CIO Research Reveals New Success Requirements for UCaaS and CCaaS

Similarly, SIP trunking and bundled solutions are also rising in demand. The use of SIP trunking with UCaaS/CCaaS has increased over the past 2 years (63% versus 51% in 2020). Additionally, the preference for bundled, pre-integrated UCaaS/CCaaS solutions has grown stronger since 2020 (65% versus 51% in 2020).

Why integration and consolidation are more important now

It’s no surprise that security and network reliability remain the leading key factors for UCaaS and CCaaS success. Voice and video conferencing applications are known as bandwidth-hungry tools that can take a toll on network resources, and in order to be effective, security must be a prolific strategy reaching across every aspect of business including communications.

But why are the ideas of integration and consolidation rising in criticality now? Three reasons explain why it’s a smart idea to give them equal weight when thinking about your UC/CC approach.

1. Redundant applications make standardization necessary for efficiency: Under the pressures of the pandemic, companies added a menagerie of collaboration applications to meet the needs of cloud calling, virtual presence, chat, and video conferencing. Today, these redundant applications are inefficient as IT leaders seek to make hybrid work models sustainable and effective for the future. Standardization exercises are necessary for rationalizing the corporate collaboration strategy across one toolset.
2. Vast systems, technologies, stakeholders need to work together: Consider the sheer number of systems and technologies required to make collaboration work well. The list is vast. UCaaS/CCaaS is an ecosystem crossing customer service, collaboration, connectivity, and security—meaning a successful deployment must integrate:
   • UCaaS and CCaaS applications
   • Network services
   • Security services
   • SIP Trunking and PSTN/VoIP services
   • Business-critical applications including CRM, SAP, billing tools, etc. via APIs
   • As well as the associated dashboards and vendors of the above
3. Increased expectations for uninterrupted digital experiences everywhere: Gone are the good ‘ole days of only worrying about service delivery across a known number of corporate locations. Hybrid work means bigger expectations everywhere, and in most cases IT organizations are being asked to deliver perfect user experiences via public network connections that are inherently unstable. UC and CC integration and consolidation relieves these pressures by giving IT teams fewer services and providers to monitor and manage.

So, how do you use integration and consolidation to build a smart UC/CC strategy? That’s the topic of my other article here.

Companies can’t afford a collaboration failure

The new Market Trends Study brings forward other key takeaways, including the fact that 97% of organizations say remote work has increased interest in UCaaS/CCaaS. It’s clear that work-from-anywhere trends have elevated the criticality of digital collaboration tools. In fact, the study shows 9 out of 10 IT leaders say UCaaS/CCaaS downtime is highly concerning or detrimental to their business — that’s up from 8 out of 10 in 2020.

With the quality of the digital experience riding on the shoulders of UCaaS/CCaaS and the success of their solution deployments, it’s all the more important for IT leaders to be confident they are getting collaboration right. Don’t miss CIO’s research report, which explains key collaboration challenges IT leaders face and the top considerations helping them navigate to success.

• Explore the latest trends in UCaaS and CCaaS technologies
• See how IT leaders evaluate solutions and overcome challenges
• Learn which features and solution bundles IT leaders prefer and why