At the same time, IT decision-makers are also thinking about long-term physical infrastructure and application architecture. Each company needs to identify the perfect combination of cloud and on-premises technology for where their workloads should reside. In many cases, organizations are moving to the containerization of applications.

Solution providers should focus on supporting these decisions in 2022 because that’s where customers’ minds and concerns are right now. If you require assistance in offering best-in-breed UCaaS solutions to your customers, contact Ingram Micro today.

This guest blog is part of a Channel Futures sponsorship.