Latin America. According to an IDC study, it is estimated that, in 2017, the cloud market will grow 36.6 percent compared to 2016 and will reach an approximate value of 152 million dollars at the end of the year.
This high growth indicates that many companies that today have on-premise PBX equipment, as well as Contact Centers, are wondering today if it is the right time to migrate to the cloud in order to overcome the different business challenges they face such as improving the efficiency of processes and the user experience, among others.
In my opinion, in the face of these challenges, the migration to the cloud is currently a key requirement for the competitiveness of any organization. However, before making the transition, companies are advised to consider these 5 basis points during and after the change:
- Assessment: Assess your current technology environment and determine your business requirements and needs.
- Solution Selection: Choose the right Carrier Class-level solution with integrated Unified Communications and omni-channel capabilities.
- Migration Tools: Select a platform that provides you with built-in migration tools (e.g., network assessment, open APIs, plug & play configuration and activation, and integration capabilities).
- Creating a model/plan: Build timelines, activation methods, and contingency strategies.
- Select trusted partners: Select a service provider that provides support before, during, and after migration. It is necessary to define all the activity plans together, in this way all the teams will be aligned to the needs of the business.
- A safe journey to the cloud
Before "uploading" communications to the cloud, it is necessary to know exactly which applications can be migrated and define the phases of change, since doing it all in one step would be very complicated and possibly risky. During this planning stage it is necessary to consider:
- Focus on what can be improved: Companies should not only concentrate on current procedures, but should also look further, and identify what they can do best, just because the PBX developed 20 years ago supported certain features, does not mean that it is the way they should work today.
- Review on the functionality of Unified Communications based on the needs of people: It is important to understand the needs of fixed and mobile work teams; contact centre agents, supervisors and administrators; external partners and customers to make communications more productive and effective.
- Alternatives to improve the performance of the contact center of a business: Identify the weak points in the contact center systems, in order to overcome them with the migration to the cloud, this will give the CC the opportunity to focus on the core of the business and solve problems of the operation, such as: closing sales, improve the user experience, among others.
- Necessary migration tools: How can the vendor make the process smooth and not disrupt business as usual?
- Importance of APIs for integrating existing systems: It may not be feasible to migrate the entire current communications environment in one step, so these APIs allow for a gradual migration approach of teams, sites, functions, product lines, or systems over time.
- Importance of APIs for importing historical data: This is particularly important for contact centers that need data to improve their customer service.
- Integrate PBXs into applications: For example, add telephony to CRM systems.
Through these tips focused on planning, selecting technology partners and the right tools, companies will be able to simplify their transition and eliminate any disruption to their business. In addition, in parallel, they will be able to benefit from the significant business benefits of cloud communications such as cost reduction, scalability, greater efficiency, productivity and more flexibility. All this with the aim of enhancing the workforce, improving the customer experience and increasing sales.
What is Broadsoft's value proposition for cloud communications?
BroadSoft Business offers users a single, unified experience– including UC-One, Team-One, CC-One and BroadSoft Hub – which unifies cloud applications with contextual information such as recent files, email, social media contacts, tasks and IM sessions without having to open or search additional applications. Hub meets the need for easy-to-use communication and collaboration tools by today's mobile workforce, enabling them to new levels of productivity and mobility through a unified user experience.
Text written by Héctor Sánchez, Vice President of Sales for BroadSoft in Latin America.
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